Killed It??

A thought run through my head of a comment passed by a fellow on a part of the worship night program my church choir holds each year - Touching The Father's Heart In Worship (TTFH). The comment got me thinking about man's perspective on things regarding "efficiency" of delivery. The guest choir did a number of songs while we, the host choir, prayed at the back as we waited for the second session of our program to commence. I listened intently as they sang and honestly i enjoyed what i was hearing, as i focused on the various vocal parts and the instrumentation that run in sync with them. I was focused on this most probably because i play an instrument and anyone who plays an instrument is normally unintentionally drawn to the part of music that he's involved with. Usually, it would be me and my team (choir) up there praising and worshipping with voices and instruments but i took the time to also enjoy being down there (backstage) to enjoy the music as one not on the stage creating it.

As is usual, at the end of the program many went round sharing greetings and taking photographs either alone or with family and friends, while smiles were shared abroad. Vaguely, i remembered that either at some point during that night or the next morning the comment that got me thinking was passed. Ill paraphrase; "...the guest choir did well but the 'Every Praise'... they didn't kill it." To a point, i understand why that comment was made. It is simply due to the fact that we are musicians. You see, the thing is, many times we tend to forget not to be so technical and judgmental, and thus rather than focusing on the reason for lifting up holy hands to God we focus on the execution of a musical piece - how good the sound was, how fine the voices were, how "on point" the instrumentation was, and... even, at times, the lighting.

So here's the thing. In our quest for perfection, do we lose sight of the reason for our doings? How do we know that that choir didn't sing out and play their best that night? How do we know whether God accepted or denied their worship? How do we know if He was very pleased with what they presented? ...and yet, here we stand as judges of sound-and-execution when even our (my choir's) very own presentation of praise and worship may be questionable in His sight. Is the aim of praise and worship supposed to be focused on being "On Point!"?? ....or, is it focused on Touching God's Heart, i wonder?

There is absolutely nothing wrong with giving your best to God; with being "On Point". In fact, we are admonished to give our very best to God always. It is why in the story of Cain and Abel, Cain's offering was rejected while his brother's was accepted. This was simply because Abel gave off his very best to God while Cain gave off his very worst! This can be found in the book of Genesis chapter four verses one through to seven. Personally, i feel that Cain's choice of offering (worship) was insulting to God (as ours can be, at times), and thus there was even a consequence in Cain not giving off his best which we all need to note down - God rejected his offering! So, it definitely is a must that we focus on giving God our best in all things, especially in praising and worshipping Him, while bearing in mind to do it the right way. Getting judgmental or "showy" in our execution of service to God is a wrong decision to make. It is of a far greater and better consequence that while you focus on Him you give Him your best and yet leave the rest to Him seeing as He is the Omniscient One, and... not you! He can read the hearts of men to know truth, and we cannot. What we think may be our best and acceptable to Him might actually be our worst and most unacceptable! ...while what we think may be our worst and completely unacceptable is what may actually be accepted as our best.

Going before God with as pure a heart as one can muster is key. This is because, if we happen to make mistakes in our execution of service but do it while focused on Him with the right kind of heart then He is definitely going to accept the offering offered. Why? Well, because... God looks on the inside of man (the heart) rather than on the deceptive outside, and a pure heart certainly catches His attention. In Psalms 24 : 4 - 5, KJV it says; "He that hath clean hands, and a pure heart; who hath not lifted up his soul unto vanity, nor sworn deceitfully. He shall receive the blessing from the Lord, and righteousness from the God of his salvation." and in Matthew 5 : 8, KJV it also says; "Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God." and then there's also 1 Samuel 6 : 7, KJV that says; "...the Lord said unto Samuel, Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused him: for the Lord seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart."

Regardless of what we are doing for God, it is important to note that with God "the end (or outcome) doesn't really justify the means".  Singing, dancing or playing an instrument and doing so in an attempt to show off how good you are is quite the recipe for disaster! Remember Saul's disobedience to God's directive to wipe out everything involving the Amalekites in 1 Samuel 15 : 1 - 23? How did that turn out for him?? God REJECTED him from being King! The funny thing was he simply thought that he was doing what was best for God. 1 Samuel 13 : 1 - 14 is an example of an attempt to do what we think is right before God which He, God rejects and rewards with punishment. Saul and all of Israel were afraid of the Philistines because of the number that had gathered to attack them and thus Saul thought it wise to offer a sacrifice to God in the absence of the prophet Samuel. The result was God cutting Saul's ENTIRE lineage off from being Kings! By the many examples in The Word of God, it is notably prudent to focus more on the heart with which you do what you do; to focus ENTIRELY on God and FORGET man! If only Saul had simply paid God obeisance and destroyed everything regarding the Amalekites, and also in waiting patiently for Samuel to arrive in order to do his duty before the war, i am entirely positive that things would have turned out very differently for him.

Give God your very best! ...and, whatever you find yourself doing for Him, "kill it!", but... in all your doings do this - revere God.

 ~ yoyo

~ inspiredw0rdz

~ September 24, 2015 ; 5 : 46 am