I live with the fallacy that I should only do things where I excel. In fact, I'd say I'm the poster-boy for this! If I can't figure it out in 15 minutes, I give up. But if it comes easily, I'll stay at it forever!
This is not good for me. Not for my development anyway.
And I dare say, it may not be good for you either. (Forgive me for being so blunt?)
Where is all of this coming from, and what it has to do with worship, with Christian living?
Oh, I am SO glad you asked!
I was thinking about the people who tell me they don't sing in worship because they aren't good singers. And then I got to thinking about whether or not they would use that rationale with other parts of the gathering.
I'm not good at giving, so I'm just going to keep my tithe.
I'm not good at praying, so I'll just sit quietly.
I'm not good at listening, so I'll just play a game on my phone during the sermon.
I can't imagine those excuses would be nearly as embraced by our church-goers as, "I'm not good at singing, so I just listen."
After all, we are commanded in scripture to give, to pray, to listen, but none of those as often as to sing!
Friend, we need your voice. We need you. So if you aren't good at singing, sing anyway!
Come, let us sing for joy to the Lord;
let us shout aloud to the Rock of our salvation.
Let us come before him with thanksgiving
and extol him with music and song.
--Psalm 95:1-2
I think part of this comes from a culture that sees worship as a performance. When my husband was young, he and a friend were pulled from the class choir and told to sit down because "they sounded like frogs." But God's word says "Make a joyful noise." Just like we need to look at the world with God's eyes, it's important that we try to listen with His ears. To Him, even the frogs sound beautiful!
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely, Tricia. And I have a special dark spot in my heart for choir/music teachers like Ian had. Argh!
DeleteI find the sound of frogs beautiful too, joining the cacophony of praise that God built into creation!
I agree! Worship is such a vital part of our spiritual lives! As Christians, we are to be BOLD, different, set apart! Worship, singing praises, in particular, prepares us to receive God's word. If you are a runner, you would never run a marathon without stretching in preparation. That's how I feel about singing...it's what prepares me to hear God's voice!
ReplyDeleteThanks for reading, Kelley!
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