Articles
Worship vs. Amusement
Benjamin Franklin, not “the” Benjamin Franklin but a pioneer preacher of the 19th century, wrote this about worship innovations in his day:
“The choir in a church is composed of artistic performers, who sing for the church; sing difficult pieces that the masses cannot sing, for music and musical display, to attract, entertain and gratify the people – to charm them with music. These are professional singers, chosen without any regard to their piety, and frequently without any regard to their moral character. They sing to show how they can sing, amuse and entertain” (Book of Gems, 230, emphasis BF). If old Ben Franklin was troubled by the corruption of worship in his day, he would spin in his grave if he could see what is happening today.
In a sermon last week one of our members displayed pictures of some modern “worship”: a full-blown rock concert with glitzy lighting, high tech instrumentation (guitars, drums, synthesizers, etc.), booming amplification and an audience on its feet, dancing and swaying to the musical rhythms and clapping and cheering the performers. Proponents would defend it with statements like, “Music styles change, and we have to change with them in order to attract people,” or, “So long as I am glorifying God, the musical genre doesn’t matter. All that matters is praising God from our hearts.” Or even, “It sure beats what you offer to God: lifeless, off-key, old fashioned four-part harmony that sounds like a flock of cawing crows.”
Consider some differences between worship and amusement.
First, secular music has its place – provided its content is not inherently ungodly. I personally enjoy the varieties of instruments, harmonies and even the messaging of some songs. The positive effect of such music on humans is historic and universal. We are emotionally moved – comforted, inspired, nostalgic, patriotic, reflective, etc. – by either purely instrumental compositions or a combination of lyric and sound.
However, not everything in the secular realm is authorized or suitable for worship to God. One of the basic tests of reverence is whether we are content to worship the way God stipulates or whether we insist on offering to God that which pleases us. It must be admitted that, based on sheer emotion, there are other things in life that may excite or rouse us more than worship. For example, when the Corinthians incorporated their enjoyable social meals into the Lord’s supper and in the process segregated themselves from the poor, Paul issued a stinging rebuke: “What! Do you not have houses to eat and drink in? Or do you despise the church of God and shame those who have nothing? What shall I say to you? Shall I praise you in this? I do not praise you … But if anyone is hungry, let him eat at home, lest you come together for judgment” (1 Cor 11:22, 34).
The purpose of corporate worship is not to titillate, amuse our passions or gratify our carnal impulses; the purpose of worship is to engage on the level of thought with our Creator. At the same time we teach, inspire and comfort each other as we worship God together. This is very unlike the feeling of a come-from-behind victory by our team in the final seconds, or Journey belting out “Faithfully,” or gazing at the stark, jagged peaks of the Tetons. No, worship is not passionless, but it differs from the various types of ecstasy that we might experience in other contexts. We err when we wish to import these other feelings into worship and thereby corrupt its deeper meaning.
Secondly, it is true that music styles change. Modern four-part harmony is quite different from the Medieval chant. Personally, I find many of the modern hymns difficult to sing, and the musicality sometimes detracts from the meaning of the words. But the issue here is not one of musical taste; it is whether one is offering worship to God within the parameters that He has stipulated or whether we have transgressed those boundaries (which is one definition of sin – 2 Jn 9).
Here is what God has stipulated in reference to music: “Be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord, giving thanks always for all things …” (Eph 5:18-20); “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him” (Col 3:16-17).
A cursory reading shows that the emphasis lies on words springing from the heart, “making melody” by genuine expressions of thanksgiving, hope, praise and anything else legitimately arising from our relationship with God. The musical style is not mandated, but the use of mechanical instruments is prohibited both by omission and by consideration of the core objective of each heart reverently communing with and vocally expressing itself to God. And a concert atmosphere of gyration and dancing can hardly be described as “decently and in order” (1 Cor 14:40).
Finally, all of us have undoubtedly sat through some pretty dismal hymn worship. Maybe it was an older group which lacked the energy and vocal control to sing well. Perhaps the leader knew little about the mechanics of music. And truthfully, much bad singing is due to an overall lack of enthusiasm in the congregation. Either they don’t care, they haven’t developed the proper appreciation for worship or they are embarrassed by their lack of musical prowess. At any rate, it is a serious matter to offer to God the “blind, stolen, the lame and the sick,” and when we do He has every right to ask, “Should I accept this from your hand?” (Mal 1:7-8, 12-14).
We must avoid the trap of thinking that the value of our worship is defined by what sounds good to our musical ear. Some of the most robust and inspiring singing I’ve ever heard was some years ago in Mexico as the women and children sang their hearts out – off-key and disharmoniously. I’ve also heard an elderly brother’s shaky voice singing from his nursing home bed and thought how it must have pleased God to hear it. Let us avoid the modern model of “worship,” for much of it is nothing more than self-centered entertainment. True worship is a sublime, humbling opportunity to commune in spirit with God in simple, unadorned adoration.
