is a love of singing really important?

Jamdoc · Nov 17, 2020

Sometimes I've been accused of not even being saved because I don't find joy in singing, and even find dread in the idea of some views of heaven just being an eternity of singing before the throne (as I'm sure some of you have noticed in other threads). I sing because I'm commanded to, as an act of obedience.
Ephesians 5:18-19

18 And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit;
19 Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord;

Colossians 3:16

16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.

But in James it's not really that it's just commanded out of obedience, it's something you should do as an expression of joy.
James 5:13

13 Is any among you afflicted? let him pray. Is any merry? let him sing psalms.

I just don't do that. I've never spontaneously burst into song when I've been happy or joyful. When I feel joy or happiness, I laugh (often with accompanying crying if it's particularly strong), when I was healthier and more mobile, I danced, and I used to enjoy those things.. but singing for me has always more rather been an expression of pain, or even anger. Not joy. It comes across even in the music I will choose if I choose to listen to music with vocals. I find nothing I like in happy songs where a person sings about how happy or joyful they are. It makes finding Christian music that I actually like listening to extremely difficult because pretty much all Christian music is happy joy joy singy music where it's entirely focused on the lyrics which, most of the time, I don't even pay attention to the lyrics of music I listen to. I only pay attention to how it sounds. The intonation of someone's voice if singing when they are letting out their pain and grief, sometimes makes me feel better when I myself am feeling pain and grief, being able to empathize with those feelings. It always makes me feel worse to try and listen to happy joy joy singy music when I feel down in the dumps myself
Proverbs 25:20

20 As he that taketh away a garment in cold weather, and as vinegar upon nitre, so is he that singeth songs to an heavy heart.

But any time I've tried to sing just to somehow enjoy it.. within seconds of opening my mouth, I instantly regret it and stop.. even if I'm totally alone with nobody to be embarrassed about hearing me, even if I'm in the shower, I just stop thinking "this isn't me"

so I guess the advice I'm asking is my disliking singing just a sign of spiritual death? That no Christian should ever feel "heaviness" no matter the situation and has to be just.. spontaneously singing every day or they don't have the holy spirit?
Or is this just a thing of God made me this way, and I have different tastes and express joy in different ways, and that's something that God can appreciate and use and loves me for even if it makes me different from other people?

xaris · Nov 18, 2020

Do you love to worship and adore the Lord?
If so, you're good to go.

Jamdoc · Nov 18, 2020

xaris said:
Do you love to worship and adore the Lord?
If so, you're good to go.

aside from the singing part yes.
when I used to live in the south I usually attended mostly black congregations, because... the way they worship, something about it always expressed my joy better. They clapped, they swayed, they danced, hands in the air, there was movement in their praise and worship, rather than just everyone standing and singing the hymns. It made it all more enjoyable. Sometimes I wasn't actually singing but just moving along with them, and I enjoyed that more. I felt more part of it than I do when I'm here, where it's well, mostly white, and the worship style is just singing. I'm a white guy myself so it's not that I feel out of place because of racial difference, on the contrary my black friends that I went to church with loved it that I was a white guy who liked going to their church with them, they were all very welcoming. It helped for me also that the hymns they picked were more lively. When I'm in white churches.. I love hearing the word of God and the messages and the wisdom and knowledge of God that is being preached, but the worship parts of the service feel utterly dead to me. It's the most dead milquetoast hymns and musical accompaniment you can imagine, with everyone just standing in place holding their hymnal singing. I can't express joy in that. I can't even feel joy in that. The words may have life but the music is utterly dead.

DiscipleHeLovesToo · Nov 18, 2020

Jamdoc said:
so I guess the advice I'm asking is my disliking singing just a sign of spiritual death? That no Christian should ever feel "heaviness" no matter the situation and has to be just.. spontaneously singing every day or they don't have the holy spirit?
Or is this just a thing of God made me this way, and I have different tastes and express joy in different ways, and that's something that God can appreciate and use and loves me for even if it makes me different from other people?

disliking singing is not a sign of spiritual death

not spontaneously singing every day does not mean that you don't have the Holy Spirit

God did not make you this way

specifically what bothers you about singing? do you feel you have difficulty making tones accurately? do you think others would find your singing somehow unpleasant?

