by Brendan Delumpa
To me, worship music is worshiping God through song. Sounds obvious, right? But to me it’s not so simple. There are a lot of contemporary Christian songs whose lyrics simply turn me off. So the one thing that I think about when writing music is that the message that I’m inspired to share revolves around an aspect of praise; and more importantly, is magnified when many people sing the song together.
Personally, I have a real problem with lyrics that are self-centered with messages like: I’m a sinner. I’m nothing, and only you can save me. To me, that’s a given – we all have our weaknesses and limitations – so our praise should be focused on glorifying the Lord, on gratitude for the wonderful gifts he has given us, and on relishing the infinite, constant love that He shares with us. Worship is our recognition and acknowledgment of God’s blessings – it’s not to debase ourselves and knock ourselves down.
Why do I feel so strongly about this? Primarily because lamenting about our weaknesses puts the focus of the message on us, and not the Father. Furthermore, it removes our responsibility to redeem ourselves. Yes, I believe Jesus Christ is my personal savior. Absolutely. But I have also been given a free will, and I MUST CHOOSE TO DO RIGHT, and not wait for someone to come along and lift me up. And there’s nothing less motivating than a posture where I feel like crap! So lyrics where this is done really bug me.
From a more theological standpoint, there is the concept of atonement, or “at-one-ment” of which we are entirely responsible. When we sin, WE are responsible to atone for those sins. WE have to make good with God again. Look at it this way (for those of you who are parents): When your child does something wrong, you don’t love them any less, and usually you’re quick to forgive. But that doesn’t necessarily excuse the wrongdoing. The child must make up for that. It’s the same with our relationship with God. Yes, we might be forgiven, we might be saved, but we still have to be responsible for our sins. There’s no way around this.
So when I hear lyrics in “worship” songs that are me-focused, and essentially take away the responsibility from us to do what’s right by God, I check those songs off my list of songs that my band will perform. Some songs have really catchy hooks, and are musically pleasing, but to me, their messages have to be uplifting.
