“Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of the bones of the dead and everything unclean.”

Matthew 23:27

While Jesus was in Bethany in the home of Simon the Leper, a woman came to him with an alabaster jar of very expensive perfume, which she poured on his head as he was reclining at the table. When the disciples saw this, they were indignant. Aware of this, Jesus said to them, “Why are you bothering this woman? She has done a beautiful thing to me.

Matthew 26:6-8, 10

I’ve noticed a trend where some churches who are trying to appeal to younger generations are emphasizing “beauty” in their worship gatherings. They’ll tap into ancient liturgies of the church. They’ll use lots of poetic language. Their songs will sound like folksy, indie rock. Even their language is very artsy, bordering on pretentious.

All of this is an attempt to have a service that feels trendy and leans into “beauty.” It’s also an attempt to get away from the more conservative evangelical focuses on numbers, baptisms, and salvations. But what these churches don’t realize is that they are making the same mistake as the evangelicals just in a different direction. In both cases, these churches are chasing the fruit rather than the source.

Now, to be clear, I believe that creativity and the arts can be used powerfully in worship. We were created in the image of the Creator God, so we were made to be creative. The arts are powerful tools to bring beauty into the world that points us back to our Creator. So, don’t hear me say that I’m against the arts or creativity.

What I’m critiquing is the church that claims to be all about beauty, justice, and love. But they’ve prioritized the pursuit of beauty over the pursuit of the Beautiful One. They’ve prioritized seeking justice over seeking the God who is just. They shout from the rooftops that “God is love,” but what they demonstrate with their lives is their true slogan, “love is god.” The shift is subtle but recognizable.

In trying so hard to be beautiful on the outside, these churches often become just like the Pharisees who were called white-washed tombs by Jesus. Beautiful on the outside, full of dead bones and unclean things on the inside.

What Jesus called beautiful was the extravagant worship of the woman who broke open the alabaster jar. This over-the-top display of public affection for Jesus was embarrassing to the disciples. But for Jesus, this was beautiful. Real beauty is produced not just with meticulously crafted, poetic liturgy. Real beauty is produced with surrendered hearts who are completely abandoned to the Beautiful One.

King David showed us the right heart posture when he wrote:

One thing I ask from the Lord,
    this only do I seek:
that I may dwell in the house of the Lord
    all the days of my life,
to gaze on the beauty of the Lord
    and to seek him in his temple.

Psalm 27:4

When we focus on creating a “beautiful” church service or liturgy, people will leave saying, “Wow, that service was beautiful.” But when we focus on an all-out pursuit of worshiping Jesus with abandon, a singular focus on the Beautiful One, then people will leave saying, “Wow, God is so beautiful,” or “What God did here was so beautiful!”

Can you see the difference? Is our goal to have people think our services are beautiful? Or is our goal to connect people to the beauty of the Lord?

He is the Beautiful One. And what He calls beautiful is extravagant, messy, surrendered worship that will often have onlookers a little embarrassed and a little offended. When the Holy Spirit moves, you will find a room full of people ugly crying, falling on their knees, trembling in God’s Presence, crying out to the Lord. It’s not pretty, but Jesus calls it beautiful. Or you may find a room full of people completely silent, reverently still as the fear of the Lord floods the room. No fanfare. Completely in awe as Jesus enters the room. He’s not impressed with white-washed tombs. He’s looking for those who, with totally abandonment, are willing to let go of their pride and dignity and give themselves fully to the beauty of the Lord.