Jamdoc · Nov 18, 2020

DiscipleHeLovesToo said:
disliking singing is not a sign of spiritual death

not spontaneously singing every day does not mean that you don't have the Holy Spirit

God did not make you this way

specifically what bothers you about singing? do you feel you have difficulty making tones accurately? do you think others would find your singing somehow unpleasant?

I don't like the way it feels, it's a vibration in my whole chest that is unpleasant. It's like having a beehive in your throat.
Not the same as just talking.
I mean it bothers me even if I'm totally alone and nobody can hear me.

NerdGirl · Nov 18, 2020

Jamdoc said:
Sometimes I've been accused of not even being saved because I don't find joy in singing, and even find dread in the idea of some views of heaven just being an eternity of singing before the throne (as I'm sure some of you have noticed in other threads). I sing because I'm commanded to, as an act of obedience.
Ephesians 5:18-19

Colossians 3:16

But in James it's not really that it's just commanded out of obedience, it's something you should do as an expression of joy.
James 5:13

I just don't do that. I've never spontaneously burst into song when I've been happy or joyful. When I feel joy or happiness, I laugh (often with accompanying crying if it's particularly strong), when I was healthier and more mobile, I danced, and I used to enjoy those things.. but singing for me has always more rather been an expression of pain, or even anger. Not joy. It comes across even in the music I will choose if I choose to listen to music with vocals. I find nothing I like in happy songs where a person sings about how happy or joyful they are. It makes finding Christian music that I actually like listening to extremely difficult because pretty much all Christian music is happy joy joy singy music where it's entirely focused on the lyrics which, most of the time, I don't even pay attention to the lyrics of music I listen to. I only pay attention to how it sounds. The intonation of someone's voice if singing when they are letting out their pain and grief, sometimes makes me feel better when I myself am feeling pain and grief, being able to empathize with those feelings. It always makes me feel worse to try and listen to happy joy joy singy music when I feel down in the dumps myself
Proverbs 25:20

But any time I've tried to sing just to somehow enjoy it.. within seconds of opening my mouth, I instantly regret it and stop.. even if I'm totally alone with nobody to be embarrassed about hearing me, even if I'm in the shower, I just stop thinking "this isn't me"

so I guess the advice I'm asking is my disliking singing just a sign of spiritual death? That no Christian should ever feel "heaviness" no matter the situation and has to be just.. spontaneously singing every day or they don't have the holy spirit?
Or is this just a thing of God made me this way, and I have different tastes and express joy in different ways, and that's something that God can appreciate and use and loves me for even if it makes me different from other people?

Of course it's not mandatory in order to be saved or please God. These are generic passages telling Christians to be free and expressive with their joy. Whether that means singing, dancing, shouting, clapping, weeping, whatever!

NerdGirl · Nov 18, 2020

Jamdoc said:
aside from the singing part yes.
when I used to live in the south I usually attended mostly black congregations, because... the way they worship, something about it always expressed my joy better. They clapped, they swayed, they danced, hands in the air, there was movement in their praise and worship, rather than just everyone standing and singing the hymns. It made it all more enjoyable. Sometimes I wasn't actually singing but just moving along with them, and I enjoyed that more. I felt more part of it than I do when I'm here, where it's well, mostly white, and the worship style is just singing. I'm a white guy myself so it's not that I feel out of place because of racial difference, on the contrary my black friends that I went to church with loved it that I was a white guy who liked going to their church with them, they were all very welcoming. It helped for me also that the hymns they picked were more lively. When I'm in white churches.. I love hearing the word of God and the messages and the wisdom and knowledge of God that is being preached, but the worship parts of the service feel utterly dead to me. It's the most dead milquetoast hymns and musical accompaniment you can imagine, with everyone just standing in place holding their hymnal singing. I can't express joy in that. I can't even feel joy in that. The words may have life but the music is utterly dead.

I feel you on this one.

