Subtly misguiding words

There are some words we really rely on to guide us in life. It's probably different for different people. It maybe for you that the word of your father is what you look to and remember. For others it maybe a mother or grand parents. Yet others who don't have a supportive family may look to a hero they don't know personally, who is important to them; or even a good mate they trust.

If you're a Christian, the Bible is probably a huge foundation on which you rely. It literally has 'words of life'. I'm of that ilk, as you can gather by the nature of this blog.

When Christians get together, there's often music and singing. It's a bit more modern than it used to be, and many people identify with the music more than the old hymns because whilst the old hymns had some great words, many found them a bit of a drudge.

I've come to a place where I value some of the hymns more than I used to. Why? Because I love old music? Maybe I'm hooked on pipe organs? No. It's the words. I'm finding that some of the modern songs have words that just don't cut it. They are either about me instead of God, or they may be mostly right, but have something not quite right.

This post has been sitting in the back of my mind for some time, but there was a trigger this morning. It was a Hillsong song. It said how Jesus once prepared for burial was wept over and his grave clothes were damp with tears. It also said in the tomb that Jesus was all alone.

Lyrics really have a way of sticking in our minds. I can easily remember songs of my youth. I can also easily recall lyrics of many songs we sang in church when I was first converted in the early 80s. Should I take songs as face value? Should I let them 'soak in'. I've come to a stage where I don't, where I won't.

I don't want to think of Jesus as lonely in the tomb when the Bible specifically says he was absent from his body, taking the keys to death and hell, and in the presence of the Father; whereafter he was returned to his body for it to be resurrected.

I want to worship God for who he really is and what he's really done, and I'll filter out rubbish or inaccuracies in modem church music in order to preserve my love and appreciation of him.

I honestly think it's time we stopped feeding off Hillsong and other popular music providers without filtering carefully. We tend to go with what is popular or what feels good, without checking the lyrics stack up. Let's start to check out what we sing more carefully.