| I've been reading this book "The Official "I Don't
Listen to the Lyrics" Handbook written by Phil Chalmers, and
I came across an interesting chapter. And I wanted to relate some
of it to you. Instead of putting it into my own words, I will just quote
Chalmers. |
THE DEVIL DOESN'T
HAVE ALL THE GOOD MUSIC! CONTEMPORARY CHRISTAIN MUSIC
| Welcome to the most controversial
topic I face in my ministry. Most people agree with me that ... violent
and negative entertainment isn't appropriate for teens, but when it comes
to Christian music, the waters part quickly. Most people have an opinion
on this issue, but you should know that music has always been a controversial
issue to the church. Look at this discription of Christian music. "It's often worldly, even blasphemous. The new Christian music is not pleasant as the more established style. Because there are so many new songs, you can't learn them all. It puts too much emphasis on instrumental music rather than Godly lyrics. The new music creates disturbances, making people act indecently and disorderly. The new music upstarts are lewd and loose." (Worship Together, We Celebrate, Lesli Flynn, pp. 75-76) This sounds like some people's view of Contemporary Christian music today. If you feel this way, your opinion is not new at all, because the preceding quote was written in 1723 by Thomans Flynn, who opposed the introduction of a new and threatening musical menace known today as hymn singing. At one time the church was opposed to the organ, as well as hymns because they were once songs played in bars and pubs in that day. The issue of music has caused controversy since the 1700's and continues to cause controversy today. The ultimate test is this: does the music or song minister to your heart and cause you to focus on Christ? Do the lyrics glorify God? Does the artist live a Christian lifestyle? And remember, a song doesn't have to have the name God or Jesus in it to be a Christian song. If you are one who believes that, you would have to throw out the book of Ester in the Bible. The main thing is does the song have a Christian theme, Christian ideas and positive ideas? We should also be careful not to make spiritual judgments based on our musical tastes. This is dangerous. We should also be careful not to make spiritual judgements based on our musical tastes. This is dangerous. We should never make spiritual decisions based on any issue based on our opinion, but rather the scriptures. Most of the time I hear people judging Christian contemporary music, they are usually talking about their tastes, and how it doesn't fit into their view of Christianity. We need to remember that everyone is at different stages in their spiritual journey, and some are more mature than others. We cannot force soemoen who is a newer Christian to have the same convictions as those of us who have been in Christ for many years. When we try to force our view on a less mature believer, we drive them away from Christ, and sometimes it is for good. Be careful how you treat others, especially new Christians and Christian teens, because they are in a growth stage and need to see love and non-judgmental attitudes from more mature Christians. ...If we turn to God's Word and examine His kind of music, we will see that it's not quite what we think it may be. Psalm 150: 4-5 says, "Praise Him with tambourine and dancing, praise Him with the strings and flute, praise Him with the clash of cymbals, praise Him with the resounding cymbals." To me that doesn't seem quite and reserved, but kind of loud, with dancing included (NIV) Another scripture describes the kind of music that God honors, "Speak to one another wtih Psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord...(Ephesians 5:19, NIV) ....lastly (Ephesians 5:19) says that the music you listen to should make a melody, or music in your heart to the Lord. This is to me the ultimate measuring stick. Does the music you are listening to create music in your heart to the Lord? It doesn't matter whether it's secular or Christian music, this is the question we must ask. And don't forget, music was created to worship and glorify God, and any other use is a perversion of what music was created for. Enjoy God's creation, and use it as a tool to worship God, and think about Him throughout the day. 
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I believe that this can relate to all aspects of
our lives, not just our preference in music. I hope that you had a great Spring Break. 
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April
Birthdays
2nd Skyler Murray
6th Brandon
Townsend
7th Billy Bronson 8th Scott Schuening 10th Tabitha Daulton 11th Colin Lewis 11th Helen Hodney 17th Bobby Corey 19th Megan Fry 21st Chelse Bermel 23rd Linnea Adams 24th Sean New 25th Danielle Haslam (If I forgot your B-day, I'm sorry ... Please forgive me) |