"I am the LORD; that is my name! I will not give my glory to anyone else, nor share my praise with carved idols. - Isaiah 42:8 (NLT)
I like the holidays at church because that usually gives us the best chance of having more traditional worship, when God was still what we were worshipping. At Christmas I always look forward to singing Hark the Herald Angels Sing for example because some of the best theology is found in such songs. Resurrection Sunday usually means singing My Redeemer Lives but after that song this past week, we sang a Bethel tune called "Champion." Simply put this song is bad. The theology is wrong. It is important to analyze closely what it is we sing to the creator of the universe for two reasons. First, it informs our theology. Secondly however, shouldn't we be mindful of what we are singing to God under the guise of worshipping Him? As an old pastor friend once said, singing Friend of God does not actually make you a friend of God. Singing "You are my champion" does not actually make Him such if it is followed up by usurping His power. So, let us reason once more together beloved through the morass of these lyrics.
I've
tried so hard to see it
Took me so long to believe it
That You'd choose someone like me
To carry Your victory
We need to start with what is worship. Victoria Osteen once infamously declared that we do not worship God for God but rather for ourselves. Her husband Joel doubled down when she faced scathing criticism but this thinking is exactly what modern worship has become when you consider the big three - Hillsong, Elevation and Bethel. It is an extremely narcissistic brand of faux-worship. The example I always use is that 50 years ago the church sang how great thou art and today it is oh how He loves us. There is a stark difference between the two sentiments. The first is focused on who God is and the second is focused on who we are. We see this in the lyrics of Champion, which arose from the bowels of Bethel Church. Now, there may be snippets in here that are perfectly appropriate but they are ensconced in the same showy, look at me spirit that has ensnared Charismania. Even in this opening stanza we see the correct theology that says the victory, belongs to Jesus but the overall message is not actually about Him. It is the assertion that the creator of the entire universe has chosen YOU, aren't YOU so special, to carry His victory. How in the world is it "worship" to essentially brag to God that He chose you? The gospel is not about us. There is a vast difference between singing about how Jesus conquered the grave and singing about how we are "carrying" that victory. By singing this over and over again it informs our theology. It forms our beliefs. It is wholly in line with what Bill Johnson and Bethel teaches their congregants. That our faith is about us. Continuing:
Perfection
could never earn it
You give what we don't deserve and
You take the broken things
And raise them to glory
You are
my champion
Giants fall when You stand
Undefeated
Every battle You've won
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