We want to persuade you to add some joyful movement to your family time. In other words, we are going to encourage you to have family dance parties. That might make you nervous—isn’t dancing bad? Don’t many Christians think dancing is sinful?
Dancing itself is a good thing—it’s not wrong to move our bodies to the beat of music or express ourselves with our bodies. But we sinful human beings are very good at taking good things and putting them to sinful use.
In the Bible we read about dancing that’s pleasing to God, and about dancing that displeases God. King David danced celebrating what God had done, and God was pleased by it (2 Samuel 6:14-23). On the other hand, Herodias’ daughter danced, likely inappropriately, and from the context we gather this was not pleasing to God (Mark 6:21-29).
We want your family to enjoy the good gift of dance in the right way. Since you’re considering having dancing as part of your fun family life, let’s talk about why it’s a good thing, and how it can become a bad thing so that we can avoid letting this good gift turn sour.
Why Dancing Is a Good Thing
Dancing is a good thing for three reasons, among many others.
1. Dancing Reminds Us that Our Bodies Are a Gift
First, dancing engages our whole bodies and acknowledges that we are embodied beings.
Our bodies and souls are knit together in a mysterious way that only God understands. We run into trouble when we prioritize our body or soul over the other, and we honor God’s design when we appreciate, attend to, and exercise both body and soul. Bodies are gifts from God, and they are intertwined with our souls in an inseparable way. Living mindfully of the fact that we are embodied beings honors God, our Creator, who chose to make us this way.
All people express thoughts and emotions and communicate with their bodies. When we dance, we are saying that our bodies matter, and it celebrates the goodness of how God made us.
Dancing in the home helps your kids enjoy moving, expressing, celebrating, and communicating with their bodies. Silly or serious, dancing exercises our bodies, which are good gifts from God to be enjoyed (James 1:17).
Dancing reminds your children that they are unique—for no two move alike. It is an opportunity to teach them that they are designed. They are designed by a God who chose to give hands and feet and hips and a body to house their souls, and that that body is a gift to them, just as important a part of them as their brain or heart.
2. Dancing Draws People Together
Second, dancing draws people together. God made us relational beings, and spending time with others does us good. God created us to live in community and gave us the gift of community for our joy (Genesis 1:27; Genesis 2:18). Isolation is not good for us. As people made in God’s image—who is himself a community of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—it is good for us to be with other people (Genesis 2:18).
Whether it’s family or friends, relatives or communities, dancing almost always happens with others. (Dancing in the mirror of your phone, like many TikTok influencers do, is a new thing and quite strange when considering how people have danced in community for centuries).
In fact, most references in the Bible that talk about dancing refer to dancing in community. In the Bible, we read that people danced to celebrate works of God (Exodus 15:19-20; 2 Samuel 6:12-15) and when they do so, they dance together, not alone! Dancing is a wonderful gift that brings people together and can bring your family together. Dancing can be a means of your family enjoying the gift of community God has put in your home.
3. Dancing Expresses Joy
Third and most importantly, dancing can communicate positively about our God. Although people may dance to express grief, most often, we think of dancing as one of the richest expressions of joy. Dancing can express an overflow of joy in the Lord.
The Bible says, “the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy…” (Galatians 5:22 NIV). “Fruit” here means outcome, or result, or effect. It’s used in this Scripture as an analogy. This verse tells us that joy and love are sure signs of the Holy Spirit’s presence. In a similar verse we read that “the kingdom of God is not a matter of what we eat or drink, but of living a life of goodness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit” (Romans 14:17 NLT). Joy is something unique to the Spirit of the Lord. God is a God of joy, and his Spirit brings joy into the lives of others. People filled with God’s Spirit are joyful.
And when our souls are full of joy, our joy often spills out in bodily expression—we shout or sing or dance. In fact, the Bible encourages us to let out all our joy in song and dance (Psalm 149:3).
Although some dancing can express ugly, sinful things, dancing can also be a wonderful way for your family to express their joy in the Lord, their delight over the good things he has done in their lives, and the joy that comes from being people filled with God’s Spirit. A home where happy dances are normative communicates to the world that, in the words of Isaiah, “with joy you draw water from the wells of salvation” (Isaiah 12:3 ESV). You can be dancing people because you are genuinely joy-full people on account of your relationship with Jesus Christ.
How Dancing Might Become a Bad Thing
Now we turn our attention to how dancing may become a not-so-good thing. There are a few ways dancing can turn sinful, and we want to be sure you pursue God-honoring fun, and don’t fall into worldly revelry. Here are a few ways dancing can become a sinful activity.
When You Dance
Ecclesiastes 3:4 says there’s a time for dancing. There’s an occasion for it, where it is appropriate. Conversely, there’s a time when it’s inappropriate.
Dancing is inappropriate when it’s self-exalting. When we dance to seek attention, we are no longer thinking about bringing joy to others or bringing glory to God (1 Corinthians 10:31). If dancing becomes a way for your little boy to show off, or a means of getting attention when friends come over for your little girl, it will fuel pride instead of praise in your kids. The occasion for dancing can become self-exaltation instead of celebrating God or others.
Dancing is appropriate when it is celebrating the Lord or other people. For example, dancing as a family at the end of the day for just fun time is a great time for dancing, or dancing at a friend’s wedding to celebrate their marriage.
So consider talking to your kids about when it’s appropriate to dance (Ecclesiastes 3:4).
How You Dance
Dancing can be, shall we say, yucky. We can move our bodies in ways that tempt others to think lustful thoughts—yikes, we don’t want to do that! First Thessalonians 4:3-5 says, “For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from sexual immorality; that each one of you know how to control his own body in holiness and honor, not in the passion of lust like the Gentiles who do not know God…” (ESV). We can enjoy using our bodies to dance, but we must also do so in a self-controlled thoughtful way, so that our dancing doesn’t look like the sexy, sinful dancing of the world.
The Bible says that the summary of all his law is this: love God and love people (Matthew 22:36-40). If we dance motivated by love for God, we will want to move our bodies in ways we think honor him (Ephesians 5:10). If we dance motivated by love for people, we will thoughtfully consider how we dance, wanting to be sure we are celebrating with others, not scandalizing them.
We want our dancing to reflect the goodness of God and the holiness of God (Romans 12:1-2). Consider setting expectations for your kids on what kinds of moves are acceptable, and what might not be appropriate. Brainstorm as a family fun, silly, good, creative, one-of-a-kind moves that you can use when you want to groove!
Why You Dance
Dancing can be done at the right time in the right way, and still be wrong!
John 4:24 says, “God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth” (ESV). This verse means that God doesn’t just look at what we do with our bodies; he looks at our hearts, and first assesses the attitude of our hearts.
Dancing can be done with the wrong attitude, and so for this danger you will have to just pay attention to your kids’ hearts. If your kids grow to like dancing, you can also train them to pay attention to their own hearts by asking questions like, “Is it a good time to dance?”
You can model dancing with the right attitude—in a spirit of worship—by using dance as a form of celebration. When your kid tells you something great God did for them that day, you can pick them up and twirl them around. When Dad comes home with a raise, you can turn on tunes and all dance around the living room! You can model for your kids worshiping in spirit and truth through dance.
Dance Thoughtfully and Have Fun!
We hope you can see that keeping dance as a God-honoring activity in your home isn’t complicated. Thoughtfully considering when, how, and why you dance can guard you from erring as a family. Not only that, but thinking through when, how, and why you dance with your kids may lead to excellent conversations! May God give you joy as you move a little more in the home with those you love.