When not to sing

Thoughtful Thursdays

Is there ever a wrong time to sing? Isn't music uplifted in the Scripture? The Psalms are full of songs of praise, and a joyful heart is good medicine.

But my daughter doesn't think so.

The other day when we were having a heart to heart, I asked her for feedback. She said, "I don't like it when you sing to me when I'm mad. You always sing to me."

Well, she's probably right, and I started catching myself.

I think I do it to try and lighten her mood. She gets so down and dark, I try and cheer her up. Little songs, like "Smile and show your dimples" and "I want to be happy, but I can't be happy, til I make you happy too."

I know better than to sing the old Music Machine "Have Patience" song. Who wants to hear that when they're impatient?

This morning, a verse jumped out of the Proverbs like lightning.

"Like one who takes off a garment on a cold day,

or like vinegar on soda,

is he who sings songs to a troubled heart."

Proverbs 25:20

I can't wait for her to wake up. I'm going to share this with her, and then I'll see if she can hep me come up with other ways to lighten the mood. Usually, she just wants me to listen to her side, to understand. Boy oh boy, I've said those very things.

So there are inappropriate times to sing. Lesson noted.