The Reason I sing

I was shocked by the fact that we lost in IBA UNPLUGGED 2010. But though the fact we lost this time I didn’t know why but I reacted very well to this. In fact I felt we never lost because God was so good to us that He gave us a new song to sing.

A month back when I was in the church’s fasting and praying session, when we sang songs to worship God, one thought struck me the most - music in all its wonder and splendor, if it is not done for God, I began to realize there is no joy. There is no joy singing for ourselves because who are we actually? But when I sing to God, I began to realize that true LOVE CONQUERS ALL. Imagine how God came and redeemed us,and when we sing of how God's truly Good and how He is truly Holy, I realized too there is none who can fit the description but God alone. And every song we sing for God reminds us of how wonderful He is. All the LOVE songs we hear out there, fine, they are soothing to the ear but none of them can sound as triumphant and as wonderful as the message of the Gospel in the Hymn Fairest LORD Jesus, there is this phrase,

Fair are the meadows, fairer still the woodlands,
robed in the blooming garb of spring:
Jesus is fairer, Jesus is purer
who makes the woeful heart to sing.

Everytime when I turn to this hymn, I am reminded the reason why I chose singing before I got caught up with the motions of competing was Jesus, because He gives me a tune to sing, because whenever I think about Jesus, this hymn comes to my mind - Fairest LORD Jesus.

A few years back, when I started playing the guitar, all I ever thought of was to please and amaze people but over the years, yea fine, for a while it did worked but after a while it turned hollow, there was no joy in doing that, only temporary satisfaction because musicians will always have to work their heads all the time to keep up with the trends. As I begin to compose songs, I begin to realize as well I might write some nice tunes but there will always be someone better so musicians are so often caught in the rat race of coming out with better album, writing better songs, coming out with much more tricks and techniques in playing. Its all about being better and coming up with more catchier stuff but musicians nowadays, do they truly mean what they sing, do they make music because it comes from their heart or they make music just to impress the world? Sad as it seems, the latter applies. It is just sad to note that nowadays, everyone wants to hear something good, they do not seem to care what the song is singing about.

As a Christian Musician, I find it challenging not only to write songs about Love, Gospel and even about life but also the way we as Christians should conduct ourselves when we perform and to search deep within our souls the reasons and the motives of why are we performing. Sometimes I truly ask myself, when I claim to sing for God, am I really singing for God? Or am I just caught with the motions of trying to impress the crowd and allow such excuses to overtake me?

I would like to end by sharing 2 principles about being a musician,

1) When Jesus say in Matthew 6:19-21 (New International Version) about Treasures in Heaven, Jesus said,

Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

It also struck me that in life, we should truly invest in the things that truly matters. When our primary focus in making music is for the Glory of God, because we want to worship Him, I realized, that is truly fulfilling because God in one way or another, will let us know, the joy of worshipping Him.

2) Music is a gift from God, but in all of this gift that God has given to us, we should remember to glorify Him and not ourselves, we should never forget, Colossians 3: 23 – 24

Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.

In all of our musical life, we should sing for God and God should be why we are doing what we are doing. What we do might not have direct bearing on God but how and why we do it certainly has bearing to the reason why God has place us where we are or made us the person we are today. God delights that our lives be a living sacrifice and offering to Him.

One of the ways I have always found effective before performing or even playing, is to kneel down and pray, to thank God for everything He has given me, and to remind myself to use it for Him, only by praying, I understand the reality of singing can be temporary, but worshiping God is forever, and as I sing today, I am reminded, that God that has been very good to me, to us in fact, because singing and playing any musical instruments can be a form of joy and worship to Him.

- John Khor

Image taken from:

http://livingwordchurchonline.org/