Thursday, April 14, 2011

Just Words

Have you ever sat back in church, during Praise and Worship and wondered about the songs being sung. I have. At times I just quiet myself and think about what I am singing. The other night I did this, and began wondering why there is a disconnect between the words that we sing and the lives that we live. Let me put it this way: What if we really meant the words that we sang? I think the answer is that our lives would be much different than what we live out on a daily basis.

Truth is, there is no meaning behind the words that we sing (because we fail to implement those words in our daily lives). Therefore they are just as useless as the songs sung at a Justin Beiber or John Mayer concert. I find (with myself) if I am not careful, I began to recite the words simply to sing. Where is the willingness to truly allow God to transform us? After all we sing about it every Sunday.

It is important to note that praise and worship have been wrongly defined and categorized as merely singing. Yes this is one form. However the continual recognition and yielding to the Holy Spirit is the worship we should strive for (John 4:23). This affects every area of our life as our focus is to glorify God in every situation that we encounter. It goes beyond the superficial, emotion tugging lyrics sung for 30 minutes on a Sunday morning and ushers us in to the presence of Christ.

For example, there are songs that talk of how we will totally abandon ourselves for the cause of Christ...yet the most radical abandonment that we have to offer is a short term missions trip every other year. We sing of His holiness....however outside of the church building we make light of God's true power and grace. We sing that we want to dwell in His glory...although if He did show up in the ways that we expect Him to, then we would be left radically changed, which is scary for most of us.

What if Christ truly became our Everything? The implications of abandoning ourselves, leaving all that is comfortable, and giving our lives for the cause of Christ hasen't even begun to resonate within our culture. Our society is one of self sufficiency, comfort, and finding ways of being served. Yet we have no problem singing the song "Be my Everything" because that is all it has become to us, just another song...just more words. Sadly, the culture around us has permeated the church. A concert style worship is now more applauded and recommended by "experts" than a lifestyle that glorifies God.

"Worship" now drowns out the Spirit of God. It is more of a gig than anything else. Churches spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on lights, sound equipment, and new instruments, as if this will move or have any impression the Spirit of the Almighty God. The only impression left is a sense of awe among men, nothing else. I can say that beyond a shadow of a doubt that God is not impressed with our lights and buildings. The only thing he cares about is the worship coming from our own lives. For many Western Churches time limits are placed and transitions between songs are made, so that the worship service will have a a beautiful effect for for the listener and will not run too long. The prophet Isaiah spoke against Israel concerning this very topic. In Isaiah 29:13 we are told,

"The Lord says: 'These people come near to me with their mouth and honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. Their worship of me is based on merely human rules they have been taught."

We sing as though we are at a recital, not as if there is any urgency to know God for who He really is. Our generation is content with mere lip service and fake spiritual highs. If we truly want to worship God, maybe less focus should put on the singing portion and we should evaluate each of our lives. True worship is obedience to Him. Obedience comes from love. If we love Him, we will keep His commands (John 14:14--If you love me, you will obey what I command.) Moreover in 1 Corinthians 8:3 we are told, "But whoever loves God is known by God." My desire is to be known and to know my God.

What are His commands you ask? To pick up our Cross and follow Him.

The implications of this are more than what we could think. At this point I want you to study for yourself the ramifications of picking up your cross to follow Christ. Perhaps a study of Matthew 10:37-39 would be an excellent starting point. What would your life look like if you start taking the words of Christ in a more serious manner? What are some areas in your life right now that hinder you from taking such steps?

May our lives be more than just words.