TALE OF TWO WORSHIP LEADERS

Based on the Parable of the Publican and the Tax Collector

 

Two worship leaders went to the altar to offer a song to The Lord, one well-learned, the other self-taught. The well-learned worship leader prayed to himself, “Thank God I’m not like those worship leaders at Bethel, Hillsong, Elevation or even this wannabe songwriter next to me. I scrutinize worship songs twice a week. I only use the best of the best, those rich with theology, that the elect might learn of your sovereignty.” The self-taught worship leader fell to his knees, raised his eyes to heaven and prayed, “Lord, I pray that this little song I wrote blesses you. Please receive it as my offering of praise. It’s a simple song, not so rich in theology, but it comes from the heart. I wrote it especially for you.” I tell you, this man left the altar more rewarded than the other; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.

WHO YOU CALLIN' COWARD?

 One term that has been misused and overused in recent years is “coward”. Popular public figures (who fail to understand the meaning of the word) use “coward” to belittle those who don’t see things their way. For example, if you don’t fall in line with a certain political view, or don't respond a certain way to a social cause, or don't support a specific political leader, you may be deemed a coward along with the rest of your kind. 

 

We saw heaps of this insanity throughout the pandemic. Christian brothers and sisters who chose to mask up were labeled ‘cowards’ by prominent figures. The debate over the effectiveness of masks is irrelevant to this conversation. What is relevant is intent. If the hope was to prevent the spread of a disease or to keep others safe, there’s nothing cowardly about that. When people act upon their convictions, and do so selflessly, most would call that noble. At the same time, there were those who chose not to wear a mask for noble reasons while others may have opted not to for less noble reasons. All this to say, one side wasn’t more courageous (or cowardly) than the other. Thankfully this is less of an issue today. I only use this example as it has given rise to a condescending mindset especially among some leading figures in the public arena.  

 

Initially, I thought this name-calling was done more to shame people who had their own perspective on things. But it’s more than that. Belittling language is used to rally the like-minded and manipulate the impressionable to join the ranks or be made a fool of. You may have noticed on social media feeds how effective belittling can be in today’s polarized climate. Hundreds of ‘likes’ flood the feed when popular personalities label those outside their bubble as fools, lunatics or cowards. Would these mockers dare say something that might cost them ‘likes” or followers? If they are celebrated Christian figures the cost gets even higher. There’s the risk of losing charitable donations, guest speaking opportunities or interviews. 

 

A final reason why some engage in name-calling is for the simple reason that putting others down makes them feel better about themselves. For example, by labeling one camp as “cowardly” suggests that I’m in the correct camp – the courageous one. For many public figures, it goes a step further. Their hope is to be the standard for courage, largely because that’s how they view themselves. This behavior is known in the world of psychology as grandiosity. Below is a description from Wikipedia:

 

“The term grandiosity refers to an unrealistic sense of superiority, characterized by a sustained view of one's self as better than others, which is expressed by disdainfully criticising them, overinflating one's own capability and belittling them as inferior; and refers to a sense of personal uniqueness, the belief that few other people have anything in common with oneself, and that one can only be understood by a few, very special people.”

 

No doubt, we’ve all encountered people like this even if we didn’t know the proper term for it. What’s more important is that we know how to recognize grandiose behavior especially when it comes to public figures we listen to or follow on social media platforms. Every word must be measured. Do they prop themselves up? Do they put others down? Are they harsh toward those who don’t share their opinions? The Christian will further ask, “Do they model Christ-like behavior?” Name-calling and belittling falls into antichrist behavior! So, when name-callers get hundreds of nods or likes or “Amens”, what you’re observing is more of a cult following than a Jesus following. Even when defending righteous causes, a self-righteous leader does more harm than good. He may rally the troops but he fails to win any from the opposing side. The echo chamber grows larger and louder but never reaches beyond its own walls. 

 

People in the public eye are by default role models. When they’re celebrated as people of faith, this becomes a crucial concern. Should they act in an unbecoming way, followers will mimic their behavior thinking it to be acceptable or even noble. We see a lot of this on social media as well. However, the standard for Christians is not some blogger, podcaster or popular preacher. We’re given a much higher standard in the person of Jesus Christ who bids us to love as He does. It’s a tall order, but there’s help from above, help from the Holy Spirit Himself. When filled with the Spirit we bear fruits of love with all its wonderful perks: joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.(Galatians 5:22-23)

 

These are the character traits that Christ possessed and that we are to model as His ambassadors to a lost and needy world. With the filling of His Spirit also comes the gift of discernment by which we can judge what is befitting character and what isn’t. Oftentimes this will mean we’ll be going against the flow. This also means you’ll be subject to ridicule and name-calling. But you’re in good company with Jesus who endured more than we ever will.