I love worship music. But I also find worship music incredibly dangerous.

Why? Because there’s something powerful about the harmonies and rhythms of music that can make you fall in love with a song even if you don’t know what it means. Ask a teenager what his favorite song is. Then ask him what that song is about. I bet he hesitates as he tries to figure out why he loves the song so much. Music can bypass your head and still stir your heart.

But when it comes to Christian worship, God wants to move your heart by instructing your head. In his discussion on speaking in tongues, the apostle Paul said, “Since you are eager for gifts of the Spirit, try to excel in those that build up the church. I thank God that I speak in tongues more than all of you. But in the church I would rather speak five intelligible words to instruct others than ten thousand words in a tongue” (1 Corinthians 14:12,18,19).

Paul preferred one measure of a song (“five words”) you understand to four entire songs (“ten thousand words”) you don’t. What builds up the church of Jesus is the message of Jesus, not the temporary emotional impact of a well-written melody. Skip the message, and the melody might deceive you into assuming you are worshiping. Focus on the message, and the melody will help you worship God.

So let the music move your heart as the message moves your mind. That kind of worship will bless you long after the last note.