Is dancing wrong?

Many Christians, do not feel that dancing is proper. Although the Bible does not give specific instructions on dancing, we find examples of when dancing was appropriate and when it was not. 

An example of inappropriate dancing occurred when Moses went up to the mountain to talk to God (Exodus 32:6, 19-25). While Moses was away the Israelites built an idol to worship. In the process of the idol worship, they began to dance. Their actions ended up in “revelry” (vs. 6) or “out of control” behavior (vs. 25). In this case, dancing led to very sinful activity. 

However, in Exodus 15:20, Miriam, Moses’ sister, danced in order to celebrate the victory that God’s power had brought at the Red Sea. In 2 Samuel 6:12-16, David “danced before the Lord” in order to celebrate the return of the Ark of the Covenant to Jerusalem. Every instance of dancing in the Bible that is not considered sinful was done in worship or praise to God. 

Christian groups that prohibit dancing believe that any dancing that draws attention to oneself or one’s body is sinful since our bodies belong to God and are the temple of the holy spirit (1 Corinthians 6:19 20). These groups also believe that dancing, especially dancing where men touch women (1 Corinthians 7:1-3), can ignite passions and can lead to lust, which is a sin. 

Is it, then, all right for a Christian to go to a party and dance? We believe it is providing the Christian is careful not to turn off his Christianity by denying its core values in order to have “a good time.” We believe that as Christians we have a responsibility to ourselves and to those around us to follow as closely as we can in the footsteps of our Master Jesus. We need to ask ourselves if we would do this action if Jesus were in our midst? Any dancing that stirs up sinful desires in us or in others is to be avoided. As Christians we are walking letters, read by everyone (2 Corinthians 3:2-3). Those around us should be able to tell that we are Christians by our actions and conduct. 

To learn more about living as a Christian listen to, “Am I Failing as a Christian?”