I personally love old hymns and sacred music, but an enormous demographic of modern Christians don't connect with that sort of music anymore. I find that terribly sad, personally

But it is what it is!

I don't really like "led" worship. Or "praise teams". There's a lot I don't like about contemporary church service structure. I think the formulaic construction has eroded the passion and the authenticity that we're supposed to be experiencing in church. It's become way too...scheduled. Organized. Contrived.

"Open with prayer. Sing two songs. Pray again. Sing three songs. Take the offering. Preach for no more than thirty minutes. Sing one more song. Go home."

A lot of these services are spiritually dead, and the congregation can feel it. You can't force worship. You can't force peoples' hearts into praise.

Now, I've been to very traditional church services, where things were strictly organized and a regular program followed every single time. But the atmosphere was so different. It was respectful, sacred, and profound.

Perhaps there's a glitch in trying to shove churches along with modern cultural whims and practices. Our spirits know when something isn't sincere. We don't need bands on stage. We don't need coffee bars in the lobby. We don't need trendy decor. Are we coming into the Lord's house, or are we coming into a coffee lounge?

I'm getting off on a tangent here, so I'll wrap it up, lol.

NerdGirl · Nov 18, 2020

Jamdoc said:
I don't like the way it feels, it's a vibration in my whole chest that is unpleasant. It's like having a beehive in your throat.
Not the same as just talking.
I mean it bothers me even if I'm totally alone and nobody can hear me.

I truly wouldn't worry about it. Tell God how you feel. He already knows your heart

NerdGirl · Nov 18, 2020

You know what I miss? Church choirs. I just realized that I haven't been in a church with a choir for probably 20 years. They got replaced with "praise teams", which I absolutely despise. Where did we get this notion that having one or two leading singers and eardrum-bursting loud music, was preferable to a chorus of beautiful voices accompanied by an organ or piano?

Sigh.

Arc F1 · Nov 18, 2020

Jamdoc said:
Sometimes I've been accused of not even being saved because I don't find joy in singing, and even find dread in the idea of some views of heaven just being an eternity of singing before the throne (as I'm sure some of you have noticed in other threads). I sing because I'm commanded to, as an act of obedience.
Ephesians 5:18-19

Colossians 3:16

But in James it's not really that it's just commanded out of obedience, it's something you should do as an expression of joy.
James 5:13

I just don't do that. I've never spontaneously burst into song when I've been happy or joyful. When I feel joy or happiness, I laugh (often with accompanying crying if it's particularly strong), when I was healthier and more mobile, I danced, and I used to enjoy those things.. but singing for me has always more rather been an expression of pain, or even anger. Not joy. It comes across even in the music I will choose if I choose to listen to music with vocals. I find nothing I like in happy songs where a person sings about how happy or joyful they are. It makes finding Christian music that I actually like listening to extremely difficult because pretty much all Christian music is happy joy joy singy music where it's entirely focused on the lyrics which, most of the time, I don't even pay attention to the lyrics of music I listen to. I only pay attention to how it sounds. The intonation of someone's voice if singing when they are letting out their pain and grief, sometimes makes me feel better when I myself am feeling pain and grief, being able to empathize with those feelings. It always makes me feel worse to try and listen to happy joy joy singy music when I feel down in the dumps myself
Proverbs 25:20

But any time I've tried to sing just to somehow enjoy it.. within seconds of opening my mouth, I instantly regret it and stop.. even if I'm totally alone with nobody to be embarrassed about hearing me, even if I'm in the shower, I just stop thinking "this isn't me"

so I guess the advice I'm asking is my disliking singing just a sign of spiritual death? That no Christian should ever feel "heaviness" no matter the situation and has to be just.. spontaneously singing every day or they don't have the holy spirit?
Or is this just a thing of God made me this way, and I have different tastes and express joy in different ways, and that's something that God can appreciate and use and loves me for even if it makes me different from other people?

