Selfless Worship?

"We need to sing fewer songs with the words 'I, me,' and 'my.' Worship isn't about us, it is about our God."

I get a lot of comment cards here at Faith Church. Some are positive, others not so much, but I do read them. One thing I've noticed is that at least 95% of the positive cards have a name attached. On the other hand, less than 25% of the negative comments are signed. Over seven years, I've resorted to becoming a student of handwriting examination, trying to match signed cards to unsigned ones (and sometimes Christmas cards, too). While I pretend to not be bothered by it, I can't help but wonder who it was that didn't like the way I played piano on Sunday, the flip-flop sandals that I wore, or the person I chose to light the Advent candle. Of all the unsigned cards, however, the most prevalent comment, and the one that troubles me the most, is the one above. Generally stated, the question is, "Why do we continually reference ourselves in worship music these days, when the old songs predominantly referenced God and his attributes? Isn't including ourselves a form of idolatry in worship?"

The question has taken many forms over the years, for instance:

• The accusation: "I often wonder if you pay attention to the words we sing and how often you make us say 'I' in worship songs."
  
  
• The back-handed compliment: "Thank you for the great hymns this week. It's so nice to not sing about ourselves for a change."
  
  
• The history lesson: "For hundreds of years it was good enough to sing about God alone."

While none of these statements are offensive to me, and while I don't feel that any of them come from a place of vindictiveness or mean-spiritedness, they are troubling. At best, they come from a poor understanding of what worship is, and how the Bible illustrates it. At worst, these comments are a cover (whether intentional or unintentional) for differences in musical preference and tradition, wrapping our felt needs or wants in a cloak of doctrine. Either way, the premise is false. Moreover, I think we need to talk about it.

This idea, I believe, is founded on two misconceptions.

First, there is a belief that our hymnals primarily contain songs that do not reference the individual in the way that many songs do today. This simply isn't true. Some of the most beloved hymns of this, and previous, generations speak of the relationship between God and the worshiper.

Just as a little unscientific experiment, I walked around the office today and asked some staff members to randomly open our church's old hymnal, Hymns for the Family of God, to any page. They were then to read me the titles of any songs that were on the pages before them. Here is the list, in its entirety:

• I Stand Amazed
• Jesus, Lover of My Soul
• I Will Sing of My Redeemer
• His Name is Wonderful
• He Hideth My Soul
• Peace, Perfect Peace
• Thou Wilt Keep Him in Perfect Peace
• I Cannot Tell
• I Need Thee Every Hour
• Be Thou My Vision

Of the ten songs chosen, seven of them have the word "I" or "Me" in the title. As I compare this to last week's set list, I'm not sure we approached the 70% barrier.

According to Christian Copyright Licensing International, the two most popular traditional Hymns are "How Great Thou Art," and "Amazing Grace." In the first verse of "How Great Thou Art," God is referenced 4 times, and the worshiper is referenced 4 times. In "Amazing Grace," the worshiper is referenced 4 times, while the attributes of God (grace, pursuit, and healing) are referenced 3 times.

This is not to say that all songs reference the individual in the same way, or that there is an equation to figure out the appropriate ratio of "God" mentions to "Me" mentions. Instead, let us acknowledge that the songs of our tradition wonderfully and joyfully represent the worshiper, and with great frequency.

Secondly, when we see examples of verbal worship in scripture, we often see it in the context of a relationship. Consider the Psalms, what Pastor Steve LoVellette likes to call "God's Worship Hymnal." Much of that book of the Bible references the hopes, fears, joys, and requests of the psalmist. If you have three minutes, listen to what Pastor Steve had to say about this matter in reference to Psalm 23, perhaps one of the most memorized passages in scripture:



God is honored and well served by worship in the context of our relationship with him. The example has been set for us!

Even as Christ teaches us to pray, we see the relationship between God and his people:

Our Father, in Heaven
Hallowed be Your Name
Your Kingdom come, Your will be done
On Earth as it is in Heaven
Give us today our daily bread
And forgive us our debts
As we also have forgiven our debtors
And Lead us not into temptation
But deliver us from the evil one
(Matthew 6:9-13, NIV)

The English word "worship," means "to shape worth," or "assess value." How can we assess God's value in our lives if we seek to remove our relationship with Him from the picture?

Pretend, for a second, that you are sitting down to write a love letter to your spouse or significant other. What will it say? Will you merely make a list of your beloved's attributes and accomplishments? To do so would be to merely create their resume or biography, for you have failed to assess the worth of that person and their attributes to your being, and to your soul. Instead, you will likely write how their sense of humor brings joy to your life, how their smile brings comfort when you are sad, and how their presence makes your life more meaningful. Similarly, we cannot worship God as if we are an historian or human resource manager. God's grace, His power, His mercy, His never-ending love, His creation, His calling on our lives... all of these attributes affect us intimately. How unfortunate would it be if we were to worship Our Great God, without claiming that he is ours?

Make no mistake, we are not the objects of worship. Never forget that God will not share his glory with anyone (Isaiah 42). Is there a danger of focusing too much on our needs and our desires and not enough on who God is? No question. Knowing that, should we allow ourselves to be consumed in a toxic form of tribalism, with some of us claiming "Issac Watts" while others are of "Matt Redman?" Is the Gospel under which we live, the unity of the Church, and our irrevocable commitment to each other big enough to bridge the gaps between differences of preference? Absolutely.

Let us worship using both the old and the new with joy and thanksgiving, in unity, and love for one another, never forgetting what He has done for us.