By Dennis R. Smith

 

What would the world be without singing?   Suppose all of a sudden everyone and everything would lose the ability to sing?   What if even the little birds also lost their sweet tunes on a spring-like morning? Well, it would be a sad world indeed - right?  Now with that in mind, let us be more realistic! God has created us with the ability to sing, but the reason is more than just to be entertained. God has always required his people to sing in order to glorify him and also as one of the most successful tools in the teaching of his people. The Apostle Paul revealed this when he said, “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord” (Col. 3:16). As important as singing is, there is something about it that would be worse than the ability not to sing.   It would be our not making any attempt to understand the meaning of the words. Just “mouthing” the words of a song accomplishes nothing in the sight of God. This can best be illustrated by using the old song “What Can Wash Away My Sins.”   Since singing praises is a process of “making melody in our hearts” (Eph. 5:19), for us to sing that beautiful old hymn without any  concern for the blood of Christ as the redemption of our sins, we might as well not sing at all! This is why Paul said, “I will sing with the spirit, and I will sing with the understanding also” (1^st Cor. 14:14).