If you've ever heard my singing you would know that it's not pleasing to God
Lol

Even my dogs start to howl.

xaris · Nov 18, 2020

Jamdoc said:
aside from the singing part yes.
when I used to live in the south I usually attended mostly black congregations, because... the way they worship, something about it always expressed my joy better. They clapped, they swayed, they danced, hands in the air, there was movement in their praise and worship, rather than just everyone standing and singing the hymns. It made it all more enjoyable. Sometimes I wasn't actually singing but just moving along with them, and I enjoyed that more. I felt more part of it than I do when I'm here, where it's well, mostly white, and the worship style is just singing. I'm a white guy myself so it's not that I feel out of place because of racial difference, on the contrary my black friends that I went to church with loved it that I was a white guy who liked going to their church with them, they were all very welcoming. It helped for me also that the hymns they picked were more lively. When I'm in white churches.. I love hearing the word of God and the messages and the wisdom and knowledge of God that is being preached, but the worship parts of the service feel utterly dead to me. It's the most dead milquetoast hymns and musical accompaniment you can imagine, with everyone just standing in place holding their hymnal singing. I can't express joy in that. I can't even feel joy in that. The words may have life but the music is utterly dead.

I think you answered your own question.

Lost4words · Nov 18, 2020

Arc F1 said:
If you've ever heard my singing you would know that it's not pleasing to God
Lol

Even my dogs start to howl.

Woof!

DiscipleHeLovesToo · Nov 18, 2020

Jamdoc said:
I don't like the way it feels, it's a vibration in my whole chest that is unpleasant. It's like having a beehive in your throat.
Not the same as just talking.
I mean it bothers me even if I'm totally alone and nobody can hear me.

bear with me as i go through this...

(Zep 3:17) The LORD thy God in the midst of thee is mighty; he will save, he will rejoice over thee with joy; he will rest in his love, he will joy over thee with singing.

here's the same verse with Strong's Numbers to trace words back to the original language (Hebrew, in this case):

(Zep 3:17) The LORDH3068 thy GodH430 in the midstH7130 of thee is mighty;H1368 he will save,H3467 he will rejoiceH7797 overH5921 thee with joy;H8057 he will restH2790 in his love,H160 he will joyH1523 overH5921 thee with singing.H7440

here's Strong's definition of 'singing.H7440':

H7440
רִנָּה
rinnâh
rin-naw'
From H7442; properly a creaking (or shrill sound), that is, shout (of joy or grief): - cry, gladness, joy, proclamation, rejoicing, shouting, sing (-ing), triumph.
Total KJV occurrences: 33

from the KJV concordance, here's how the Hebrew word was presented in English in the KJV:

H7440
רנּה
rinnâh
Total KJV Occurrences: 33
cry, 12
1Ki_8:28, 2Ch_6:19, Psa_88:1-2 (3), Psa_106:44, Psa_119:169, Psa_142:6, Isa_43:14, Jer_7:16, Jer_11:14, Jer_14:12
singing, 9
Psa_126:2, Isa_14:7, Isa_44:23, Isa_48:20, Isa_49:13, Isa_51:11, Isa_54:1, Isa_55:12, Zep_3:17
joy, 3
Psa_30:5, Psa_126:4-5 (2)
rejoicing, 3
Psa_107:22, Psa_118:15, Psa_126:6
gladness, 1
Psa_105:43
proclamation, 1
1Ki_22:36
shouting, 1
Pro_11:10
sing, 1
2Ch_20:22
songs, 1
Isa_35:10
triumph, 1
Psa_47:1

of the 10 English words used for the 33 occurrences of H7440 in the Bible, 'singing' was the word chosen only 9 times; the word 'cry' was chosen 12 times, etc. so if singing (as we use the word today) bothers you because of the way it makes your chest feel, that does not mean you can't 'sing' in the biblical sense of H7440.

so you can 'sing' to the Lord other ways, such as 'cry, gladness, joy, proclamation, rejoicing, shouting, triumph' as in Strong's definition

but don't give up on singing (as the word is used today) because it can be emotionally moving to sing, can release joy from your spirit, etc.

try singing softly where it doesn't cause the vibration so much, and practice singing - this may help you overcome the unpleasantness. ask God to help you receive whatever change is needed physically to remove the unpleasantness, and expect Him to do so as you practice - but don't cheat yourself of singing (in the modern sense).

i really enjoy singing, but i probably shouldn't be singing into a microphone (for others sake

); so i sing softly around others and do my loud singing when i'm alone with God

hope that helps!

