Sing Along?

My favorite thing about Sunday is signing. I love standing up the the congregation and lifting praises to God. It is so easy and so uplifting. I come away refreshed and joyful, reminded of everything that I love about Jesus. Music can speak to our souls in some ways that plain words never can. Heartfelt worship is ecstasy.

It can also be a dangerous trap.

We are taught to read our Bible. We are taught about stories of Bible heroes in Sunday school. We are taught to think critically, to analyze and debate. We are taught to study and to learn, to examine our sources to determine if they are accurate, worthwhile, worth listening to.

Yet the thing we learn the most from about church, about life, about God and theology and our place in this world, is songs. Sometimes, when I think I'm getting ready to quote a Bible verse, I have to stop and check myself. I can hum along with the words I'm about to say. What? It's not the Bible I'm quoting, it's a song.

Songs get stuck in our heads. We remember them well and sing them often. They shape a lot of how we think, without our ever knowing it. Yet we hardly think about them when we're standing up in our pews, singing at the top of our lungs. We don't pay a lot of attention to what the words mean, what were really saying, what is coming out of our mouths and flowing through our minds. We just sing along.

Should we? Sometimes, I stop halfway through a verse, snap my mouth shut, and hum. It catches me there in the middle of the worship service. Is this something God actually wants to hear? Is this something I truly believe?

Some songs are great, they inspire us and help us see truth through their poetry. Others seem good on the surface, but when you look at the theology and message of the song, you realize there is something wrong. I have found several songs where I now simply hum a particular line, because I can't agree with what it says.

Take this example. "Like a rose, trampled on the ground/ You took the fall, and thought of me above all."

This song is all about God, about how he is great and above all and more important than everything else. We're worshiping, lifting up our praises. And then, suddenly, buried in the last line is something that turns to self, selfishness, and away from God. Suddenly, the song is all about me and not about the One I worship. I didn't even notice it myself, but then someone pointed out to me how spectacularly upside-down the end of the song is.

So now I hum or sing, "You took the fall. So I praise You above all." This keeps my focus on God, on Jesus, on how what He did was great. Because when I worship, it's not supposed to be about me.

We need to be careful, even in church, when we just sing along. Songs carry a potent message. They are powerful, and we need to make sure that the power of music does not master us, does not carry us to a place we shouldn't go. We need to make sure that our music serves God in all ways. Consider the lyrics before they exit your mouth. Make your singing purposeful. Praise God with your lips, and don't give in to false doctrine just because it carries a catchy tune.