We must not approach the worship of God for what it can do for us. This kind of idolatrous mistake is responsible for many churches losing their way with worship. The aforementioned benefits of paying attention to what we sing are simply byproducts of genuine worship—the benefits to the human spirit of encountering and rightly responding to God.

As Christians who live in a predominantly pagan culture, we regularly hear words or phrases that betray commonly held but false assumptions based in a pagan view of reality. We filter these out daily in nearly every context, from academic lectures, to media consumption, to conversations with family and friends: “billions of years,” “karma,” “follow your heart,” or even the kindly stated, “good luck.” Discerning Christians find themselves continually filtering what they see and hear through the lens of a biblically informed conscience.

Unfortunately, Christians often have to filter language even in church. How we worship God and what we say in our worship necessarily shapes our beliefs about God, just as what we believe about God informs how we worship Him. When you attend church, pay attention to what you sing, because what you sing will tell you a lot about what your church really believes. Just as a tree is recognizable by its fruit, a church’s theology will be recognizable by the way that she worships and the songs that she sings.

If you aren’t paying attention to what you are singing, you could be missing out on some of the richest spiritual moments of your life.

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