GreekOrthodox · Nov 18, 2020

Once upon a time in France, there was a beautiful abbey which was renowned throughout the whole medieval world for its singing. In the midst of all the monks with their marvelous voices, was one little monk who desired to sing with his whole, whole, whole heart. But he was tone deaf; he couldn’t carry a tune.

He loved to listen to the music and sometimes sat in the corner behind the choir and wept a little that he couldn’t praise the Lord in song.

One day the abbot came excitedly to the monks and told them, “The king is coming to visit us. He has heard of our singing and wants to hear it himself. You had better prepare.” So leaving aside everything they could, they spent much of their time practicing.

The abbot said to the little monk, “When the king is here, do not open your mouth.”

Finally the great day arrived, and the choir began to sing. They sang so beautifully that those hearing it felt like they were hearing the heavenly choir itself.

The little monk was hiding in the choir loft, in ecstasy at hearing the music. He was so full of the love of God that he couldn’t stop himself. Right in the midst of everything, he lifted his voice and sang. Of course, he was completely out of tune.

The whole choir just stopped. Someone found the little monk and took him away.

That night, the abbot was so angry that he could barely contain himself. He ordered the little monk to spend the next twenty-four hours on his knees on a very cold floor in a very cold cell. After the little monk left to do this, the abbot became calmer and began to prepare for bed.

Suddenly he was startled by a glowing light which seemed to fill the room. And there, standing before him, was the Mother of God. Though always gentle and tender, she was on this occasion rather stern—as a good mother might be with a wayward son.

She said: “Heaven was filled with a terrible sound this evening, a harsh grating noise full of self-centeredness, pride and vanity. It was the sound of your evening prayer, which you sang for an earthly king.

“It was almost unbearable. And just as all of us were wondering if we could possibly listen any longer, we heard a faint sound of such sweetness and purity that it began to transform the disharmony into something almost pleasant.

“As your little monk lifted his heart to the Heavenly King, his voice grew stronger. It permeated the terrible noise the rest of you were making, and what finally reached our ears was more beautiful than anything we have heard from this monastery in a long time.

“So, my son, I suggest you go to your brother and offer him your bed for the night. Take his place on your knees for the remainder of the twenty-four hours; for it is he, not you, who has greatly pleased the Heavenly King.”

In his long nightdress, the abbot got up and went into the cold church. He was shaking like a leaf.

From that time on, the little monk was allowed to sing with the choir and from that time on; they began to sing from their hearts for the glory of God.

Jamdoc · Nov 18, 2020

NerdGirl said:
I feel you on this one.

I personally love old hymns and sacred music, but an enormous demographic of modern Christians don't connect with that sort of music anymore. I find that terribly sad, personally But it is what it is!

I don't really like "led" worship. Or "praise teams". There's a lot I don't like about contemporary church service structure. I think the formulaic construction has eroded the passion and the authenticity that we're supposed to be experiencing in church. It's become way too...scheduled. Organized. Contrived.

"Open with prayer. Sing two songs. Pray again. Sing three songs. Take the offering. Preach for no more than thirty minutes. Sing one more song. Go home."

A lot of these services are spiritually dead, and the congregation can feel it. You can't force worship. You can't force peoples' hearts into praise.

Now, I've been to very traditional church services, where things were strictly organized and a regular program followed every single time. But the atmosphere was so different. It was respectful, sacred, and profound.

Perhaps there's a glitch in trying to shove churches along with modern cultural whims and practices. Our spirits know when something isn't sincere. We don't need bands on stage. We don't need coffee bars in the lobby. We don't need trendy decor. Are we coming into the Lord's house, or are we coming into a coffee lounge?

I'm getting off on a tangent here, so I'll wrap it up, lol.

