Friday, November 12, 2010

Have it Your Way

We are Americans.  Don’t tell us we can’t ‘have it our way.’  We can drive through the fast food place and in mere minutes not only have a meal in our car, but we can specify exactly what we do and don’t want on that burger.  I can get grilled onions, or no onions, or vanilla syrup in my Coke.  

We assume this is our right as Americans – the right to unlimited choices, the right to go somewhere else if we didn’t get exactly what we came for.  We are offended if someone suggests that this is a mere convenience.  We assume this right in most areas of our life – the restaurants we choose, the movies we watch, even the churches we attend.  We can select a local church based solely on whether or not we like the music.  


We’re Americans.  Don’t tell us we can’t have it our way.

But what if the Church is supposed to be different?  What if when Paul instructed us to ‘prefer one another,’ or ‘outdo one another in showing honor’—what if he meant that I need to lay aside some of my own desires, and actually help you achieve some of yours?  


What if I applied this idea to our church family’s worship gatherings?  What if ‘preferring one another’ means that I stop insisting on getting my own worship service, with my own musical style preference?  


Is it possible that I would experience something much better than a drive-through burger with grilled onions?  

4 comments:

  1. What if we all sought a greater appreciation of music in general? I love a good burger with grilled onions, but I would have difficulty understanding how someone could prefer to eat one at every meal.

    ReplyDelete
  2. My thoughts exactly...about prefering one another. I struggle with this sometimes too...welcome to your blogging journey! :)

    ReplyDelete
  3. welcome to the blog world! I'm very much enjoying our "family style" worship at PRC right now, because I've always had a soft spot for hymns but I love the newer stuff as well. And it's been a fun challenge to not reject right off songs that I don't like--to listen and see how they help others to worship. It reminds me that Sunday morning isn't about me, it's about God, and He's the one we should focus on, not us!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Cool Scott!

    As musicians we are often called to play things we may not 'like' or 'prefer' or otherwise. In the case of worship it isn't about what 'I' like or even, ultimately what 'we' (the band) likes, it's about Him. Period. And portraying Him in the best light possible to everyone in the congregation. We live in a selfish "I want it NOW!!" (my way) world, even as Christians we fall into this trap. I hope our new services make people uncomfortable. Isn't THAT precisely how our walk SHOULD be?

    ReplyDelete