Devotional - 8/19/02
“Fun Worship”
Should worship be “fun”?
I've been known to lead a worship song with these rich lyrics:
"La la la, la la la, la la la, la la,
La la la, la la la, la la la, la la,
La la la, la la la, la la la, la la, la la."
(from "Trading My Sorrows" by Darrell Evans. Copyright 1998 Integrity's Hosanna! Music, all rights reserved)
Related to this, the word "fun" has cropped up a few times in the last few weeks in my travels with people concerning worship. It got me thinking (always a dangerous thing to do. . .)
The word "fun" doesn't occur in the Bible. Apparently the word wasn't even invented when King James commissioned his translation of the scriptures back in the 1600's, and more modern translators just haven't been able to bring themselves to use the word, either (except maybe in a few odd paraphrases).
So I looked up the word "fun" just to get some related ideas. Webster says that "fun" means "what provides amusement or enjoyment." He also explains that the word "usually implies laughter or gaiety but may imply merely a lack of serious or ulterior purpose." Well, in that context it would appear that describing worship or worship leading as "fun" wouldn't be a good thing, because our worship certainly always includes a serious, ulterior purpose, and we would never want to imply that it doesn't.
But at a simpler level, maybe it is OK to say that worship is "fun." It certainly can provide amusement or enjoyment. I'm reminded of this when I recall the first item from one of the standard creeds of the Protestant church, which states that "Man's chief end is to glorify God, and to ENJOY Him for ever." (emphasis mine)
But again, a search of the scriptures on the subject of "enjoyment" comes up dry, at least as it pertains to worship. So I'm left with no clear barometer of the validity of either worshipping or leading worship with "fun" in mind.
One scripture does come to mind. It's Psalm16:11 --
"You have made known to me the path of life;
You will fill me with joy in your presence,
with eternal pleasures at your right hand."
There's no question that we can expect God to fill us with joy in His presence, and that we can be assured of that joy to last eternally. Our worship glimpses that reality, and sometimes it's OK to let that well up into a smile, or even a laugh.
But if we approach the experience MAINLY for the fun we get out of it, maybe we're barking up the wrong tree. Worship isn't about giddy, fleeting giggles, but about a rich joy buried so deep within our hearts that it never leaves us, even in the most sorrowful of times. Striking the balance between celebration and reverence seems to be the key.
- Dale Haas