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Praise the Lord?

As I was driving in this morning listening to Chris Rice's, "The Cartoon Song," for what seems like the millionth time, it struck me that we really don't praise God on a daily basis as His word commands. In this song, Chris Rice sings how cartoons would praise God if they could be saved, but at the end of the song he says, "Cartoons weren't made for that. It's our job to praise the Lord." He then goes on to encourage the audience to sing "Hallelujah" with him for several choruses. [By the way, if you didn't know, "Hallelujah" is a Hebrew word meaning "Praise the Lord." Interestingly, it is the only word that is pronounced exactly the same in every language in the world!]

I was thinking of that phrase "praise the Lord" and realized the truth of what Phillip Yancey once said. He said that this phrase had been stolen from Christians by the culture. Honestly, now, when you hear someone in public say, "praise the Lord," what is your first thought? Is it "how wonderful that person is for praising God in public?" Unlikely. What I generally think of is "that person is putting forth a fake religiousity to impress me and others." So, I never think of using the phrase "praise the Lord" in a public, secular setting for that reason. The meaning has been stolen by the culture.

What a shame it is to live in a time when we can't praise God in public for fear of being ridiculed or thought fake. Maybe if we truly lived a life of praise and breathed worship in and out of our lives we wouldn't be so hesitant to raise up God, even in public secular settings. I think it's time we reclaimed this right and started proclaiming "Praise the God" from the rooftops. God IS working and moving in our world and our lives, and He rightly should be praised for that. Just a thought to consider. Hallelujah!