Faith and Devotions Of A Satellite Heart

Today I thought about worship. I don't normally discuss the details of my spiritual life or beliefs or practices because they are just that: mine. As an individual and in my faith, I am highly idiosyncratic: I have my own beliefs and my own ways and they work for me. Other people might view them as wrong, but that's them.

In my own faith, I find that I am almost mystical in my beliefs. I believe that God is all around us, everywhere, in everything, and is pleased with us enjoying His creation. I've had people call me a pantheist before when I've mentioned this, but I don't believe that's the case. To me, enjoying the sunlight hitting my face or the wind blowing in my hair is as much an act of worship as sitting in a church and singing hymns or praise choruses.

As a result, I tend to find God in the strangest of places: the sound a of a drumkit, the wailing of feedback, or buzz of distortion, the hum of guitar pickups, the sweat pouring off the bodies of musicians who are throwing everything they have into it. As odd as this sounds, these things please God more than any rote praise chorus or tired hymn, and God revels in it.

This is where some people will split off from what I'm saying and say, "Oh, but these things only count if they're done strictly for God's glory." This is a tough call, but I have to disagree with that. In my own life, my playing and my music are not always used for the glory of God, but God still takes this broken and messed-up human and uses him anyway. Nothing will stop Him from using me, even if I don't intend for Him to. There are plenty of people who don't give a crap about anything spiritual and are still used by God. Music is a gift from God, to use as He pleases. That's why I can find God in anything: from the majestic swell of Mogwai's "2 Rights Make 1 Wrong" to the carefully placed instrumental ambience of The Six Parts Seven, from the dreamy sway of The Lassie Foundation's "El Rey" to the pastoral IDM of Mum, from the hazy wall of sound that is My Bloody Valentine's "Loveless" to the punky thrash of ... And You Will Know Us By the Trail Of Dead, from the electrifying swirl and drone of Spiritualized's "Lazer-Guided Melodies" to the gentle autumnal folk of Nick Drake; it's there. All we have to do is find it.

Follow Christ the best you can.

Peace.