“Wo man singt, da lass dich nieder. Böse Menschen haben keine Lieder” – a German saying, which loosely translated means: “Wherever people get together to sing, join them. You won’t run into bad company there; evil people don’t have songs.”

My grandmother’s dad was Walter Seelheim. He knew how to play the accordion. At night, he played in dance halls, which were very popular in Germany in the 1920s. Well-paid jobs were scarce after the Germans had lost World War I; playing music at night probably helped my great grandfather to feed his nine children. My grandmother had seven sisters and one brother. Times were hard, but they knew how to have fun. At night, the girls who shared a bedroom fell into harmony singing old folk songs to pass the time.

Singing together is such a bonding activity. About choral singing Julia Layton wrote in her article: “The Physical Effects of Singing”:

“A study published in Australia in 2008 revealed that on average, choral singers rated their satisfaction with life higher than the public — even when the actual problems faced by those singers were more substantial than those faced by the general public. A 1998 study found that after nursing-home residents took part in a singing program for a month, there were significant decreases in both anxiety and depression levels. Another study surveying more than 600 British choral singers found that singing plays a central role in their psychological health.”* (*Source: science.howstuffworks.com; web link:  https://science.howstuffworks.com/life/inside-the-mind/emotions/singing-happy1.htm)

It’s no secret that not everybody can sing in tune, which would be a major deal-breaker for joining a choir. Singing in the shower, however, it won’t matter how we sound. Singing is simply good for the soul which is why the Lord encourages us to keep it up (Psalm 33:3):

“Sing to him a new song; play skillfully, and shout for joy.”

Inspired by God’s Spirit His children sing. Let’s join them and sing a song to the Lord – He gave us all we have and without Him we wouldn’t be here in the first place. An added bonus for making music is that we typically don’t engage in violence as we sing. How do we change the world for the better? Maybe one song at a time!