Have you ever heard those people who complain because they wish there were more Christian emo songs? They have a point. Not to say I like emo music, I actually despise it like brussel sprouts rolled up in horseradish dipped in yak’s milk. But there’s something to be said for the lack of popularity in sad Christian music.
I don’t think someone putting a tune to psalm 88 would go over well. I don’t know whether you could write any great laments. You don’t hear much about Ecclesiastes now a-days. This is definitely not my call for Christians to be more sad, there’s just a few points about life that can be made in light of this issue.
First. Christians lament. Yes, quite often. Jesus himself mourned the dead. Yes, dear preacher, we do rejoice in the kingdom come, and the blessings afforded those who die in Christ, but it is sad to go through life without the aid of a great Christian brother or sister. Death itself is not a good thing, it was never part of life in the garden. We mourn lost souls. We grieve, we cry.
One might ask then, how do we worship? How do we properly worship God if we don’t go into our sanctuary and put on our happy faces? Indeed there are entire congregations under the misconception that properly worshipping means big smiles. Worship is about having fun.
Worship shouldn’t be about having fun. Certainly it will be fun at times, but in our God and Humanity class, we addressed the growing anthropocentric (human centred) trend in the church, and it was brought to light that adoration of God is really meant to be the centre of our worship.
Worship isn’t about us. Worship is about God. Our worship, our adoration of God, may change in its style as we change as people but the source of worship is not different. It can be fun, sad, broken, joyful, but always adoring.