This warning against dependency is common when talking about your every day sleeping pill. They’re meant to be taken to help with poor sleeping habits… and they’re also meant to be taken short-term. While these pills can fix the problem if used correctly, they can make the problem worse if they’re abused. The fact of the matter is that we were meant to sleep without the aid of medication. If a person repeatedly and consistency turns to a pill to be able to sleep, they will eventually get to the point where they are unable to sleep without it.
I think we get into this habit when it comes to music and worship. We often use these words interchangeably. And while it’s true that music can be used as a form of worship, worship is not restricted to music.
Yet I’ll go to some form of Christian event, and if there isn’t somebody there with an acoustic guitar, I’ll usually hear people ask, “Why aren’t we having worship tonight?”
I think we’ve grown to be too dependent on music as our worship. The Hebrew word “shachah” is translated as worship over 150 times in the Bible. It’s used when Abraham is taking Isaac up the mountain to sacrifice him. And when Jesus talks about worshiping the Father in spirit and in truth. And in Revelation in reference to falling at the feet of Jesus. Roughly translated, shachah means to “bow down”. It involves sacrifice. It requires humility. It has nothing (explicitly) to do with music.
Now let me pause for a moment to remind you all that I’m a “worship leader”, meaning that I play guitar, and sing songs, and all things awesome that go along with it. I absolutely love music and worshiping God in that way. My point is that I think we’re approaching a dangerous mindset – one of dependency.
We’re beginning to slip into this mode where the only way we can worship is if somebody sings something written by Hillsong. Music is like a Christian’s sleeping pill. We were created to worship God with our lives. With everything we have, all the time. Music is a great way to help with that, sometimes. However, if we are repeatedly and consistently turning to music as our only form of worship, then I think we can become dependent on it. We become unable to engage God in other ways, or at least we don’t look to seek Him in other ways. God wants all of us, not just our voices.
Last night at 212, Kinsey Williams talked about resting (and did an awesome job). What she had to say really resonated with what I’ve been thinking about in my own personal life. Consider this passage:
“The Lord said, ‘Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the Lord, for the Lord is about to pass by.’ Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake came a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper. When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave. Then a voice said to him, ‘What are you doing here, Elijah?'” (1 Kings 19: 11-13)
I always loved these verses because it reminds me that God isn’t always the booming voice (not that He can’t be that). God is gentle. He can be in a whisper. If you think about it, anybody would notice a mountain-shattering wind, or a ground-breaking earthquake, or a blazing fire. A person needs to be listening to hear a whisper.
So I’m going to start setting some time aside during the day to just rest. Listen. Not nap. I just want to relax with Jesus. That might not be for all of you. However, I want to challenge all of you to find some way to engage God, other than through music. He is so much more than what we limit Him to in songs.
Matthew_12:34 