THE SINGING THEOLOGIANS

It's almost an axiom. Christians build their spiritual & theological foundation more on what they sing in church & the Christian music they listen to, than on their reading of the Bible or listening their pastor’s preaching.

They are learning & forming theology as they sing, hence the title of this blog.

I have written in the past about the issue of the volume of music in church. Maybe that was more about my age than anything else. But a greater concern is the content. (I would rather go deaf singing theologically sound worship choruses than empty ones. But I hope that there would be other options.)

The bottom line is that lyrics are important.

A couple nights ago my wife & I were singing together an old hymn called “I’ll Go Where You Want me to Go” by Mary Brown & Charles Prior. I was struck by the rich variety of themes the hymn contains in just 3 verses & a repeated chorus.

It’s a little lengthy, but take a minute to skim the lyrics:

It may not be on the mountain’s height, or over the stormy sea;
It may not be at the battle’s front my Lord will have need of me;
But if by a still, small voice He calls to paths I do not know,
I’ll answer, dear Lord, with my hand in Yours,
I’ll go where You want me to go.

Refrain

I’ll go where You want me to go, dear Lord,
O’er mountain, or plain, or sea;
I’ll say what You want me to say, dear Lord,
I’ll be what You want me to be.

Perhaps today there are loving words which Jesus would have me speak;
There may be now, in the paths of sin, some wand’rer whom I should seek.
O Savior, if You will be my Guide, though dark and rugged the way,
My voice shall echo the message sweet,
I’ll say what You want me to say.

Refrain

There’s surely somewhere a lowly place in earth’s harvest fields so wide,
Where I may labor through life’s short day for Jesus, the Crucified.
So, trusting my all unto Your care, I know You always love me!
I’ll do Your will with a heart sincere,
I’ll be what You want me to be.

Refrain

Can you see some important theological themes here?

Of course, there’s the Great Commission. But there is also the need for a personal commitment, no matter what the cost, to do one’s part in its fulfillment. And that commitment is not based on one’s plans or desires or even best intentions, but on God’s sovereign plan for them.

You might also notice both verbal & lifestyle witness. This relates to the 2 primary works of the Spirit in the disciple’s life – a Christ-like life & anointed testimony.

Another theme here is a personal experience of God’s love for us as an individual. It’s not just theoretical or for others. This depth of relationship motivates us to persevere in serving Him no matter what the personal cost.

The bottom line for me is: people in our churches are learning something when they sing & worship the Lord. What are they learning? What kind of foundation are they building?

ARROGANCE

One of the things that people claim to dislike in political candidates is something they call “arrogance.” I agree that arrogance is by its nature an irritating thing.

But my question is, what do people mean when they use the word? I suspect that everyone has his own definition (we are after all living in the day of “democratized truth”).

I looked online at the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, which defines arrogance as “an insulting way of thinking or behaving that comes from believing that you are better, smarter, or more important than other people” or “an attitude of superiority manifested in an overbearing manner or in presumptious claims or assumptions.”

It appears that people like to use the word without much thought, & limit it to people or (in the political realm) candidates whom they dislike. I also suspect that a lot of people resort to their own subjective feelings as the basis of labeling one person as arrogant & another as not.

I believe that people with experience & expertise are easily perceived as arrogant by others without the same expertise or experience. Hence, someone who has effective skills or abilities gained thru perseverance & long trial & error experience, & who has succeeded where others have failed can easily be seen by less successful or less skilled people as an arrogant person.

Arrogance in politics is not personality or even the lack of people skills that measure up to our standards. It is, to paraphrase Merriam-Webster, the attitude & behavior of someone who considers herself better & smarter than others. It is the self-perception that she can bully or coddle her way into elected office simply because she feels entitled to it.

Arrogant people, by this definition, don’t deserve my vote.

GOD’S LOVE LETTER TO ME

Have you ever heard someone say that the Bible is God’s “love letter” to you?

I’m going to take that idea that we sometimes hear from the pulpit or in Christian conversation, & take a look at it from a different angle. Here goes…

Westerners tend to have a very ego-centric view of the world. We perceive, understand, & interpret information & situations based on how they affect us as individuals. We say things such as, “I want to do that again because I was able to (you fill in the blank).” Nothing necessarily wrong with that, but can you see how “Good Old Number 1” is the measure of how we value or understand something?

Whether we want to admit it or not, this way of seeing things influences how we read & understand the Bible.

With just a few exceptions, the books of the Bible were written to groups of people rather than individuals. The Old Testament books were written to a nation – the nation of Israel. The Gospels, probably with the exception of Luke, were written to groups of people. Ditto for most of the rest of the New Testament except for the Pastor Epistles & Philemon. 

Is the Bible God's love letter to me? In a very general sense we could say that it is. 

But it’s more accurate to say that it is God’s promise to the world, & it is especially experienced by those who believe it. When we apply it beyond our own individual world & allow it to shape how we relate to God & to others, we will see it as more than just a “love letter to me.”

I KNOW WHAT YOU SAID, BUT WHAT DID YOU MEAN?

I’ve never read “1984” but I understand that a big part of its appeal has to do with how words & phrases with a certain meaning or implication are used to mean something entirely different. We’re living with that today. For example, the "Affordable Care Act" actually does the opposite of what its name implies.

But, let’s bring things down to a more personal level. If we are to have a civil society, we must be able to communicate. (On a side note, you can see that one of the first things Satan did to orchestrate the fall of man was to disrupt clear communications between God & Adam & Eve. Genesis 3:1 says, Now the serpent was more crafty than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said to the woman, “Indeed, has God said, ‘You shall not eat from any tree of the garden’?” Is it possible that there is a spiritual element to what we see happening in our society related to what some have called “doublespeak”?)

My hope is that each person reading this has had the wonderful experience of having someone say to you, “I love you.” Additionally, I hope that the person actually meant it & understood what it means to love someone. You see, the sentence “I love you” can mean a lot of things to a lot of people; this unfortunately is especially true about the one who has just said it & the one who just heard it.

Without going into all the various self-centered meanings that might be behind such a declaration of affection, let’s just look at how I have come to understand the meaning of love during my nearly 44 years of walking with Christ.

First, love does not focus on the feelings of the one who claims to love someone. In fact, while romantic love does involve emotions, emotions tend to play a very small part of love because they are so fickle & changeable. The emotions that need to be prioritized are those of the one who is loved, not the one who claims to love.

Second, love does not prioritize the benefits to the one who says “I love you.” Instead, it seeks the greatest ultimate good of its object, even if that means personal sacrifice for the one who loves another. It’s not about “what you do for me,” but how my love for you can bring about the best for you.

Third, love grows in its reflection of how God describes it in such passages as I Corinthians 13 & in how it is reflected in the life of Jesus.

So, the next time you hear someone say “I love you,” ask yourself what they mean. Don’t get 1984ed.