"It's all about ME".....the direction of....

[HelenaZF]

Is it only the intent of the heart that matters in the ways and words that are used in worship? Or does it matter if the lyrics are true to scripture? That is part of the crux of the discussion here. Is it a worship song because it seems or feels like one? Or because it is wildly popular? Or is it one because it really IS one.



If it doesn't matter, and we say that "well, those might not be completely accurate words", but the music is so inspiring and I can lose myself in the emotion of it.......what are we really saying? With that reasoning, we could be worshipping to the Beatle's song, "My Sweet Lord" and saying "the whole song is just so beautiful and lovely......it moves me, and it's talking directly to God....surely it's a good worship song." and just ignoring the fact that it is directed to a Hindu god. "after all, it's only those couple words, you know...." I realize that is an extreme example, but hopefully the picture is painted.



My point in this thread is mainly to encourage us to be AWARE.....that the words DO mean something.....in their scriptural integrity (or lack of it), in the direction the song is aimed, and for what particular purpose (praise, declaration, repentance, intercession, adoration, etc.....) it is intended, and to choose and use songs with that discernment.



I would have to hear the whole Superhero song to make an intelligent comment on it, but just in general, teaching kids to make declarations about God's omnipotence is not a bad thing. Sometime, I think there is a tendency in contemporary children's music, though, to trivialize God's character in the attempt to make Him more "relevant" to young people. I cringe when I see bumper stickers that say "Jesus is my homeboy", for instance. With a song calling Jesus "my Superhero" I think there could be implanted a lasting association in kid's minds with cartoon or movie superheros unless there was some instruction given them on how to process that information.