First off, my music tastes have always been eclectic, and while I listen to a bit of everything, I've been listening to a lot of pop/contemporary music due to being a part of Young Life and etc.
So here my spiel;
In the minds of some people I know (followers of Christ) they see that there are two types of music - 1) "Christian" Music and 2) "Non-Christian" Music.
To me, there should not be avoid for followers of Christ and the music they choose to listen to - If music is a gift of God, why should we state that there are Christian songs and Non-Christian songs?
Granted, there are some songs that downright void out God completely, but think about songs like Crazy by Simple Plan or Under the Bridge by Red Hot Chili Peppers? While the songs do not mention God, the lyrics clearly state regret and need to change and that there's something bigger and better than what this life has to offer.
In life there will seem like there are many different compartments in life, and one compartment might be where God/church/reading the Bible/prayer go- Every aspect of our lives as followers of Christ should not be thrown into one compartment, but God should be what holds everything together, essentially- He should be the entire compartment in which everything goes! (Including music.)
So for you who are followers of Christ, don't divy up the sacred and secular, make it all sacred. It's a process I'm working at, but God willing this model of living will settle in to every area of my life.
1 comments:
I don't want to embarass you by praising you too much for this post, but it's right on the mark, dear brother! I started typing a triple "axios!" and then backspaced it away… why do I always have to be so passionate in my encouragements?! I don't know. I suppose it's because there is so little wisdom and common sense to be found anywhere today (except in the Word of God, and in those in whom the Word has taken root and is bearing good fruit).
My contemporary music tastes have not been driven by the label "Christian". I DO listen closely to the lyrics, and my native pragmatism picks and sticks with music that edifies me… I don't care if it's from a non-Christian source.
For example, one of my current favorites is Matisyahu, a Hasidic kaballah-practicing Jew who does reggae. How wierd! But, aside from his foolish remarks about us descending "from the realms of Godliness" and "reincarnating" in this world in order to bring light here… well, Matisyahu baby, I'm waiting for when you finally find out Who "moshiach" really is… whoa, I can't wait to hear your music then! But as for right now, I can dig your Jewish reggae and the Word of God that's all thru it, well, it DOES edify me, and that's that!
My other musician favorite of all time, Cat Stevens, converted from Greek Orthodox to Muslim more than 20 years ago. His nine albums, even the last one when he was already well into Islam, all contain songs whose lyrics are, to me, fundamentally but not explicitly, Christian. Listening to Cat Steven's music, in fact, songs like "On the Road to Find Out", were what turned me around and brought me back to Christ when, in my teens and early twenties, I was skirting the cliffs of She'ol by flirting with the New Age religions.
The Five Iron Frenzy song, "Spartan", that you had playing on your blog for a while has become a permanent component of my "Christian" spiritual music repertoire. I simply cannot get tired of it, and it's so true. I don't know if they were a specifically Christian band or not.
So, before this turns into a blog itself, I just want to save "bravo" and "right on, brother" and greet you once again. Happy to hear your thoughts. Stay in the light, bear fruit in abundance for others, be a tree planted in the house of our God, your leaves never fading.
Romanós
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