Is Dancing a sin?

Recently I was told at a wedding I attended, by a friend in a joking manner, that dancing is a sin. So, I asked this person to show me where in scripture it states dancing is a sin. As we parted ways, I Peter 1:13-16 is the passage they shared with me to look up and read about dancing being a sin. So, below is the scripture and my conclusion of whether dancing is a sin or not.

I Peter 1:13-16

"Therefore, prepare your minds for action; be self controlled; set your hope fully on the grace to be given you when Jesus Christ is revealed.  As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance.  But just as He who called you is holy, so be holy in ALL you do; for it is written: 'Be holy, because I am holy'.”

So, here we go:

Based on this scripture, it states to prepare your minds for action, be self controlled and as obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance.  Here are some definitions to clear the air about what words means:

Prepare: make ready.

Self Control: the ability to control oneself, in particular one's emotions and desires or the expression of them in one's behavior, especially in difficult situations.
Obedient: complying with orders or requests; submissive to another's will.
Evil: profound immorality, wickedness, and depravity.
Desires: a strong feeling of wanting to have/do something or wishing for something to happen.
Ignorance: lack of knowledge or information. No knowing.
Holy: dedicated or consecrated to God or a religious purpose; sacred.
All: the whole of one's possessions, energy, or interest.
Feel free to re-read these definitions when referenced below.

Ready?  Digging in, starting with the beginning of the passage: prepare your minds for action, to be ready to move.  Action isn’t staying in the same place.  It is evaluating and changing.  So, dancing…is it sin?  Well I start with self control, to control oneself, yes.  But that is relevant….as each self-controlled person can look differently. Some people being stricter than others in their self-control yet, there is always room for growth, and others, appearing to be relaxed in their self-control.  So, one could think that controlling oneself in the realm of dancing, could be interpreted as NO dancing.  That right there is self-control.  Just say no.  But, scripture doesn’t directly say NO dancing.  So then one might pick up on “evil desires” and it could be miss-interpreted: dancing is an evil desire, therefore use self-control and don’t dance.  However, it still doesn’t directly say that dancing is evil, or is an evil desire.  So we cross reference into God’s Word deeper, to other scriptures which talk about dancing. 

In the book of I Samuel, it talks about the people dancing when Saul slayed thousands and David slayed tens of thousands.  Ecclesiastes talks about a time to mourn and a time to dance.  Jeremiah specifically states: “Then young women will dance and be glad, young men and OLD as well.  I will turn their mourning into gladness; I will give them comfort and joy instead of sorrow.”  In Psalms there are many places that talk about dancing, unto the Lord.  And then, there are the passages where dancing isn’t such a joyful experience: in Mark it speaks of a seductive type of dance a girl did to be tricky.  However, again, on the positive side of dancing, Judges talks of where young women were dancing as a celebration.  And again in 2 Samuel, David danced before the Lord with ALL his might.  And people despised him because of his leaping and dancing before the Lord.  And the case in Luke where there was music and dancing for the lost son whom had returned.  The positive examples of dancing are in some sort of form of celebrating or unto the Lord.  There is a purpose for this dancing, and it is glorifying and honoring.  The negative dancing is seductive, and leads to betrayal.  Not glorifying to the Lord.

As you probably are already aware, there is a mix of types of dancing described in the Word of God.  And I would conclude, based on the variety of scripture that not ALL dancing is a sin, and you look at the heart of the people participating in the dancing, and there is where the issue lies.  Moving back to the I Peter passage, to ‘evil desires’, evil desire is in one’s heart.  It is the motive, the heart of the issue.  What desires does the heart have in the style of dancing one is participating in? Well, it says ‘do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance’.  So, once one comes to know the Lord as their personal Savior, their eyes and hearts have been opened to the Truth, and one should no longer desire the ways of the world, which are evil.  So, the ‘desires’ that were there should change. And to prepare our minds for action, we should be ready to receive this change of the Lord. This takes me to the next point, living for the Lord, called to be holy.