I get the gist that you and I probably look for different things in worship songs though, I don't think the black churches I went to were using rock n roll by any means but the songs they sang were just more uptempo and lively than ones that I find being sang in white churches.
I want something that moves me. and not just a "it moves me spiritually because it says Jesus in the lyrics" but something that physically moves me. I've been listening to Randy Alcorn's "Heaven" and it reinforces just how important the physical resurrection and physical new earth is to my faith. Far too many Christians see physical = bad, spiritual = good when I see both as being necessary and good components.
I actually get depressed and the holy spirit feels insulted but concerned for me when I get these ideas in my head from other Christians focusing so heavily on the spiritual and ignore the physical and I start to believe them. To me worship that is just singing.. it's so dead. It needs to have people moving, it needs those hands raised in the air, it needs to have people leaping for joy, it needs people clapping and swaying together shoulder to shoulder (the swaying shoulder to shoulder for me.... that's when it feels like you are all one body of Christ, moving together). Movement is life.

Jamdoc · Nov 18, 2020

Arc F1 said:
If you've ever heard my singing you would know that it's not pleasing to God
Lol

Even my dogs start to howl.

I think if I had a dog still it'd run away if I started singing.

Jamdoc · Nov 18, 2020

DiscipleHeLovesToo said:
bear with me as i go through this...

(Zep 3:17) The LORD thy God in the midst of thee is mighty; he will save, he will rejoice over thee with joy; he will rest in his love, he will joy over thee with singing.

here's the same verse with Strong's Numbers to trace words back to the original language (Hebrew, in this case):

(Zep 3:17) The LORDH3068 thy GodH430 in the midstH7130 of thee is mighty;H1368 he will save,H3467 he will rejoiceH7797 overH5921 thee with joy;H8057 he will restH2790 in his love,H160 he will joyH1523 overH5921 thee with singing.H7440

here's Strong's definition of 'singing.H7440':

H7440
רִנָּה
rinnâh
rin-naw'
From H7442; properly a creaking (or shrill sound), that is, shout (of joy or grief): - cry, gladness, joy, proclamation, rejoicing, shouting, sing (-ing), triumph.
Total KJV occurrences: 33

from the KJV concordance, here's how the Hebrew word was presented in English in the KJV:

H7440
רנּה
rinnâh
Total KJV Occurrences: 33
cry, 12
1Ki_8:28, 2Ch_6:19, Psa_88:1-2 (3), Psa_106:44, Psa_119:169, Psa_142:6, Isa_43:14, Jer_7:16, Jer_11:14, Jer_14:12
singing, 9
Psa_126:2, Isa_14:7, Isa_44:23, Isa_48:20, Isa_49:13, Isa_51:11, Isa_54:1, Isa_55:12, Zep_3:17
joy, 3
Psa_30:5, Psa_126:4-5 (2)
rejoicing, 3
Psa_107:22, Psa_118:15, Psa_126:6
gladness, 1
Psa_105:43
proclamation, 1
1Ki_22:36
shouting, 1
Pro_11:10
sing, 1
2Ch_20:22
songs, 1
Isa_35:10
triumph, 1
Psa_47:1

of the 10 English words used for the 33 occurrences of H7440 in the Bible, 'singing' was the word chosen only 9 times; the word 'cry' was chosen 12 times, etc. so if singing (as we use the word today) bothers you because of the way it makes your chest feel, that does not mean you can't 'sing' in the biblical sense of H7440.

so you can 'sing' to the Lord other ways, such as 'cry, gladness, joy, proclamation, rejoicing, shouting, triumph' as in Strong's definition

but don't give up on singing (as the word is used today) because it can be emotionally moving to sing, can release joy from your spirit, etc.

try singing softly where it doesn't cause the vibration so much, and practice singing - this may help you overcome the unpleasantness. ask God to help you receive whatever change is needed physically to remove the unpleasantness, and expect Him to do so as you practice - but don't cheat yourself of singing (in the modern sense).

i really enjoy singing, but i probably shouldn't be singing into a microphone (for others sake ); so i sing softly around others and do my loud singing when i'm alone with God

hope that helps!

