Most
parents go through several phases of correcting inappropriate language their
children have picked up somewhere--never from home, of course.
A former
pastor of mine, trying to reframe his four-year old daughter's undesirable
vocabulary, admonished her that whenever she used the word "God,"
she'd better be ready to pray…or else.
One day she
was riding with him in the car, and he again heard her exclaim, "O,
God!"
Immediately
catching his accusing glance out of the corner of her eye, she quickly bowed
her head, closed her eyes and intoned, "Thank you for …," listing
several of her favorite things, followed by "Amen."
He couldn't
help but chuckle at her resourcefulness.
My first
college roommate and I were both raised in devout Southern Baptist homes. As I
look back, we were pretty conservative even for the late 1960s.
At the
Christian-based college we attended there were many students who shared similar
values as ours. There were also a lot of students who either rebelled at their
fundamentalist upbringing and sowed wild oats during that tumultuous era, or
who came from families barely recognizable as Christian.
One day my
roommate and I were having a discussion about the preponderance of swearing on
campus--there was a whole lotta cussin' goin' on.
True to our
conservative upbringing, we believed that having a "dirty mouth,"
while undesirable, was not as bad as swearing, i.e., using God's (or Jesus')
name as an expletive.
Since
childhood, we'd been admonished that taking God's name in vain was a "thou
shalt not" from The Ten Commandments. In other words, don't do it…or else.
Part of our
discussion that day centered around the meaning of the phrase "taking
God's name in vain." My roommate said that her dad once told her it meant
to use God's name "insincerely." That definition has stuck with me
through the years.
Not that
every word that has ever poured from my lips has exactly been worthy of
broadcasting, but generally I am not prone to using salty language (probably
due to lack of usage during my formative years) .
The list of
society's "bad" words is still evolving, but those words don't come
to my mind very often, even when I'm angry or upset.
However
(lest I appear annoyingly pious), according to my roommate's definition, I am
definitely guilty of taking God's name in vain. This sometimes happens during
worship, most often when I am singing.
Now, as a
musician who has been "churched" all my life, I could probably be a
successful contestant if there were ever a church music version of the old TV
game show, Don't Forget the Lyrics.
I can sing
verse after verse of dozens of hymns and gospel songs, sacred solos and
oratorios, mostly from memory.
The problem
is, it's too easy to sing only notes and words. To sing without engaging voice
with mind and heart. To sing glibly or insincerely. To "take God's name in
vain."
This is not
just a "musician's curse"; it happens to non-musicians, too. In order
to worship authentically, worshippers must focus on God, not just on matching
notes and words correctly.
Author Gary
Thomas (Sacred Pathways) reflects, "It amazes me how casually I
can sing songs of deep, almost heroic commitment. It's as if I think, 'As long
as I'm singing, the words I say don't really matter. God knows it's just a
song.'
While my
mind wanders I promise to bow before the Lord, to proclaim His name, …to go so
far as to die to express my faith. Yet these words may be sung with scarcely
more emotion than I feel when I'm ordering a hamburger."
Singing
words glibly or just going-through-the-motions on Sunday mornings is not
worship at all. Worship, like being Christian, involves much more than just
showing up at church.
Authentic
worshippers can't simply walk into a church building and slide into a pew with
an indifferent attitude toward God: "Hey, I'm here, aren't I? What else
could you possibly want?"
True
worship is akin to active listening vs. passive listening. True worship
requires intentionality and sustained effort--and God is worthy of our true
worship.
Matthew 22
says to "Love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your
soul, and with all your mind." We are to offer our whole selves to God
as an acceptable sacrifice during worship. To do less is to dishonor God.
"You
are worthy, Father, Creator; You are worthy, Savior, Sustainer. You are worthy,
worthy and wonderful; Worthy of worship and praise."*
*from Worthy of Worship, in Celebrating Grace Hymnal
