DO WE REALLY MEAN WHAT WE SING?

If there is one English word especially despised, it is HYPOCRISY.  To label a person a hypocrite is a sure way to start a fight.  People would rather be called almost anything else.

Originally the word HUPOKRITES (Greek) meant “one who answers.” It was the regular Greek word for an actor and was connected with the dialogue on the stage.  It has come to mean an actor in a bad connotation — a pretender, one who acts a part; one who wears a mask to cover true feelings; one who puts on an external show while inwardly thoughts are very different. This is our present understanding of the word.

Hypocrisy might become apparent in a person through several means—behavior, actions, speech, and yes, even singing.  Do we really mean what we sing?

• Can we sing “Sweet Hour of Prayer” and be content with three minutes a day.

• Can we sing “Blest Be the Tie That Binds” and let the least little offense sever it?

• Can we sing “Serve the Lord With Gladness” and complain about all we have to do?

• Can we sing  “I Love to Tell the Story” and never mention it?

• Can we sing “I Care Not Today What the Morrow May bring...” and then worry ourselves into a nervous breakdown?

• Can we sing “Showers of Blessing” but refuse to recognize or accept them?

• Can we sing “Give Me the Bible” and never read it?

It has been said “We can sing a lie just as easily as we can speak one”. So, do we really mean what we sing?

—Selected
Garry Mahan, Jacksonville Church of Christ