15-5

My Heart: What Do I Love?

As worship leaders, we face many challenges. However the greatest challenge that we face is our own hearts. "For years we've read about or experienced firsthand the 'worship wars' -conflicts over music styles, song selections, and drums. But far too little has been said about the worship wars going on inside us. And they're much more significant." What it comes down to is this: "Each of us has a battle raging within us over what we love most-God or something else."

We have to take a careful inventory of our lives and see if there are any idols that we need to get rid of. "Idols are all around us. Can you spot them? They come in different forms. Material comforts. Financial security. Sensual pleasures. Musicians have their own special idols. New gear. Electronic gadgets. Hip clothes. The most powerful idols are the ones we can't even see. Things like reputation, power, and control. As Christians we're sometimes like the people described in 2 Kings 17:33: 'they feared the Lord but also served their own gods.' We fear the Lord externally, doing all the right things on Sunday morning-singing, strumming a guitar, lifting our hands-yet actively serve false gods throughout the week. We profess to love the true God but actually love false idols. It's a condition that God, in His mercy, is committed to changing."

In the chapter Bob Kauflin talks about the struggles that he has gone through with this. He says, "I'd been in a relentless pursuit of glory. I relished hearing my name mentioned, reading my name in print, and being commended by others for my wisdom, my musical gifts, my parenting, and my care-even my humility. I bristled inwardly when someone questioned my integrity, gifting, or planning. I tried to avoid any kind of criticism ad worked hard to persuade others that I was an exceptional (but humble) Christian, pastor, and worship leader. I wasn't depending on a Savior-I was searching for an audience." Now that is a pretty powerful admission, and I think that if we are honest with ourselves, most of us have been there or are there right now.

One thing that we have to understand about worship is that "worship isn't primarily about music, techniques, liturgies, songs, or methodologies. It's about our hearts. It's about what and who we love more than anything." We have to understand that we can be leading others in worship of God and worshiping something else in our own hearts. Do we love God more than anything else? "While it's simplistic to say that worship is love, it's a fact that what we love most will determine what we genuinely worship."

"God wants us to love Him more than our instruments and music. More than our possessions, food, and ministry. More than our wife and children. More than our own lives. That doesn't mean we can't love anything else. Or that we shouldn't love anything else. But we can't love anything in the right way unless we love God more. Our desires will be out of whack. We'll look to temporary pleasures like concerts, video games, and sports to fulfill eternal desires. We'll love things that aren't as worthy as God to be loved."

"How do I know what I love the most? By looking at my life outside of Sunday morning. What do I enjoy the most? What do I spend the most time doing? Where does my mind drift to when I don't have anything to do? What am I passionate about? What do I spend my money on? What makes me angry when I don't get it? What do I feel depressed without? What do I fear losing the most? Our answers to those questions will lead us straight to the God or gods we love and worship. That's why as worship leaders our primary concern can't be song preparation, creative arrangements, or the latest cool gear. Our primary concern has to be the state of our hearts."

Isaac Watts wrote:
"The Great God values not the service of men, if the heart be not in it: The Lord sees and judges the heart; He has no regard to outward forms of worship, if there be no inward adoration, if no devout affection be employed therein. It is therefore a matter of infinite importance, to have the whole heart engaged steadfastly for God."

Is having your heart engaged steadfastly for God of infinite importance to you? It is to God. And when it becomes infinitely important to us, we are starting to grasp the heart of leading worship.

Enjoy the Journey