Singing loudly and sincerely in worship is one of my favorite things. I developed the love during LOFT on Sunday nights as a student at Calvin and never looked back. Singing is a very emotional experience--the voices of those all around you fill the space with melody and harmony. The sound washes over you. In fact, it's easy to get caught up while singing in worship. And it can be both good and bad.
To be caught up in worship of the Creator is a beautiful thing. To be caught up in singing the words to a catchy, well written song is an entirely different thing. It is the latter that I struggle with.
It's important to think about the lyrics--even to go as far as to periodically stop singing, to listen and evaluate. Do I mean every word that is displayed on the screen? Is this my honest prayer?
Most of the time I mean the things I say. So I find myself stopping, listening. I consider the words coming out of my mouth--do they track? Sometimes yes, sometimes no. If I sang every word I ever saw on the screen during every service I attended, I would be a liar. And I have been a liar...a well meaning liar. Perhaps you have too.
But...it's hard to feel an emotional connection while thinking about intention and meaning. Emotion is part of worship because we are emotional beings. There is value to it. Striking the balance between intention and emotion in worship may be difficult, but I think it is important if we hope to bring glory to and find delight in God through our worship.
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