Be Careful How You Walk
Not As Unwise Men but As Wise
Therefore be careful how you walk, not as unwise men but as wise, making the most of your time, because the days are evil. So then do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the LORD is.
And do not get drunk with wine, for that is dissipation, but be filled with the SPIRIT, speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody with your heart to the LORD; always giving thanks for all things in the name of our LORD JESUS CHRIST to GOD, even the FATHER; and be subject to one another in the fear of CHRIST.
EPHESIANS 5:15-21 (NASB)
Wooden Spoons, Road Trips & Mix Tapes
Am I the only one who remembers being a kid - skipping and singing and running EVERYWHERE? I remember singing all of the time when I was little - first with my Mom in the kitchen (wooden spoons as microphones), on road trips in the car (poor Dad!), jumping rope on the playground, and along to the radio as I waited to hit record when my current "favorite" song came on, making my mixtape complete! :) We sang on school buses riding back from volleyball and softball tournaments, and my best friend and I would purposely go on long drives far out of our way so we could belt out the tubes for an entire tape side before heading home in high school. In college, music styles could be heard competing with one another as you walked by any dorm - windows open, music pouring out...And I am sure that the hearing loss that seems to increasingly becoming VERY REAL is due to my ignoring the wise counsel of any adult who saw me admonishing me to turn my headphones down, not to mention the many concert nights at Red Rocks as we sang and danced under the Colorado night sky...
When did we stop singing? When did I?
Full confession time now. We were called out of IHOPKC about 10 months before the scandals broke - Kevin feeling adamant that something "was off" whenever he went to the prayer room. I did not agree, initially and pushed back - hard. One early morning in December, he stated loudly (and boldly!) as I was scurrying out the door, that perhaps, just perhaps I had made the prayer room and idol...?!? I was furious! Ridiculous! How could praying to the LORD ever be wrong?!? I fumed the whole drive, sat down and then the LORD started showing me all the ways that my husband was correct...*sigh* I gathered up my things and drove back home. It was the beginning of a long conversation with K - and with GOD.
The Great Unraveling Begins
When everything started openly unraveling - because sin is NEVER a correct foundation for anyone or anything - I found myself turning my worship music off. Songs I had sung loudly and joyfully to the LORD, bow reminded me of darkness, lies and my own lack of insight and understanding. As we continued to study and research a long with pouring over the Word, my heart was sickened by the pandering, marketing and blatant greed woven in and among the songs I once used to honor and grow closer to GOD. Hillsong. Bethel. Vineyard. Elevation Worship. Scandal after scandal broke and I went with everyone wondering what on earth was happening? Or - what in Heaven?
So I stopped turned off the music and stopped singing. I just couldn't. I felt sick thinking that what I was singing as worship to GOD, came at a staggering cost - on the backs of the brethren.
I stopped singing.
I love to sing. Always have. I am a LOUD singer and have often found myself singing along at the gas station pump, at the gym, and any restaurant where the music of Gen X is playing. It has actually pained me when realizing how very many random songs I have memorized WORD FOR WORD, and yet when it comes to Scripture...crickets. Ah, the humanity! I digress...To speed this along, I will tell you that music has been restored to my heart in spite of the dark side of it. Singing is a gift from GOD and He tells us that all He requires is a "Joyful noise." I love this about Him! Like a three year old singing loudly, off key in his car seat, I once again have added my voice to the fray. What changed? Not a lot, actually. Perspective, maybe? Or maybe the reality that this is a fallen world with fallen, broken, messed up people - myself included. I don't want to sing about myself and call it worship though. That has always driven me nuts. I want to praise JESUS, the LORD of all things, as He is SO WORTHY to be praised!!
This passage haunts me a bit, honestly.
Why aren't we as those who love JESUS and confess Him as LORD, speaking to one another HIS words? Singing heartily and often to Him? Giving thanks for ALL THINGS? Why do I think my words are more important than His? I cringe when we as the body rush through the reading of GOD'S Word, in order to get to our own...???
GOD'S Words are: life giving, healing, edifying, exhorting, comforting, strengthening, enduring... His Word spoke everything into being and calls things from what they were not into what they will become. His Word does not return void, but will accomplish every purpose for which He sends it forth. His Word is a stronghold and anchor in times of trouble, and will be a Light unto our paths, leading us the way we should go, into all knowledge and understanding. His Word is a balm to my heart and water for my soul. His Word is LIVING and BREATHING. His Word is LIFE.
WE MUST BECOME PEOPLE OF HIS WORD.
Let no one deceive you with empty words; for because of these things the wrath of GOD comes upon the sons of disobedience.
Therefore do not be partakers with them...
EPHESIANS 5:6-7 (NASB)
The Ultimate Hiding Place
Hiding GOD'S Word in our hearts is IMPERATIVE! It is NON-NEGOTIABLE! We will BE DECEIVED and will GO ASTRAY if we do not know it better than we know songs from the 80's. This is SERIOUS. Why else does JESUS go to such extreme lengths to convince His disciples - and future Apostles - To STAY ALERT, KEEP WATCH, and to NOT BE DECEIVED?
Beloved, I implore you! Pay attention! Voraciously study GOD'S WORD!! It matters! Our very lives in CHRIST depend on it.
Study Revelation. Study Matthew 24 & 25. Hide His Word in your heart, Beloved.
Therefore be careful how you walk, not as unwise men but as wise, making the most of your time, because the days are evil.
So then do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the LORD is.
EPHESIANS 5:15-17 (NASB)
B
Powerful reflection on how worship became commodified. The point about memorizing 80s songs better than Scripture cuts deep tbh. I've noticed this same pattern where musical movements prioritize expereince over truth, and it creates these echo chambers where discernment gets labeled as "not being Spirit-led." The irony is real when singing louder becomes a substitute for hiding HIs Word in our hearts.