A while back, I was in my car listening to a playlist of songs our band was going to play in church that Sunday. As I drove down the road, I found myself becoming increasingly annoyed by the songs I was preparing to play. I would get about halfway through the song and would skip to the next song. I would get halfway through that song and would hit skip again. Eventually, I found myself becoming less annoyed and more bothered.
I couldn’t quite put my finger on why these songs were bothering me so much. It wasn’t necessarily the style. As a musician, much of modern worship music feels boring and phoned in. It’s the same 4 chords repeated over and over. It’s the same strumming acoustic, same swelling keys, and the same electric with the same reverb and delay. Yet, I’ll admit it does have an appeal to it. That’s why it’s so popular. It’s easy to sing along to. It’s easy to follow. And, for the songwriter, it’s really easy to write. Still, while it is at times boring, it wasn’t necessarily bothering.
As the playlist continued to unfold, it started to click. It was the lyrics. But what was it about the lyrics that felt disturbing? After all, they were worship songs. The lyrics pour through the speakers, “Great is Your faithfulness”. How could I be bothered by that? Then, just a few lines later, I hear, “You've never failed me yet.”
There it was. It all started to make sense. Song after song was riddled with selfishness and individualism. Sure, it was a song of “praise” to God, but they were all completely centered on what He has done for me or what He was going to give me.
Am I saying it’s wrong to thank God for what he’s done for me? No, of course not! There is definitely room for that. We even see that in Scripture. The problem is that we’ve made that the whole diet. A scoop of ice cream is not bad, but a bowl of ice cream for breakfast, lunch, and dinner is. What can be enjoyed in moderation becomes sickening when consumed in excess. What brings joy as an occasional treat brings sickness and disease as a steady diet.
More and more, I’ve realized that modern worship music is actually an indictment of western Christianity.
So, what is the actual indictment here? Is it simply that our music is cheap and shallow? Is it that our songs are riddled with mixed and lazy metaphors? No. It’s much deeper than that. I believe the true indictment here is that it is another sign that we have become so much like the world.
How does this make western Christianity like the world? It’s individualism and consumerism. Our churches have become less of a place to gather, worship, and serve others and more of a place to show up, be entertained, and served. Churches are chosen more for what they offer than for their community. The quality of production is more important than the quality of the theology it contains. And, it’s fleshing itself out through our music as well.
Our worship has revealed what is most important to us, and it’s not good. What is most important to us is ourselves. It’s not praise because of who God is. It’s praise because of what he gives me. It’s not so much about the truly good things that he has done but more about him giving me the things that I want.
In contrast, I am often drawn to Revelation 4 where John describes seeing the creatures crying out day and night, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty, who was, and is, and is to come.” And, the elders cry out, “You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will, they were created and have their being.”
I believe as image-bearers, we should be striving to create music and production with excellence, beauty, and purpose. Our purpose, as worshipers, is not just to worship him for what he has done. Rather, we are to worship him for who he is.
Simply put, if we aren’t content to worship him simply because he is God, then we are not truly worshiping God. We are worshiping a divine vending machine.
