I've been thinking about corporate worship song lyrics lately with a few new tunes we've been doing at one of our services. They are popular songs (if that's not a strange way to describe worship tunes) - well-received, musically catchy and seem to resonate with people's spirits as they sing to the Lord. But I sometimes have trouble singing one or two of them. Here's why:

I'm not entirely sure that what I'm singing is truth.

Oh, I'm not saying they are Biblical heresy - no way. If that were the case, I know they would be chucked immediately by the worship leader using them, and also by the leadership team. No, I simply mean that I'm not sure I can sing them with accuracy in my own life. Check it out:

Everyday, it's You I'll live for
Everyday, I'll follow after You
Everyday, I'll walk with You, my Lord

My prayer and my desire is to live for Jesus every day - with passion, with authenticity and with every ounce of my strength until the day I breathe my last breath. But do I do that? Can I really sing with assurance that I will never stray, even so slightly, and follow my own desires or will in a situation? Or that I will never live for my own best interest, be it ever so small a circumstance or strong a temptation? To really be dramatic, I almost feel like I am singing that I will never sin, and that is rather ridiculous (have you met me?).

I understand the intent of the songwriter, I think - and when I do sing this song that is hopefully where my heart is - declaring a desire to live my life for God and follow Him into whatever He places in front of me. That much is truth, and I can sing that. Whether I live up to it remains to be seen only through the test of time, and I pray for God's grace and strength in my life to do it.

But it is a sharp reminder to me as a songwriter and worship leader that I must be diligent in ensuring that what I put before my congregation to sing is Biblically correct, aligning our songs to the Father, Son and Holy Spirit with the truth of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

It's not a new thought. It's not a profound thought. But it is an incredibly important thought.


Vicky Beeching has some great thoughts and good tips on the same thing for songwriters in this article from Passion For Your Name.