Another Sunday. Another round of worship songs. But who exactly is being worshipped?
That thought struck me this morning when I heard the song “Street Called Mercy.” Here are the lyrics:
1: Tired of endless walking, not knowing which way to go, I collapsed on a street called “mercy.” I was found in You. Throwing Your arms around me, you held me like I was Yours. Like You’d been there the whole time waiting. I was found in You. 2: Wrapped up in scarlet kindness, you welcomed this sinner home. Now I breathe in the air of heaven. All I want is You. Keep me within Your shadow, Lord tether my heart to Yours. I want nothing without Your presence. All I want is You. Chorus: You are all I want. You are all I need. Every breath I take is a breath to say I am Yours now forever. You are all I want. You are all I need. Every breath I take is a breath to say I am Yours now forever.
Who is the focus of that song? It’s pretty clear. I’m the one who was tired. I’m the one you wrapped up in your arms. You were kind to me, and now I’m breathing your air.
You see, you helped me out…Jesus? God? I don’t know, the song mentions “Lord” once I guess. It mentions me a lot. Anyway, I was pretty worn out but now that I’ve seen how good life is with you, you’re the one I want. Thanks a lot…Jesus?
And there’s something else I find a bit troubling in the lyrics. “All I want is you”? “You are all I want”? Yeah, maybe it’s a technicality, but I’m not really into lying in church. Thing is, God is not all we want. That’s our problem. And this song only points that out. We want comfort. The songwriter seems to have found it in God, but I’m not sure he’d have been able to pull it off if he’d had a really good sandwich that morning.
I’m reading a book right now on the Sermon on the Mount. It starts famously with the Beatitudes, and the first of those is “blessed are the poor in spirit.” The author says that’s for a reason – it is from our poverty of spirit that we can truly seek God and experience him above all. But here we have a song that could be talking about any one of a number of things that make us feel better when we’re down. And honestly, that’s where the majority of us go. Wiped out after a tough week? Nothing like a few beers with the buds on Friday night. Ahhhh…all I want is…a good craft brew. That’s all I need. Or maybe a roll in the hay with some girl I just met. Heck, I might even fall in love with her. “Baby, I was at a low point in life, but then you wrapped your arms around me and made me feel good. Baby, all I want is you.”
Yeah, I probably sound like an old fuddy-duddy to the kids, but really, where’s the substance? Where’s the meaning? Where’s the worship?
If it’s focused on me, I’ve got it wrong.