While the Bible has much to say about music and singing is mentioned many times, there is very little about what we would call “special music” today. Singing was incorporated into the temple worship, and Paul mentions to the church at Corinth that they should take turns getting up to sing psalms. We are not sure how much our special music program might resemble what was done in Bible days; however, most churches do have a special music program.
I have this question for all those who are involved in special music: why do you sing? Is it because you were coerced into singing? Were you dragged, kicking and screaming, into a music group rehearsal? Is it because you love to sing? Is it because you love the attention? Do you simply love being up in front of people? Is it because you want to hear people tell you that you did a good job? Do you sing because you want to prove that you can do a good job of it? Are you hoping to show everyone that you can really sing that high note?
I am glad that you are involved in special music, but I would like to encourage each of us to examine our motives for singing and make sure that we are doing it for the right reason. Why should we sing? I would like to suggest three good reasons to sing special music in church.
- To Bring Praise to God
We are commanded many times in Scripture to praise God in song. The kind of music we sing and the way we sing it should do just that, bring praise to Him. Does your song talk about God? Does it mention how good He has been to us? Or does it focus more on self? Do the lyrics cause us to dwell on ourselves, or do they point us to God?
As you are singing, what are you thinking about? Obviously, there are certain thingsI would like to encourage each of us to examine our motives for singing and make sure that we are doing it for the right reason. that we singers must be aware of to avoid making a spectacle of ourselves and causing a major distraction in the service. But we really need to practice enough so we can think about the message of the song and how good God has been to us. If we are thinking about God’s goodness as we sing, we will certainly bring more praise to Him than if we are not.
- To Encourage the Pastor
I believe that the most important part of the service is the preaching. I have seen singers who seemed to disagree with that idea. They seemed to have the idea that their song was the most important thing that was happening during the service. We certainly have a mandate from the Lord to preach the gospel, and I believe that is what the church is all about.
If the message is the most important part of the service, then it would follow that the pastor is the most important individual who will participate in the service. If you have ever spoken before a group, you know that those few moments before you speak are very important. You need to gather your thoughts. You need to be in an appropriate frame of mind. We can minister to the pastor before he preaches by singing the kind of songs that will be a blessing to him.
We need to be very sensitive in this area. All of us have certain kinds of music we enjoy, and opinions about what should and should not be sung in church. However, when it comes to church music, it is not about our likes and dislikes. It is more important for the pastor to be pleased with the special music that it is for anyone else. If we are going to encourage God’s man, we must lay aside our preferences and seek to be a blessing to the pastor.
- To Prepare Hearts
Music is a wonderful tool that can be used to prepare the hearts of the listeners for the preaching of God’s Word. From the singer’s perspective, there is a huge difference between the mindset that seeks to convince the listeners that we are great, and the desire to communicate a truth to them that will help them be ready to hear the preaching. When we finish singing, the people should be more prepared to listen to the message than they were before we sang.
We could certainly list other good reasons to sing special music, but I believe that these three basic reasons are a good place to start. We need to be sure that our motives are right so that we can truly minister in song and not be guilty of simply putting on a show.
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