A Singing Songbook

Memories are a funny thing. Growing up there were probably toys you played with or shows you  watched you thought were the coolest. But, now when you go back and see those same toys or shows, they seem ridiculous.

I grew up listening to tapes starring a giant, blue, singing songbook named Psalty. He helped teach kids about God through song. The tapes about Psalty are still great, but the movies are another story. A man with a blue afro, wearing more makeup than the Ronald Mcdonald clown, while sporting a big blue book costume and singing to giant mice doesn’t age well. But, my kids overlook the awkward 80’s ambiance and have grown to appreciate the timeless message and amazing songs in the videos.

While watching Kid’s Praise 4, starring Psalty the Singing Songbook recently, something hit me. The secret to why so many churches seem empty, and Christians feel hollow is explained clearly in this video. It serves as a reminder and warning to all those who follow God. I felt personally challenged, so I’d like to share what hit me.

What God wants

In the video a wandering, singing mouse named Charity aspires to become a gospel singing superstar. Psalty and the kids with him try to convince her that that God isn’t looking for superstars, He’s looking for servants. The Bible says the greatest in God’s kingdom will be the servant of all (Mark 8:44).

Psalty asks if she’s prayed about her quest. Charity scoffs at the notion. Why should she pray? If she wants to sing about God, how could He not want that for her?

Religious Activity

In the Christian world, it’s so easy to get caught up in trying to do good things. We try to be nice, we serve, and we give. And we do all this in hopes that we’ll feel better about ourselves and somehow help God to feel better about us too. It feels a lot like ancient Roman sacrifice to appease the gods to get what you want. But, there’s a major problem with this notion. God doesn’t want our religious activity. He wants our heart!

What makes you tick?

I’m reading a book now called, “Ordering Your Private World,” and it’s all about our heart. The author challenges us to, “Look inside…what makes you tick? Why are you doing all of that? What do you hope to gain as a result? And what would be your reaction if it were all taken away?” I think it’s why God said about his people, “These people are mine. They honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. And their worship of me is nothing but man-made rules learned by rote.”(Is. 29:13)

 Your Heart

In the end, Charity Church Mouse realized that serving God with her heart was more important than being a super star. God may have her become a superstar one day, but what He really cared about was her friendship with him. It may seem silly, but this was an awesome challenge for me. As a pastor, it can be easy to get caught up in religious activity and neglect my heart.

What about you? How’s your heart? If someone opened you up right now, would you be hollow? Or would they find something solid? I wrote more about this here. God seems to build us from the inside out. He begins in the secret places of our soul, and works until it becomes something people see in our lives. Let God do his secret work in your life this week. God doesn’t want your religious activity, He wants your heart.

Go to www.psalty.com to find other available albums.

You can purchase Kid’s Praise 3 on iTunes.

You can find the Kid’s Praise 4 video online on Youtube: 

https://youtu.be/wW7KcTAvI3w