Ultimately I just think I've never had an interest in ever getting good at singing just because it's something unpleasant to do for me. I have a voice that carries really far which is I think the vibration thing.. you project sound at glass in the right frequency it vibrates, you project that frequency at a high enough amplitude it shatters.
It also doesn't help that if I really raise my voice to sing it can drown out others... and frankly isn't pleasant to hear.

public hermit · Nov 18, 2020

Jamdoc said:
so I guess the advice I'm asking is my disliking singing just a sign of spiritual death?

Of course, not. I get what you're saying, though. You're right in that you express joy in other ways.

Some people just aren't into singing. That's okay. I can't stand musicals. It's not a moral failing, but a matter of taste. I won't rant about about praise and worship music because I don't want to hurt anyone's feelings but just...no.

Jamdoc · Nov 18, 2020

GreekOrthodox said:
Once upon a time in France, there was a beautiful abbey which was renowned throughout the whole medieval world for its singing. In the midst of all the monks with their marvelous voices, was one little monk who desired to sing with his whole, whole, whole heart. But he was tone deaf; he couldn’t carry a tune.

He loved to listen to the music and sometimes sat in the corner behind the choir and wept a little that he couldn’t praise the Lord in song.

One day the abbot came excitedly to the monks and told them, “The king is coming to visit us. He has heard of our singing and wants to hear it himself. You had better prepare.” So leaving aside everything they could, they spent much of their time practicing.

The abbot said to the little monk, “When the king is here, do not open your mouth.”

Finally the great day arrived, and the choir began to sing. They sang so beautifully that those hearing it felt like they were hearing the heavenly choir itself.

The little monk was hiding in the choir loft, in ecstasy at hearing the music. He was so full of the love of God that he couldn’t stop himself. Right in the midst of everything, he lifted his voice and sang. Of course, he was completely out of tune.

The whole choir just stopped. Someone found the little monk and took him away.

That night, the abbot was so angry that he could barely contain himself. He ordered the little monk to spend the next twenty-four hours on his knees on a very cold floor in a very cold cell. After the little monk left to do this, the abbot became calmer and began to prepare for bed.

Suddenly he was startled by a glowing light which seemed to fill the room. And there, standing before him, was the Mother of God. Though always gentle and tender, she was on this occasion rather stern—as a good mother might be with a wayward son.

She said: “Heaven was filled with a terrible sound this evening, a harsh grating noise full of self-centeredness, pride and vanity. It was the sound of your evening prayer, which you sang for an earthly king.

“It was almost unbearable. And just as all of us were wondering if we could possibly listen any longer, we heard a faint sound of such sweetness and purity that it began to transform the disharmony into something almost pleasant.

“As your little monk lifted his heart to the Heavenly King, his voice grew stronger. It permeated the terrible noise the rest of you were making, and what finally reached our ears was more beautiful than anything we have heard from this monastery in a long time.

“So, my son, I suggest you go to your brother and offer him your bed for the night. Take his place on your knees for the remainder of the twenty-four hours; for it is he, not you, who has greatly pleased the Heavenly King.”

In his long nightdress, the abbot got up and went into the cold church. He was shaking like a leaf.

From that time on, the little monk was allowed to sing with the choir and from that time on; they began to sing from their hearts for the glory of God.

I get the point of the story but.. there's so much wrong theologically in it that I kinda have to cringe...
sorry but I have to say that Catholicism's focus on Mary and using HER as the mediator is all kinds of wrong 1 Timothy 2:5 should correct them on that. Not to go off topic but.. not really a subject I can just outright ignore.

DiscipleHeLovesToo · Nov 18, 2020

Jamdoc said:
Ultimately I just think I've never had an interest in ever getting good at singing just because it's something unpleasant to do for me. I have a voice that carries really far which is I think the vibration thing.. you project sound at glass in the right frequency it vibrates, you project that frequency at a high enough amplitude it shatters.
It also doesn't help that if I really raise my voice to sing it can drown out others... and frankly isn't pleasant to hear.

me too - even when i whisper; but when i'm traveling alone in the car, and i play my favorite praise songs (bluegrass gospel), and sing along to the Lord as loud as i want, i really enjoy it! and the more you sing, the more your singing will improve!

is a love of singing really important?

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