Beauty in worship—why does it matter? Or does it?

I was recently in the copier room of a church/Christian school. Someone had posted, “God looks on the heart, so it doesn’t matter how it sounds!” Good and true principle—bad application. . . . Judging from the handwriting of the post, it was written with a juvenile hand. I could have imagined myself saying something like that in my youth as well.

So does beauty matter in worship? We could save a ton of time in rehearsal if it didn’t matter. Let’s just then all pray and get our hearts right. However this has never been the Biblical model.

God’s heaven is stated to have beauty (Psa. 96:6). God’s call to worship Him in the beauty of holiness has ramifications for the excellence of our music. And God did say, “play skillfully with a loud noise” (Psa. 33:3). Also, the priest’s garments, and even all the tabernacle, was designed to be beautiful. It had to be “exceedingly magnificent” (I Chron. 22:5), precisely because it was for God, and HE is magnificent.

Let us all take care to minister in music with beauty. It matters because it makes a statement about our God. He is worthy of our best.