Christmas is a good time to bring up the idea of sentimentality and its pull on us with any tradition. Christmas carols being sung in this season surely bring up warm feelings and many pictures of the past. However, how much value do we place on having our sentiment massaged over giving an offering in worship?

The Incarnation of Jesus is one of the pillars of our faith. It is a rare time in modern culture that we can openly sing lyrics “Hail the heaven-born Prince of Peace, hail the Sun of Righteousness.” For that, I love this time of year. But do we emphasize the warm fuzzies over the realities of who Jesus really is and how he desires to be worshipped?

This idea of sentiment is an issue in worship music all year round. It could be missing a favorite singer or musician who cannot be scheduled as often as we like. Or, it could mean newer songs that do not have the rich context of the many years of a life lived walking with Jesus.

To overcome sentimentality we need to embrace the new. Sing a new song! We need to reach new cultures, new people and allow the freedom from our sentimental side to be celebrated instead of mourned.

So, where are you at with all of this? Do you think sentimentality is an issue over giving an offering this season?

This entry was posted on Tuesday, December 15th, 2009 at 2:30 pm and is filed under Christian Life, Worship Myths. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.