Lyrics that shake...

Was singing Be Thou My Vision, the great classic Irish hymn in my room last night, having a great jam (yes, I sounded great for those who were wondering), and as I reached the 4^th stanza, was particularly struck by the lyrics I was singing. As I've been trying to prepare mentally, spiritually and practically for marriage, I have caught myself thinking a lot about money, even worrying about it, thinking “Am I going to be a good provider?”. I've been trying to project my earnings, working harder to reach a higher revenue, and yet, I see that expenses just get higher, as life becomes more serious, and things I never wanted to pay for I find myself having to accept. I guess it's part of growing older and part of getting married. However, it is easier to start losing sight of things and starting to think more about material things as you dive further into the material world. Thank God I'm not marrying a material girl! Just to allay any suspicion from readers: she's real, not fake, I haven't made her up after all, just, not materialistic.

And then I pronounce these verses:

Riches I need not, nor man's empty praise (can I really say that?)

Be thou mine inheritance, now and always (is that enough?)

Be thou and thou only the first in my heart (yes, yes I get it!)

O Sovereign of heaven, my treasure Thou art. (I wanna cry...)

And this is my creed. I have never loved money greatly, but it is still such a draw. Such a tension between needing to work in order to live and needing to work in order to amass wealth. Between putting money aside wisely for the future and for enjoyment, and worrying about future needs to the point that you work yourself to death. Not that I'm remotely close to either of those cases right now, but I have seen my thoughts wander in that direction.

And then I meditate these words: Riches I need not, […] my treasure Thou art.* What can take the place of money? Love, sure. But earthly love produces needs which generate activity in order to supply those needs. The infinite, heavenly love of God fulfils needs, supplies want, eliminates fear. I believe in God's provision for me. I have to, because I know how weak and lazy and incompetent I can be. Christ gave himself for me. How can I not trust him for everything else? (Romans 8 ref.)

*: This also strikes me as to the quality of old-school worship songs. There was a true care lyrically, as well as musically, to produce songs which speak powerful biblical truth to its listeners and singers. I find it sad how nowadays, even some Christian groups seem to be worried about novelty over quality, going along with this world's musical trend. It's no conundrum as to which of these songs are going to stand the test of time. In 100 years, people are still going to be singing and touched by Be Thou My Vision, while many of today's “Get up and be cool for Jesus” tracks will be long since forgotten.