This is one of my greatest and ongoing struggles in life. How can I hold beliefs and opinions about what is true, right, good, beautiful or excellent without looking disdainfully on that which doesn't measure up?
I refer, not to moral judgements about matters which are clearly manifest in Scripture, but to issues of smaller import, which nevertheless are not without consequence.
Questioning myself in this regard was prompted (this time), by a particular incident at school. Friday was Grandparents' Day at my boys' school. Each year, the Grammar school children perform some of their songs, chants and sound-offs which demonstrate the methods used daily in the classroom. Both the students and grandparents enjoy the morning.
This time the 5th Grade class performed, among other things, the hymn "How Great Thou Art." They received especially hearty applause and even a couple of cat-calls. Afterward, I heard at least a dozen comments about what a wonderful job they did, yet I sat through the performance internally rolling my eyes at the cheesy note-slurring and dramatic accompaniment. Critical thoughts about the intentional stirring of emotions through this type of lyric and style of music pervaded my mind and I was unable to enjoy the performance.
On top of that, I sat worrying whether the students are being taught the hymns outlined in the 5th grade curriculum...Not What My Hands Have Done, Lord With Glowing Heart I'd Praise Thee, For All the Saints, Psalm 23, etc. Afterall, we are a school who, at least confessionally, embraces the "Reformed" tradition and it ought to be reflected in the content we set before the students...right?! I also found myself rejoicing that my children have already passed through 5th grade and learned the "real" hymns.
So...here's the deal. I can "rebuke" myself all day with arguments such as "their teacher is a faithful Christian man who is serving them day after day and his desire is for them to know and trust the Lord; therefore, you shouldn't criticize." Or, "it's not church, you know...big deal if they are singing a testimonial hymn with pre-millenial undertones." Or, "involving the emotions is not entirely wrong...at least they are not being trained to be Stoics, like yourself." Or "the style alone doesn't make it bad..."
I don't think for a moment that singing "How Great Thou Art" is harmful to the students, but why would we not want to present that which is better? Why not present them with substantial truth, rather than an emotional inducement to devotion? In a society of relativists, it is considered arrogant to declare one idea or approach as superior to another. Can these declarations proceed from a heart absent of arrogance?
Even if I respond graciously to those involved, and don't make sweeping judgements about them personally, I remain troubled and uncomfortable, and want to be a catalyst for change. So the question remains: How do I sit and listen to "How Great Thou Art" performed emotionally and enjoy it without criticizing? Do I have to abandon my opinions?
6 comments:
Lori, I completely understand your struggle. I battle with being very judgemental pretty much every single day. I am not sure the balance either. I think, for me, I really do have to let a lot of things go and just continually accept the fact that everyone is not like me (mercifully) and that the Lord uses lots of people and their things in lots of ways that He doesn't use me. Its so hard, though, when I feel so right. :)
Good observations. I am encouraged that you are so interested in a good presentation of a great hymn.
For what it's worth, I think you have to judge how receptive the people would be to your input. If they would be insulted, it's probably not worth the struggle. If they are open to suggestions and constructive criticism, then it is very much worth the effort to mention it.
At any rate, I am encouraged to have my son in school with a teacher that has such high standards and commitment!
I think everyone can relate to this struggle.
Hey Lori, I know this post is a couple of days old, so you may not see this. I can definitely relate to this struggle and even find that I sometimes do a pendulum swing being ultra picky (about whatever) to throwing in the towel because I am driving myself (and everyone else?) crazy. I was just wondering about this hymn. I think I grew up with a mix of all different music because my family did a fair amount of church (and denomination) hopping. So many songs are familiar and I don't have a good sense of what came from where. Hoping that makes sense, I guess I just wonder what is not "Reformed" about this song. I am interested because I notice we don't sing a lot of songs I am familiar with at church so I am thinking maybe this sort of explains that? Or is this "a can of worms," so to speak? :)
Yeah, Abby, that's exactly where I find myself...it feels like I have to stop caring because I don't know how to care without being judgmental. And it happens for me in MANY areas of life as well, not just with hymns!
Like you, I also grew up with a different set of hymns than what we sing at PRPC...primarily because I was raised in independent, fundamental, legalistic Baptist churches. We did sing "How Great Thou Art" and I've asked myself if it is this association which bothers me. However, we also sang "Guide Me O Thou Great Jehovah" and I have no problem with that hymn. I think it's the tune....for me, it has a sappy, sentimental feel and in the case I'm referring to at school, THAT was heavily emphasized. I probably had more trouble with the emotional appeal of the "performance" than I would have had it been sung less dramatically.
What makes a hymn "Reformed"? As far as I know, there is no official criteria, but the consistent qualities of the hymns we sing, are that they are adaptations of Scripture, or they teach Biblical truth, and are coupled with tunes that appropriately match the dignity of their content. Generally speaking, they are not "testimonies" of my devotion to God or expressions of how I FEEL about him.
You might notice that "How Great Thou Art" is not even in the blue Trinity hymnal...my guess is that it IS in the red version, because it contains many more "praise-chorus" type of songs.
Again, I'm not trying to say that this hymn is BAD or should be banned, (and obviously, part of its lyric - Then Sings My Soul - was the theme of this year's GA, so there are other PCA churches who sing this song), but I think there are BETTER hymns for us to memorize...more fitting, more instructive, more true, more helpful, more foundational, more everything!! For me, it's not a GOOD vs. EVIL thing, but a matter of degrees...GOOD vs. BETTER.
Don't know if that is helpful or not...
Yeah, that is helpful. I asked George about it too, partially because I am always worried how I come across commenting on other blogs (so glad you knew I wasn't trying to be contradictory). He said some of these things too, like that it is just someone else's testimony. I think I see that. But I also wondered about what Chris said in Sunday school about reciting already written prayers. Maybe testimonial hymns can help us express what we don't otherwise know how to? But I'm not sure that's the same thing?
And I can definitely identify with the frustration of sensing that your feelings are being manipulated with music and I can imagine it was that kind of performance by what you're saying. We got a lot of that growing up in Nashville- my dad would always say (though he's a major cynic) "everyone's hoping there's a record producer in the congregation." - and a lot of times I found myself just wanting to leave. But there were tons of people thinking "this is GREAT!" I never knew if it was just a personal preference thing or if their really was grounds for saying one thing is better. I never knew if it was fair to say some things weren't just as sweet in God's ears as others- until we sang "Deck the Halls" on Christmas Day. Then I was pretty sure a song that didn't even mention God was probably not something He cared about us singing in a worship service!
Well, this was an interesting thing to think about for me. I will keep thinking too. Thanks!
Post a Comment