My mother, who although she would never admit it, is who I got my musical ears from. I can remember from a very young age, my mother would sing as she did things around the house. I remember fondly, my mother standing at the sink washing dishes, or sitting in the living room folding clothes, and just above a whisper, she would sing her favorite hymns and songs. My father, was a whistler. He still is. I can remember working with him on Saturdays and during the summer doing handyman work, and he would whistle so much that before the end of the day, whatever song or hymn he was whistling would be stuck in my head. To this day, I will be at a church, and I will immediately recognize the melody to a hymn, but not always the words. I usually attribute this to my Dad's whistling. Very often, while I watched my mother, there would be a bit of a crackle in her voice, and her eyes would well up with tears. she would hum a few bars, close her eyes, and continue with the song. Very alike would be my Father, who would abruptly stop whistling and say a quite "amen", or just give off a "wow, what a beautiful song". My parents, worshiped all the time, and they never switched their worship gear to neutral, or idle. Their worship engine pushed them forward, not once ever coming off as mundane or routine.
The first time I experienced idle worship was at a church my wife and I were involved with several years ago. I remember at one point, looking around at the people there, and getting a feeling that everything was almost scripted. They sang the same 4-5 songs every single week we were there, most of them not even needing to look at a hymnal. needless to say, as we experienced this church gathering week after week, it was extremely difficult to see the Spirit at work anywhere.
Most people stick with a formula that works for them. much like a favorite recipe, the ingredients stay the same, and it is satisfying for them. Some people don't even have to change, because they do have a heart of worship even when it's a song they've heard hundreds of times.
Let's get something straight. I affirm that there is a preparedness of the heart that needs to take place for worship. No song, with any arrangement accompanying it will do anything if you are not of a worshipful heart. If you do not ready yourself, and set your mind on God, it will not "feel" like worship. This is not what I'm talking about. I am speaking of when you have done the prep work. You have prayed, you have sought, you have arrived excited! But it feels as if there is a casket in the room.
The obvious answer: Change. Change can mean many different things. When I was younger, (and dumber), change for me meant louder, harder and faster! That was the only way! But as my journey continues, I realize that backwards can be just as good as forwards, and that newer is sometimes trumped by older. Imagine the first time someone put raisins into oatmeal cookies! Amazing! But sometimes, just the good old oatmeal cookies are what we crave.
People worship in many ways. Everyone seems to have a preferred setup. Most have favorite songs they sing. But here lies the question; when is the last time you took a moment of pause to wipe away tears? When is the last time you abruptly paused and said to yourself "wow".
When is the last time you raised your hands and felt the hair on the back of your neck stand up?
If it's been awhile, look down at your shifter.
Perhaps you are in neutral.
Perhaps you are practicing idle worship.
