I Should Sing Not for Satisfying My Vanity but for Praising God

By Little Xi’en

On July 8, Sunday, Fine

Today, I attended the music class in the children’s group for the first time. In the class, our teacher taught us a vocal skill. After that, the class was over and our homework was to learn to sing the hymn “All Nations and All Peoples Praise Almighty God.” This class was really enjoyable, because I learned much musical knowledge. I thought as long as I had a good command of these basic skills, I could sing hymns with other kids to praise God.

On July 12, Thursday, Cloudy

In today’s class, our teacher asked us to sing “All Nations and All Peoples Praise Almighty God.” Because I forgot to practice it, I had to improvise. Then the teacher commented that I had sung faster than the song’s beat and had some incorrect notes. But some other little brothers and sisters practiced the song in advance, so they sang better than me and won the teacher’s praise. When I saw that, I envied them very much. “If only next time I could sing as well as they did and be praised by the teacher!” I thought. “I must practice more after class.”

In the class, our teacher also taught us to play the hymn “Song of Heartfelt Attachment” on the piano. I thought, “I have good hearing and a good feel for music. I usually practice piano music much more difficult than this one. I’m sure that it should be a piece of cake.” So when the teacher asked me to play the hymn, I tried playing it by ear, only to play many wrong notes and fail to follow the beat. I hadn’t thought it was so difficult for me. I must practice hard in future.

Later, my mom shared a passage of God’s words with me: “In any given minor matter, if God does not enlighten you, you will never have any inspiration, and without it, you will never be able to break through in this regard. If people simply rely on their human brains, intelligence, and calibers, there will be many things that humanity will be unable to break through in several hundred or even a thousand years. Why can’t they break through? It’s because until the time determined by God, and until God has commenced His work, it is useless, no matter how capable humans might be. You must understand this, right?” “One must look up to God and rely on Him in everything one does. This is the greatest sort of wisdom.” After reading these words, mom said, “God is the source of man’s wisdom, and all our inspiration comes from God. So we should rely on and look up to God. Otherwise, without God’s enlightenment and guidance, despite that we are gifted and of good caliber we won’t be able to learn even the simplest song well.” After hearing this, I understood: God is our greatest reliance. No matter what difficulty I had in learning to sing, I must pray to God and look up to Him.

On July 19, Thursday, Fine

Before today’s class, our teacher asked me to play the hymn “Song of Heartfelt Attachment.” And I prayed to God silently within, “God, may You be with me. I’m going to play the piano now. But there’re still several accents I’m not familiar with. May You guide me. Amen!” After praying, I played it with both hands and when it came to those accents, I could get the feel of them somewhat. The teacher said I played well and that if I practiced and became more skillful, I could accompany other kids. At that moment, I chuckled, feeling happy very much. For my skill was recognized by the teacher and I could even accompany other little brothers and sisters later.

After the vocal training, the teacher told us to sing the hymn “All Nations and All Peoples Praise Almighty God.” After I sang this song, a little sister said, “In the middle of the song, your diction was very clear, but in the beginning and the end, you sang terribly.” Hearing her comment, I was unhappy and wanted to reason with her, “How can you say that I sang terribly? It was obvious that the teacher told me to sing aloud.” But when I thought of her saying that my diction was clear in the middle, my heart became gladdened. At the moment, the teacher sang the beginning and the end of the song by demonstration, and then told me, “When your sing soprano, you should use your breath instead of raising your voice. I hope you will do it well next time.”

After class, I was in low spirits and told my mom what had happened during the class. She said, “Xi’en, you’re expecting to be praised. When others praise you, you’re happy; when they point out your shortcomings, you are blue. You’re too attentive to others’ opinions of you. In fact, only when other little brothers and sisters point out your shortcomings can you know where you’re lacking.” With that, mom read to me a passage of God’s words: “Do not do things before men; you should do them before God. By accepting God’s observation and inspection, your heart is set aright. If you are always concerned with acting for people to see, then your heart will never be set aright.” Then, she shared with me, “When learning to sing, we must put our heart right, that is, we must sing in praise of God. God sees deep into our hearts. If you always want to sing before the teacher and other little brothers and sisters to win their praise, it will not please God.”

After hearing mom’s sharing, I realized that I indeed enjoyed being praised through playing or singing. When my teacher and other little brothers and sisters said that I did a good job, I was happy. When they said that I did bad, I was angry and wanted to reason with them. This was not right. I should play and sing with a heart that praised God. From this day on, I must adjust my attitude.

