“One of the house church leaders actually asked me, ‘Do you know what prison is for us? It is how we get our theological education. Prison in China is for us like seminary is for training church leaders in your country.’” (From The Insanity of God by Nik Ripken)
Sometimes I wonder how persecuted Christians would feel about some of the stuff we non-persecuted folks say and sing and do.
This song came on the radio:
So I throw up my hands
And praise You again and again
‘Cause all that I have is a hallelujah
And I know it’s not much
But I’ve nothing else fit for a King
Except for a heart singing hallelujah
I’ve got one response
I’ve got just one move
With my arms stretched wide
I will worship You
I wondered what my brothers and sisters around the world would think about this song when they’ve lost jobs and gone to prison and faced threats and harassment and sometimes even death because they’ve chosen to follow Jesus. I don’t know if they would agree that all we can give to our King is our outstretched arms and singing voices.
I want to be careful in sharing my thoughts on this song. There is indeed nothing we can offer God to repay Him for our salvation. It’s a gift that cost Him everything and us nothing, and our response should be a profound and reverent sense of gratitude and awe. We are unworthy. And in moments when we grasp the depth and width of that gift, worship should be spontaneous. Which is, I assume, what this song reflects and why it resonates with so many people.
But my concern is with the narrow definition of worship that’s implied. And it’s not just this song: guys who lead the singing in our churches are called “worship” pastors, and the woman on Christian radio demands “WORSHIP NOW” and then plays a song. I wonder when it happened in our Christian culture that we began to equate worship with music.
We can worship through music, of course – it’s one of my favorite things to do. But when I hear a song on repeat that tells me that the best I can offer the king of the universe is a hallelujah and outstretched hands and singing loudly (after all, you’ve got a lion inside of those lungs!), I ask myself if we’re missing something. Is this all that worship is?
Jesus told his followers that they would be hated because of him and that obeying him may mean that they leave their families and homes. He said they would be ostracized and insulted and that anyone who wants to follow him must deny himself, pick up his cross, and follow him.
Following Jesus means our lives mirror his. And that means willingly embracing – even walking into – unselfishness, humiliation, sacrifice, and pain. Yes, resurrection is coming – that’s our daily hope – but may we never fail to remember that the cost of following Jesus is so much more than singing and lifting our hands.
When we tell ourselves that worship looks only like singing, then it’s easy to ignore that God made it clear that worship looks like:
Choosing integrity over a job promotion
Fighting for sexual purity
Being generous until it hurts
Showing kindness to a nasty person
Finally forgiving
Sacrificing free time to volunteer
Caring for someone who will never reciprocate
Texting a neighbor
Doing a job to the best of our ability
Creating beautiful things: books, gardens, spreadsheets, cakes…and songs, of course
Starting a Bible study
Opening a home to visitors
Putting down the phone or changing the channel
Learning a language in order to make a friend
Risking humiliation to have a spiritual conversation
Intentionally embracing the messiness of community
Uprooting for a workplace, neighborhood, or country that needs the gospel
Praying for someone right on the spot
Every day, every decision, every action, gives us a chance to worship God. Music is a powerful tool for reminding us who we are living for, why we chose Him, and why He’s worth it. But our response to the King who gave us everything should never just be a song; it should be a willingness to lay down our lives. Just ask the Christians in China.
Joe
Thought provoking, convicting, and challenging. Thank you for sharing your gift of expression through writing.
Sebastian
Yes, thank you Amy! You’ve articulated the uneasiness I sometimes feel around Western worship culture. The songs we sing are so… radical and devoted, I guess; but they are almost too easy and convenient to sing (considering their meaning and implications). You just sing it and well that’s it, you grab your coffee, chat a little and then relax at home.
Thanks for expanding our understanding of worship. Worship that’s truly sacrificial is much more powerful. It reminds me of David who once said that he won’t sacrifice sth that didn’t cost him something: “I will not sacrifice to the Lord my God burnt offerings that cost me nothing.’ So David bought the threshing floor and the oxen and paid fifty shekels of silver for them.” (2 Sam 24:24)