This particular passage ends with “Just as He who called you is holy, so be holy in ALL you do; for it is written; ‘Be holy, because I am holy’.”   Well, that sums it all up.  We have been called to be holy, as HE is holy.  And to be holy in ALL we DO.  (Re-read the meaning of ‘holy’ and ‘all’) this doesn’t leave much room for misinterpreting.  It says to be HOLY in ALL you do.  ALL you do, which would be dancing, working, tattooing, drinking, relationships, etc. Does the activity to which one participates in produce holiness?  Is one holy when dancing?  Which then also opens another can of worms?  Example: attending a baseball game.  Since we are to be holy in ALL we do.  Is attending a baseball game then a sin? Is it helping one to be holy? This could be a legit argument!  Which then I ask, what in the world are we allowed to do, for this world is full of ‘unholy’ activities.  And I am reminded by the part of this I Peter scripture that says, ‘Set your hope FULLY on the grace to be given to you WHEN JESUS CHRIST is REVEALED’.   As Jesus is revealed, grace is given for the desires I succumbed to before He was revealed.  Since He has now been revealed to us, our desires change to be holy, making righteous choices. And when we came to know the Lord, our minds were then being prepared to take action, to be self-controlled in these actions, setting hope on the grace the Lord gives, AS He is revealed.  And as HE is revealed, we are to be obedient children, no longer conforming to the evil desires we had as ignorant people, unaware the Lord had called us to be holy. So now that we are called and know we are to be holy, we can no longer participate in evil desires. So, is baseball an evil desire?  Is baseball evil?  Is dancing evil?  My answer to this would be no.  These ‘things’ are not evil.  It is the desire, the underlying desire which is evil.  Is your desire to attend a baseball game to get hammered?  Is your desire in dancing to seduce someone?  Or is your desire in attending the baseball game, which in itself isn’t evil, to invite someone to get to know them, in order to ultimately point them to Jesus?  That He may get the glory for the action?  Is your desire in dancing to give the Lord glory, because you can’t keep silent about all He is and is doing? The item at hand is NOT the sin.  It is the heart, the desire to do the item which can be the sin. For Matthew5:19 says:  “For out of the heart come evil thoughts-murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander.”  Out of the HEART comes the evil.  But then, controversy comes up.  The Lord, has given us free wills, which unfortunately means we will all make different decisions.  It really comes down to the heart of the matter, the desire.  Where is ones heart in their relationship with the Lord?  Are they truly seeking Him?  Desiring to make Him known?  Desiring to be holy, because He has called us to be holy?  If we are, our actions will point to Jesus, and we won’t participate in the things of this world which are borderline ‘evil desires’.  We would flee what looks to be evil.  Desiring to please the Lord should be the goal. Which would conclude, unless ones dancing is unto the Lord, or it is with their spouse, general dancing with other people, is not pleasing to the Lord. And if it is not of the Lord, it would be wrong, which is technically a sin.

So then more questions arise, drinking? Is it a sin?  Scripture says not to get drunk.  So, is one drink wrong?  Well, again, when we are His children, and when our desire should be to please Him, to obey Him, and when He clearly states over and over we are called to be holy, to live holy, to be holy as He is holy, our spirit should so desire to obey, we free ourselves of the questions, we don’t live to push how close we can get before it is ‘technically’ a sin!  As it says in 2 Timothy 2 “Flee the evil DESIRES of youth (before you knew the Lord) and PURSUE (to follow; chase) righteousness, faith, love and peace, ALONG with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart!!” Because of the Holy Spirit living in us, we should desire so strongly to obey and please Him and to live Holy that we don’t even come close to the border of these sins. Instead of pushing the limit, one should strive to to pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace!!

There ya have it.  Where is one’s heart?  Truly following and seeking the Lord?   Then that will define your dancing along with everything you do.

“Let them praise His name with DANCING and make music to HIM with tambourine and harp!” Psalm 149:3