As a worship leader, I have the responsibility to get folks to participate in congregational singing. Over the years, I’ve heard a lot of reasons for not singing. I’m sure this list will bring a flurry of folks who feel they have a legitimate reason for not singing. Quite frankly, the Psalms are so full of imperatives to sing and praise God, I don’t know how we can come to a place where we think its ok to not sing. If other people have said or done anything to make you give up on singing, I would like to remind you that God’s Word says we should sing. After all, God is the only audience that really matters. He also listens to our hearts. So here’s my list, for what its worth.
Why I don’t sing:
1. You don’t want to hear me sing. (God does.)
2. I just love listening to others sing. (Singing is an imperative. Read Psalms.)
3. I don’t know the songs. (I learn songs best by singing them and learning from my mistakes.)
4. My junior high choir teacher said I couldn’t sing. (I’d like to shoot every junior high teacher who said that.)
5. I just can’t sing. (Can you talk? Singing is sustained speech. Get a good breath and give it a try!)
6. I can’t carry a tune in a bucket. (Why would you try to carry a tune in a bucket anyway?)
7. I just don’t like to sing. (We’re told to sing because God deserves it. Like it or not.)
8. My wife won’t let me sing. (Man up! Do you always do what your wife wants?)
9. Singing makes me start coughing. (Maybe you cough because you don’t sing enough.)
10. I don’t have any vocal chords. (Actually, I’ve never heard that before, but its about the only excuse I could accept. If someone really had no vocal chords, could you actually give them your excuse for not singing? I bet they would just about give an arm or a leg to be able to sing.)
I’m sure there are other reasons you may have for not singing. Just remember, Christianity is about sacrifice, surrender and obedience a whole lot more that about what we want.
Sing praises to God, sing praises!
Sing praises to our King, sing praises!
Psalm 47:6 ESV
