I love the new praise songs, but I also love the old hymns. Yet old or new, our children don't always understand the songs, and the words come out of their mouths in new and creative ways. I once heard a child change the hymn "Lead On, O King Eternal" to "Lead On, O Kinky Turtle." How do you explain to a child why that is wrong?

   Adults, on the other hand, often understand the words but don't really mean them. In fact, if we were honest, we should probably change some of the songs we sing. Here are some songs we might sing if we were totally honest:

   "There's a call comes ringing" might become "There's a cell phone ringing."

    "All praise to Thee" might become "All praise to me." 

   "This is the day the Lord has made" might become "This is the day to call in a maid."

   "Lord, You are more precious than silver" might become, "Lord, why can't I keep my precious silver?"

   "Are you weary, are you heavy-hearted" might become "Are you weary that the preacher started the sermon all over again?"

   "Have Thine Own Way, Lord" might become "I did it my way, Lord."

   "In times like these we need a Savior," might become "In times like these we need a rich member."

   "Shall we gather at the river?" might become "Shall we gather at the restaurants?"

  “‘Whosoever' surely meaneth me" might become "Who? Oh never, Surely not me."

   Hmm. On second thought, instead of changing the songs to fit our actions, maybe we need to change our actions to fit the songs. "Change My Heart, O God" might be a good place to start.

(Copyright 2012 by Bob Rogers. Email: brogers@fbcrincon.com. Read this column each Friday in the Herald. Visit my blog at www.bobrogers.me.)