On July 26, Thursday, Fine

Today, the teacher asked each of us to sing a song. Since I hadn’t practiced any, I sang a hymn of God’s words “God Treasures Those Who Can Listen to and Obey Him” by ear. After the song, I was self-satisfied. I thought I had sung it well and that the teacher and other little brothers and sisters would definitely praise me. But when the teacher let us judge each other’s singing, a little sister said, “Why did you sing the note ‘di’ instead of ‘de’ in the music?” I thought within, “I’m sure I sang the right note. Did you hear it clearly?” On the spot, I felt ashamed and was in bad mood. Then a word of God came to my mind: “Do not do things before men; you should do them before God.” I realized that I was singing the song before others for praise again. My doing this was displeasing to God. Thinking that I sang by ear and that I was unfamiliar with the lyrics, maybe I really sang the wrong note. Later, the teacher let me remark on my singing. I said, “I’m unfamiliar with this song.” The teacher said, “So practice it more and listen more to the original song. Next class, you can sing this song again. If you want to sing to the piano, I can give you the music.” I nodded gladly.

On July 29, Sunday, Fine

Today, I went to the class. All I thought was to play and sing the hymn “God Treasures Those Who Can Listen to and Obey Him” to other little brothers and sisters, but I waited and waited, and nobody came. When I got back home, I said to my mom with great disappointment, “I tried hard to practice singing this song and wanted to sing it to others. But what a pity that nobody came to listen.” She held my hands and comforted me by saying, “Xi’en, we should learn to sing and play in praise of God. But you just wanted to get others’ praise and high regard. This kind of intent is wrong. Your gifts and skills of learning music are given by God. If you sing well, you should give glory to God, but if you don’t, you should practice more by relying on God. Only by doing this can you receive the guidance of the Holy Spirit.”

Later, mom shared with me a passage of God’s words: “No matter what it is that humans seek or what they desire, only those who return before the Creator and dutifully fulfill and complete what they are supposed to do, and what has been entrusted to them, will live with an easy conscience and in a way that is right and proper, without any suffering. This is the meaning and the value of living.”

Then she continued, “What’s the most meaningful life? It’s to do what we ought to before the Creator, and only in this way can we have real happiness and delight. If you use the music you have learned to praise and testify the Creator, this is the most meaningful thing. If what we do is for the purpose of satisfying our own vanity rather than for praising God, this is not pleased by God. Outwardly, today’s music class was canceled. In fact, it’s an environment arranged by God. We should learn lessons and put down our wrong intent.”

After I had heard God’s words and my mom’s sharing, I understood God’s will. Today I could sing and play—this was for praising the practical and lovely God. I should praise God happily, just like the elder brothers and sisters in the MV All Nations and All Peoples Praise Almighty God. So I prayed to God, “Oh, God. I shouldn’t pay any mind to others’ opinions of me. I’m willing to learn the song well in praise of You. Next time I attend the music class, I will treat others’ praises and comments correctly. When brothers and sisters praise me, I should thank for Your leading and should give the desired results and glory to You. When they point out my shortcomings, I’m willing to accept them humbly and rely on You to practice more. Amen!”

On August 2, Thursday, Fine

Before I went to the class, I had already been able to play and sing the two hymns “Song of Heartfelt Attachment” and “God Treasures Those Who Can Listen to and Obey Him” skillfully at home. And my mom said I played them well this time. Hearing that, I prayed to God in my heart, “God, thank You. It’s owing to Your enlightenment and guidance that I can practice these two songs well. All the glory be to You. I’m willing to sing with a sincere heart to praise You.”

In the class, the teacher told each of us to sing a song and record it, and then let others comment on it. When I was singing, the teacher told me to turn down the sound accompaniment. I was distracted and so didn’t sing steadily. After I sang the song, the teacher commented, “The high pitch was low. When you sing the high pitch, you should get a full breath and sing by using it.” As she said this, she gave me a demonstration. This time, I humbly accepted her advice and promised to practice hard according to the original song.

When I played and sang not for getting the praise of others, there were unspeakable delight and joy in my heart. To learn music in praise of God made it more enjoyable and meaningful for me to play and sing. After understanding this, I spontaneously hummed the song “All Nations and All Peoples Praise Almighty God”: “All countries and all lands praise Almighty God, all nations and all peoples praise Almighty God (praise God). Sing and dance joyfully to praise Almighty God. The waves of the sea praise Almighty God (praise God). Birds in the air praise Almighty God. The universe and expanse praises Almighty God. All things created by God praise Almighty God. Praise You, Almighty God! All come to praise You!”