Merge Worship

Musicians always seem to struggle with pride. It’s a constant thorn in the side of most musical and creative people. We’ve all read the scriptures that God “opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble” and “pride goes before destruction and a haughty spirit before a fall.” I read a new one the other day that really caught me off guard. It was Proverbs 17:19. It says this:

The Hebrew there for “exalts his gate” loosely translates to “glorifies his/her position”. The Bible says that people who do this “seek destruction”. I thought about the numerous times I felt it important to tell other people where “God had taken me"(telling about people I’ve met, worked with, written with). Sometimes this can be shared in very positive ways with close friends or new relationships, but I think most creative people could say that they’ve been in conversations where the person was clearly using those conversations to “exalt their gate”. I’ve been guilty of it. I’m sure you haven’t. ;-) Our heart tells us when we cross that line.

It was eye opening for me to see that when I do this, I’m actually getting the opposite of what I was hoping for. I have done that in the past to try and solidify my standing to the person/people I was talking to, but according to Scripture I was actually seeking out my own destruction. The Bible is full of warnings pointing to the destructive nature of pride, but this was the first one that clearly told me that a prideful person is not only due for destruction (Proverbs 15:25), but actively seeking it. That’s a scary thought.

Those closest to me would hopefully tell you that I’m not the most prideful guy on the planet. I try hard to keep that in check. I pray that God would help me retain humility and be able to spot and stop pride in all its various forms in my life. David actually prayed that God would “cut off all flattering lips and the tongue that speaks proud things” (Psalm 12:3) and instructed that “blessed is the man who does not respect the proud”. (Psalm 40:4)

I see humility as a crucial component in my personal journey to be used by God for His fame and to see people exalt Him. As you pray today for God to use you, let a request for humility be close by. Don’t let the destructive nature of pride convince you that if you are just forceful enough, charismatic enough, gifted enough you will have influence and favor. Peter said it this way after quoting Proverbs 3:4: “Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time.” Our position as worshipers and believers should be to have lives that exalt Him. We should let God be the one to exalt us, where He wants us, when He wants us.

I've been a little under the weather this weekend. This gave me a lot of couch time which I used to watch B-Ball, finish reading a book, pray, snuggle with my kids and watch the Travel Channel. They have a show, "Living with the Mek", that is just fascinating. It's about two westerners who live with this ancient tribe in West Papua. As I was watching it, it dawned on me that these people only had their families, fields and hunting to occupy their time. I wondered what I would do if there was no 9-5. No email, no cell phone, no church building, no keyboard, no basketball.

It's so easy to find meaning and value in the things that in the final analysis can be distractions from the main things in life. Not saying that any of these things are bad, but when all the peripherals are swept away we are left with our God, our family, our food, our shelter and our friends. I need to place more priority on those things and less on the distractions my comparatively modern life has to offer.

I had this thought that struck me the other day while I was on the road to lead worship at a friend's church. "What am I telling my kids with my non-verbal actions that life is about?" I was thinking about everything that I place priority on in my life and how, when I'm gone and they're grown, they are going to take cues on how life should be lived from me. I can leave them at home while I go and do the work God has called me to and they will most likely grow up and do the same with their kids. I could sit at home and only watch TV and they will probably do the same. You get the idea.

I thought I would challenge myself, and some of my friends, on this idea. I would say that I am most passionate about Jesus, my wife, my kids, others and then everything else. But, the actions that my kids see might portray a different set of priorities. They see me after I'm done praying/worshiping/leading/mentoring/studying etc. They don't get to see a lot of the more "spiritual" things that I do. So as I took an honest inventory of what they do see, I felt like my kids would know a few things if I were gone tomorrow.

1. Jesus is the most important thing.
2. We should worship with passion.
3. I love their Mom more than anyone else. (so far so good)
4. Tarheel Basketball is VERY important.
5. The TV can stay on most of the time. (uh-oh)
6. Having fun with friends is one of the most important things in life.
7. Daddy's PlayStation is a lot of fun and I should definitely learn how to play it.
8. The computer and cell phone trump most things.

1-3 are pretty good, but the rest of the list isn't reflective of my true priorities (at least in my heart) but it is probably what they see. That last one hurts especially bad. I thought about how I read and I pray, but rarely in front of my kids. Don't get me wrong, we bless our kids every night. We talk about God. What His Word says. How its principles should affect how we live our everyday lives. But they don't see me pounding it down, working it through, talking about it with friends, asking the Holy Spirit for wisdom.

When I'm gone, I want my kids to be able to know how they should live. I want them to say, "I saw my Dad and Mom live it; now it's my turn and my turn to teach my kids the same." I am sending this out to a few friends and asking them, "What is my life telling my kids?" and "What do I want it to be telling them?" If they allow me, I'll post some of their thoughts here.

I, for one, intend to start being a little more intentional with what my non-verbal communications say to my kids. I want them to know that a relationship with God changes who we are, prioritizes our life and gives us an eternal perspective. I want them to know God is alive and well, not just by what they hear, but by what they see.