Unity in the Body of Christ

I recently had breakfast with a friend. Early in the conversation she told me that when she was younger she had some insecurity about her voice. She didn’t like to sing out because she was self conscious about having others hear her.

At some point in her late teens she was approached by a person (in a Christian setting) who told her that he wanted her to know that God was pleased when she used her voice to sing praises to His name. This man did not know her or have any inkling that she had this insecurity!

Now, she’s in a position to choose the music that others will sing in praise to God. We got into a discussion about hymns and praise music and how, for her, the hymns are not familiar. She attends a church that doesn’t sing them. I, on the other hand, love the hymns. In my church we sing them a lot. We sing choruses as well. When there’s opportunity I’ve noticed that even the twenty-somethings in our church will ask for specific hymns that have touched them over the years.

Does it really matter to God if my friend chooses to praise Him with choruses and I prefer to praise Him in hymns? I have heard that many people were appalled when the organ was invented and first introduced into the church!

What does the Bible say about singing? Well, as I dug into the scriptures I found that we are to sing in praise and thanksgiving to God (Psalm 28:7; Psalm 69:30; 2 Chronicles 5:13). We are to rejoice in song (1 Chronicles 16:42), to use song to witness for God (Deuteronomy 31:19). Songs can actually be our prayers. In 2 Samuel David said he spoke to the Lord in song and in Psalm 42:8 he said at night God’s song was with him as a prayer to the God of his life. In Isaiah 51:3 we learn that we sing when God’s comfort gives us joy. We can celebrate in song (Nehemiah 12:27 and 1 Samuel 18:6) and the Lord will rejoice over us in song (Zephaniah 3:17).

Ephesians 5:18b -20 say, “but be filled with the Spirit, addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with all your heart, giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

This is repeated in Colossians 3:16, “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God.”

My conclusion from all of these verses? When I am singing to the Lord my words need to thank and praise Him. When I am rejoicing, celebrating, witnessing, or even lamenting I may sing to God as a prayer, giving Him glory and honor as I sing. “Psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs” leaves the kind of music pretty wide open.

For years before the Lord saved me from my sin I went to church and sang. I paid no attention to the words. God was not being praised or thanked, I was not comforted, celebrating, rejoicing, or lamenting – even if that’s what the words said. My heart was not in it because my mind wasn’t paying attention.

Let’s use our minds to engage our hearts into real worship of the One who has done more for us than we can ever repay. Sing psalms, hymns, or spiritual songs– doesn’t that cover choruses too? But listen to the words of the songs you sing. Are there more I, me and mines than He, Him, and His’? If there are, leave that one and look for the ones that praise HIM alone – whether it’s a hymn or a chorus!

Whatever music you choose to sing, “sing and make melody to the Lord with all your heart, giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.” Then, give your brothers and sister in Christ the freedom to offer their psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs to the Lord in whatever style engages their hearts and minds.

God is pleased when any of His children use their voices to praise His Holy Name.