I really think that the Lord loves to hear “his children worship and praise Him!” All churches are different, but the Lord looks upon their hearts and loves the praise of His children. Psalms 33:2-3 declares, “Praise the Lord with harp: sing unto him with the psaltery and an instrument of ten strings. Sing unto him a new song; play skillfully with a loud noise.”
Churches in Haiti love to praise the Lord and dance before Him. Some churches have “good music,” and some churches in the mountains have “bad music,” but they still love to sing! Years ago, Bobby and I went to our church in Greffin, Haiti. The pastor had asked us for an accordion, and we had brought him one. I love music, and I couldn’t wait to hear him play! Bobby said, “Sherry, we are taping for television. The choir is going to sing, and the pastor is going to play the accordion we brought for him. Take the microphone and hold it up while the choir is singing.” Well, we had a microphone back then with a long cord. The choir began to sing, and as I held the microphone and introduced them, I was trying to smile but the choir was “off-key.”
It only got worse when the pastor started to play. He just put his fingers on the keys and squeezed the accordion back and forth. It hurt my ears so bad because I am sensitive to “off-key singing.” When they got through the first verse, I was so relieved and started to say something, but the song had five verses! It was like “scratching your fingernails on a chalkboard!” We made it through the song (with five verses) and Bobby came up and took the microphone and said, “That’s how you sing off-key here in Haiti.” And then he just went on with the rest of the program.
As I was reading Psalms, I knew that the Lord must have looked down and smiled that day. I remember someone once telling me that they did not like “loud singing” in church, and they said, “God’s not deaf…” I said, “Well, He isn’t nervous either!” The next time you go to church, “remember that the Lord delights in your singing, your worship, and praise!” Sherry