comment post

Recently, I was reading an article from a website that I frequent. The article was titled ‘Undignified’, and was about the lack of celebration in most Sunday morning worship services.

This comment was posted in response to that article:

I am not someone who particularly gets into worship through singing. I don't believe that that's the only act of worship, and I don't really enjoy it too much, and so to be quite honest, a lot of the time it is just half-heartedly humoring the worship band or singing along to pass the time for me. I get really excited about the other ways to worship God (talking about Him, reading the Word, doing things for others, etc.--there are millions). I think it's really unfortunate that the modern church has pigeonholed worship into meaning singing songs on Sunday morning and then not understanding when everyone doesn't operate that way.

Now to this person’s credit, the article was narrow-minded, immature and not at all biblically founded. Frankly, I don’t know why the site published it. But, in my opinion, this person’s comment was just as shallow and just as false.

So I commented:

In response to the last comment…I believe what is truly “unfortunate” is that some people miss the opportunity to join their local church family, as one voice and one heart, in expressing their collective adoration and devotion to God… which, by the way, greatly pleases Him and greatly transforms us…just because they don’t enjoy singing. What has been pigeonholed is your view of “singing songs on Sunday morning”. It isn’t about the music or the melody. And it most certainly isn’t about the physical act of singing a song.

Allow me to tell you about a man at my church. He is a hardworking, blue-collar man who sincerely does not enjoy music of any kind, period. He owns no CDs, he listens solely to talk radio, and he swears he has never sung a single note in his entire life. Yet, on Sunday mornings he joins God’s eternal song of praise. How? Well, he doesn’t utter a sound…but he does wrap his heart around the profound truths of the songs that the rest of us are singing.

And he worships…passionately.

And I believe that blesses God. I know it blesses that man. Compare that to someone who doesn’t “get into” worship through singing, so they instead “half-heartedly humor the worship band” or simply “pass the time”. What do you think most pleases God? Someone who hates singing, yet worships anyway, because he knows that God is worthy of our praise in every moment of every day despite our likes or dislikes? Or someone who selfishly denies God the true praise He is due because they don’t enjoy singing?

Don’t sing…I don’t care. But don’t miss the opportunity to bless the heart of God through collective worship with your local congregation. I agree that a our worship better never be confined to the songs we sing on Sunday mornings, but I would question greatly the worship of anyone who has the opportunity to expresses their praise to their God, yet chooses instead to withhold their worship until they are able to express it in a manner more in line with what pleases them.