Lately, I have been heartbroken over some attitudes and
comments I have witnessed regarding singing to and about God, whether in
worship, at home, or at church-sponsored events. I have prayerfully considered this post and
have struggled over exactly what to write, but I don’t feel like I can continue
to ignore the problems going on among many singing sessions and worship
services. My purpose in writing this is
not to call anyone out or to offend anyone, and many of the points discussed
below are ones I need to apply to my own thinking as well. I must guard my own heart and mind from
things that can creep in unaware.
Singing is one of the many blessings God has given us within
His church and His system of worship.
Singing can be an expression of praise, fear, thanksgiving, comforting,
and longing. Unless there is a physical
or mental hindrance, every person can sing in some way. It is a universal ability, and one that is
calming and refreshing to many people. It
requires no special equipment or training.
More importantly, however, it is
a way that we can show our obedience to God and also, in a small way, begin to
fulfill the Great Commission (by teaching others!). Singing is a way in which we can teach and
admonish one another (Col 3:16 – teaching and admonishing one another in psalms
and hymns and spiritual songs), as well as a way in which we can worship the
Lord (Eph 5:19 – singing with grace in your hearts to God).
It is important for us to remember at all times that our
purpose in singing is twofold: 1. To please and obey God, and 2. To teach and
admonish one another. The purpose for
singing is NOT to entertain ourselves or to make it sound pleasant to our human
ears. Often this is a “side benefit,”
but it is not our goal or intention.
Scripture tells us that we should sing with the spirit and
sing with the understanding (1 Cor 14:15).
One thing we should keep in mind is how the Spirit operates. The Spirit is always orderly and intentional
about the way it works. There is nothing
chaotic or haphazard about works of the Spirit, and nothing that is done
without purpose. It should be no
different for us. When we are told to
“let all things be done decently and in order,” that is not simply a suggestion
or “good idea.” It is how we are
expected to behave. The same applies to
our worship (and, therefore, our singing).
If we are to sing with the Spirit, we need to make sure that we are
keeping things orderly and purposeful.
This means that we should be focused and intentional not only about the
words we sing, but also the manner in which we sing. While singing is a personal expression to the
Lord, there is no place for silliness or disrespect ANY time we are singing to
or about God. We need to be careful to
keep ourselves in a reverent state of mind that honors God, no matter the
situation or timing for singing to Him.
There may be times when we are teaching or singing with younger children
that we sing songs that have simpler messages or rhyming, repetition, etc., but
we need to still remember our purpose in this form of worship. Our purpose is not to entertain, perform, or
sound “beautiful” to one another. God
is the one to Whom we are singing, and He furnished us with the hearts in which
we are to make melody. He is pleased
when our singing comes from a pure and sincere heart. Our purpose is also to be intentional and
orderly. Therefore, songs with
complicated hand motions/movements, conflicting melodies that are difficult to
separate from one another, or rhythms that consistently increase in speed,
volume, or goofiness should not be part of our worship. Even when children are younger, we need to be
teaching them a proper respect for God and worship. What we teach them now is what they will do
and think and believe later. If we teach
them it is okay to be irreverent and disrespectful at a young age, they will
have difficulty changing that mindset when they become Christians. There is certainly no problem with singing
songs about God that are more kid-friendly and teach simple stories and
concepts, but we should never allow singing to God to become disorganized or
rambunctious and “silly.”
That being said, we can learn a lot from how children
sing! My two sing loudly. And with gusto. And sometimes off-key. And loudly.
And with their whole hearts. And
loudly. And cheerfully. And loudly.
They are totally unconcerned with how “good” they sing or what others
think. While they can sometimes get TOO
loud and we have to remind them of the purpose of singing (not to “perform) and
to tone it down some so that others can hear the songleader, I am encouraged by
their desire to sing praises to God.
Countless members of our congregation have come to us to thank us for
teaching our children songs and allowing them to “bless” the congregation with
their singing. Sometimes I have to be
careful that I do not shrink from their “joyful noise” or scold them for
singing out so much, and sometimes I have to remind myself that I should have
that same passion for singing praise to God.
I should worry less about how I sound to others and more about how I
sound to God, who hears my heart more than my voice.
Another thing to consider is the part of the verse that
relates to singing with the “understanding.”
In order to understand something, we must be able to decipher the words
involved as well as their meanings. To
do this, we must be able to HEAR what is being sung and to separate one word
from another in order to comprehend the overall message. Therefore, we need to make sure that the
songs we are singing are: 1) in line
with scriptural teachings and doctrine, and 2) able to be understood “in spite
of” the music/melody attached to the words.
In terms of the first part, we should think about the words we are
singing, as each word we sing has the potential to admonish/teach any other
person in the assembly (or wherever we are singing to and about God). Also, if we are singing directly TO God, we
want to make sure we are not lying to Him.
If we sing words to Him, we need to make sure that they come from our
heart and are truthful. Just “going
through the motions” of singing is not being in full accordance with His will
and expectations. Secondly, we need to
make sure that the melody/rhythm/etc. is not distracting us or others from
understanding the words and meaning behind the verses. If we have 3 or 4 completely different parts
being sung at once (with different words), we could easily be confusing someone
or not effectively teaching them about God.
We need to be careful!
Finally, we need to be aware of God’s desire for ALL to sing
from the heart. His concern is not with
tempo, rhythm, perfect pitch, etc. Too
often we are so concerned about how the song sounds to US that we are
distracted from singing with our hearts wholly to God. If I am focused completely on the tempo or
notes, I cannot be fully focused on what the words mean or how they apply to my
life. Likewise, if I am concentrating on
how others sound, I am not able to teach them as effectively through my own
singing or to be taught by theirs! The
same is true with a particular song.
Often, we all get caught up in how a song sounds more so than what it
means. We may choose a song “because it
sounds pretty,” but it may not even have much teaching or admonishing (or even
praise!). All too often I hear teenagers
(and many adults!) talk about how beautiful a song’s melody is or how they want
to sing it “fast” or “in perfect pitch,” but not even mention the words
involved in the song. Remember that the melodies, words, and rhythm are
“manmade,” unlike the commandments inspired of God. While
it is wonderful to hear songs that sound beautiful to US, it should not be a primary
consideration in what we choose to sing to and about God. Also, we want to make sure that the songs we
sing are, indeed, scriptural and beneficial for the teaching and admonition of
others. A song that teaches nothing
about God or expresses no praise, admiration of, or pleading to God likely has no
business being sung in our collective assembly.
Even if it is a “traditional” hymn, if it does not meet the
qualifications set forth in God’s word for worship, we must be careful about
including it. In being intentional with
singing, we need to select the songs we sing with care and attention. When we take the focus off of God and put it
on ourselves and how we sound, we are no longer worshiping in accordance with
His will. We are no longer humbling
ourselves before Him, but we are now allowing pride to interfere with our
purity of worship.
In conclusion, we need to make sure that we keep “self” out
of our worship as much as possible.
Instead, we need to focus on our Creator and Savior and the blessings He
bestows on us each and every day. Psalm
68:19 - Blessed be the Lord, who daily loads us with benefits!!! When
we come before Him in song, we are humbling ourselves before Him, in awe and
wonder at all He does. Let us not diminish
from our efforts to praise Him by focusing on such insignificant things.
