If You Can’t Worship To It, You Shouldn’t Listen To It!

Have you ever uttered some words, phrases, sayings, etc., and then wondered where they came from? I’m talking about utterances like “okey dokey,” and such like, that until someone else asks the meaning, it passes through the cognizance filter. Somehow, ingrained in our psyche are words and phrases we pick up over the course of our lives that rise to the top and become a part of our more refined thinking. UNTIL…we are called to think about what we are saying. I’m convinced that the lead off title falls into this category.

I have not personally used these words, but I have heard them uttered. The key hinge to the said phraseology is… what is worship? If you mean that there are some songs that are not a good dynamic fit for a church service, then I would agree. I think we have all seen the song that is good while you’re exercising on the bike, yet will not pull people to a worshipful state in a service. However, this “delineation” understanding is based on the notion that there are in fact some good songs that help me out while I’m on the stationary bike! “Delineation” means that there is a time and place for different types of music. Since it is the time for seasonal music, I enjoy the Trans-Siberian Orchestra, but I’m not privy to trying out one of their songs in an evangelistic service.

The alternate to “delineation” is “isolation,” meaning that one should not listen to music that does not create and emote a church service feel. Theologically, this is like seeing truth as a bull’s eye clearly demarked from the rest of the target. What falls inside is truth, and what falls outside is not. And this is where the phrase falls completely apart, because I am convinced a person who utters such words is not really suggesting that the only music appropriate is what you hear in a church service! What of instrumental, easy listening, jazz, classical, and a gazillion other genres and multi-mixed genres. Music, as well as culture, has reached a state of fluidity that appears to me as having a bull’s eye, but it is not a clear target. On the contrary, it is very blurred and indistinctive, progressing its way to the true core.

Are you saying truth can be found in a rock song? ABSOLUTELY. I know…there are those “taken aback by your liberal thinking while being the administrator for an ultra- conservative congregation” (please no personal attacks and stick to addressing the particular content). Are you saying the door of the musical library should be thrown open with no restraints? ABSOLUTELY NOT. The Spirit must guide our course and delineation should be made as to what works in our worship services, as well as what works when we are worshipping God in the celebration of this thing called life. Worship is all-encompassing in the totality of our existence, and requires a balance and moderation both inside and outside the church.

“If you can’t worship to it, you shouldn’t listen to it” is the literature equivalent of “don’t read anything other than the Bible.” That is neither tenable nor forthright…unless, of course, you’re not reading the Bible at all.