Paul of Tarsus (or, depending on which biblical scholar you ask, whoever wrote the canonized epistles to the Ephesian and Colossian churches) instructed first-century Christians to sing praises to the triune God, characterizing worship as a vital element of Jesus-centered living:
"Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another with psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit. Sing and make music from your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ." (Ephesians 5:18-20)
"Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts." (Colossians 3:16, NIV)
Nevertheless, it seems like the only time many U.S.-based Christians sing at all is when they are in church. In your opinion, how much -- if any -- of this can be attributed to cultural notions that worship should only occur on the Lord's Day? Share your thoughts!
I think the mentality goes a little deeper than when worship should occur. For most Christians (in my experience) worship is something that you do; not who you are. The key to what Paul was saying is not to simply “sing songs of Christ” but to “let the message of Christ dwell among you richly” and to “be filled with the Spirit.” This is where I believe worship should arise. Worship is not something you do on Sunday to be filled and prepared for the rest of the week. Worship comes from a place of overflow; the abundance of love you have for God, because you are filled with His Spirit and His Word. Our time of worship should remind us of Giselle from the movie Enchanted (I know this is a stretch but go with me on this one). She was so in love with her prince, that even though they were in two different world she knew he would come and find her. And every time she thought about that love, she couldn’t help but sing. She didn’t do it because she was trying to muster up something or trying to generate feelings of love; it came from a place of overflow. When was the last time we were so filled with God that we spontaneously began to worship? I think our culture has become so focused on doing that we forgot who we were called to BE. If we allow or lives to become worship, “when worship should occur” will no longer be a question.
Hello, Tamisha, thank you for your response!
I agree that Christian worship—and in this case, the act of singing praises to the triune God—is not something we should isolate to one day of the week, and much like Giselle, we should never inhibit our response to the Holy Spirit or deny that place of overflow simply because it is a weeknight and we are not in a sanctuary with our closest brothers and sisters in Christ.
That said, what we do communally on the Lord’s Day is of great importance for what happens every other day of the week. I think taking time out of one’s schedule to be “filled and prepared for the rest of the week” is absolutely essential for inevitably sinful disciples of Jesus to remain focused on what they believe in, despite the fact that a man raising from the dead is consummately unbelievable by worldly standards. I agree that the whole of life itself shoud be an act of perpetual worship, but I have my doubts about Christians who think they can successfully accomplish it without symbolically rich, communally experienced reminders.
This is certainly not to say that you came across as one of those Christians via this comment, but I for one am very passionate about worshippers taking time out of their busy schedules to be in the world and not of it, you know? Our identity as worshippers does not mean much without the actions of worship itself.
I agree, and I think we have the same passions about worship but simply see different parts of the same problem. I too believe that it is imperative for us a believers to come together and worship in order to set a precedence in our week. But I see so many people do that (in my experience) and that’s where it ends for them. They “fill up” on Sunday, but never give out. They never take what they receive in church and take it out into the world; they don’t use what God gives them to impact and take dominion.
Honestly, we could go back and forth about our perspectives of worship as a lifestyle and worshiping in the Body (and both be right in our statements), but what is the solution? How can we bring resolve to your question: Why do we keep from singing? As a worship leader at my church, I have to ask myself the question: What part of the spectrum am I on? Am I the one who values my private worship more than corporate? Do I not take the time to receive the amazing benefits of worshiping with the Body? Or am I on the other side: Worshiping on Sunday but not living up to the actions the rest of the week? I believe there are root causes to why we ignore both (but that would be a lot of typing lol). But I will say this: I believe we have to be rooted and grounded in who God has called us to be. We have to know not only Who we worship but Why we worship. I like when you said, “our identity as worshipers does not mean much without the actions of worship itself,” but our actions without being rooted in our identity are futile.
I love your posts,I can’t impress my heart,your articles take me lots of happy.