By
Adam Faughn
A few weeks ago, our family was looking for
a quick devotional idea. It had been a busy evening, but we wanted to have a
family devo. So, we had this idea: we simply asked the kids if there were any
songs they could think of that we sing in worship that they did not understand.
After thinking for a few moments, our son
mentioned the song "Let the Lower Lights be Burning." I think the way
he worded his question was, "what's that all about?" We rehearsed the
lyrics and then talked about how it shares the responsibility we all have of
bringing people to the safe "harbor" of Jesus.
Last Sunday night, we sang that song in
worship. As soon as it showed up on the PowerPoint screen, I had to look over
toward our kids to see if it "clicked" that we had just talked about
this song a few days earlier. Well, they are teenagers, so they did not look
back our way, but I would like to think that it was in their mind. Far more
than that, however, I would like to think that now, when they sing that song,
they understand the beautiful imagery of it and the responsibility it reminds
us that we each have in our service of Jesus.
All this had me thinking: do we think about
what we sing? Do we even understand some of the lyrics that we sing?
Now, to be fair, some songs are more difficult than others lyrically. Some are older and use words (or word pictures) that may seem a bit outdated to us, especially to younger people. Others may have to "force" words a bit to make the lyrics fit within the parameters of a poem. Additionally, since we are dealing with poetry, there are some lyrics that are so image-driven that the message can almost get lost if we are not truly thinking about what we are singing.
It just causes me to wonder: is our mind
truly engaged when we sing, or do we just go through the words with
little-to-no thought? A number of years ago, I had a man who was probably in
his early 50s and had been "in the church" since he was a boy come up
to me and ask me about the song, "Bringing in the Sheaves." He
admitted that he had sung that song his whole life and had no idea what
"sheaves" were, so he did not really know what he had been singing
for all those decades!
I am not suggesting that we have to
"get" every lyric the first time we read it. What I am suggesting is
that we need to think about what we sing. Are there lyrics you have sung for
years and years but do not really know what they mean? Are there some words
that are a bit archaic, and you are not totally sure of how they fit with the
message of the song? If so, don't you think it is time to take a few moments to
consider words that you are offering to God in worship?
From "Night with ebon pinion brooded
o'er the vale" to singing about the "panoply of God," there are
some lyrics that may be confusing to us. It would be a wonderful way to spend a
few moments to truly think through the lyrics of those songs, focus on the
meaning of them, and let them help build your faith once you have a greater
understanding of them.
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