Less - by James Newton

I have stolen this one straight from a Journal email that I received from Rend Collective...

What's Your Favourite Verse About Worship Leading?

There a ton of useful verses on this topic but none of them stop me in my tracks mid-set and have me reorient my heart like Proverbs 25:6:

“Do not exalt yourself in the king’s presence.”

When the King is in the room, he cannot be upstaged.

When we make a grab for the attention and honour that are due to Him, the only thing we can do is embarrass ourselves.

When I make the decision to play something on the guitar that I know is distracting and flashy, or I go for some insane vocal fill to impress someone in the audience, or I say something in the mic to try to make myself seem smart and spiritual; it’s never going to have the desired effect. It’s like flexing my bicep while standing next to the Rock. The king is RIGHT THERE. That’s just awkward.

A word of caution. When I was first taught about this verse, courtesy of Matt Redman’s amazing book “The Unquenchable Worshipper”, I over-corrected pretty drastically.

I interpreted the words “exalt yourself” to mean playing or singing to the full extent of my ability.

I guess I thought that humility was hiding my true musical potential. That worship leading required me to be bland and invisible. Boring.

That’s an immature understanding of humility.

As C.S. Lewis puts it, “humility is not thinking less of yourself, it’s thinking of yourself less.”

Why would God fill you with overflowing talents, and then require you to crush them down and never use them fully?

He wants you to use them.

Scripture even commands us to “play skilfully”.

He just wants you to use your gifts for His glory, rather than your own ego. It’s about why you’re playing what you’re playing, not the music itself.

Remember: when the king is in the room he cannot be upstaged. He’s not afraid of you outshining Him. He’s not the least bit insecure. So play freely, play well and play for Him.

Love,

Rend Co.

by James Newton