There are 66 books in the (Protestant) Bible, but only about eight in the Good Christian's Choice Selections of Common Praise for Worship, Remembrance, and Joy Together in Song Book of the Faith: Psalms, Songs of Solomon (*shutter*), Isaiah, Mathew and Luke (but only at Christmas), John, 1 John, and Revelation.
Where are the hymns about “Ethnic cleansing in the name of the Lord (The Books of Joshua & Judges)" and “Fearing him who, after he has killed you, has authority to cast you into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear him! (Luke 12:5)”?
Where are the songs to raise the praise for “God breaking your sheep-like legs (Psalm 51:8),” “Cute kids replacing your dead ones (Job 42:14-15)” & “The Lord making your uterus drop and your womb discharge” (Numbers 5:22)?
Where are the choruses focused on “Tomorrow sucking (Matthew 6:34)" & "Cursing the day you were born and the day Creation began (Job 3)”?
Why are our songs so limited in scope?
Perhaps it’s because none of those fit a Verse 1, Pre-Chorus, Verse 2, Chorus, Bridge, Pre-Chorus Verse 3 Chorus Chorus Chorus Chorus Chorus Chorus Chorus Chorus Chorus Chorus Chorus (mushroom mushroom) structure.
Perhaps we want to avoid the concepts of wrestling with God and/or faith in the presence of “young Christians,” “new Christians,” or “the unchurched.”
Perhaps we fear introducing them into something we fear and do not fully understand: how can a loving God call for, cause, allow, or accept such unconscionably acts in the Bible, in the world.
Perhaps we only see “church” as a place to escape the pain of life, to surround ourselves with the perfectly picked words of worship: a place to uplift the soul above the bleak realities of life.
But if the purpose of church is people coming together in line with the mind, stumbling after the same God as best we can, honesty is a prerequisite, or we will never survive the journey.
Sometimes life sucks. Sometimes we need to sing that.
We will never grow in faith if, when hard times come, all we have to sing is
"Trust in the Lord and don't think too deeply about the bad things, the things you can't understand: it's not for you to know,"
OR
"God is love (love love) and He never gives us more than we can handle, so stick in there slugger!"
OR
“Rejoice in the Lord always, and again I say rejoice as the only way to prove you are not living in sin-based depression, which is the result of not loving or trusting God enough in the first place, which is why shitty things are happening to you, so it’s really all your own damn fault, sinner!”
Sometimes we forget that the Psalms were composed by people in various stages of faith, life, oppression, joy, and loss. Like us they are honest and wholehearted while sarcastic and questioning: How long must I suffer?, Why do You destroy me for no reason?, and Where are You? reoccur throughout, some ending with an “It is well with my soul” feel, others cursing and calling God to account from beginning to end.
Sometimes we sing merely because we want to mean it— faking it until we make it.
Sometimes we need songs that help us process. But sometimes we need a reason to sing.
But what do we know: we made this game and you probably think we’re going to Hell.
