Church Songs

We had a youth group devo Sunday night where the kids that went to Kadesh could share some of their experiences - there is one of these after each camp or trip for the summer. One of the things that we talked about was how some of the songs we sing don't really have a great message or we don't really listen to them. One of the songs mentioned was "Get Right Church and Let's Go Home". One of the youth deacons, Dennis, loves (or used to love) that song. He would really get into it and sing it all the time. While at Kadesh he decided that he couldn't sing that song anymore because the words don't have a great message at all - it's saying that we have to "get right" to go to heaven and that we might miss the train if we aren't careful. We then talked about words to songs that we sing and don't really mean like All to Jesus I Surrender (I know I don't surrender everything freely).

So, I started thinking about songs that I don't really like. Now, get ready, this will be controversial I'm sure....I don't like "It Is Well With My Soul". Now, this has nothing to do with the lyrics of the song - I enjoy the words and think that they are powerful. The thing I don't like is the music. We are singing about the peace God gives us that can overcome anything but we sing this horribly slow and depressing sounding tune. Another thing I don't like is when we sing that song but then people say things that completely contradict what they just sang. I probably pay more attention to this since I don't like that song, but I seem to notice that it is sung and then we talk about how to deal with trials or how bad we feel about things that are going on. I'll be the first to admit that things are not always well with my soul. I have a hard time saying that they are when I can be upset, hurt, angry and confused about things. I know that God is truly bigger than anything I will ever face, but the fact remains that I am human and no where near perfect - things are not always well.

I am sure that I will be singing that song for the rest of my life in church services. I may learn to love it and I may not. I will strive to be at peace with things that happen. But really, if we are singing about the peace that passes all understanding let's not sound so down about it - be happy, sing that song with enthusiam and joy!