I'm going to be serious now.
In Sunday School, we're studying Breakfast with Jesus by Greg Laurie. Today's lesson was on Double Vision - guarding against keeping one eye on spiritual matters and one eye on the world. Pretty convicting stuff. In Laurie's words:
Those (Christians) who grew up in church sometimes struggle terribly with this issue. They know what's right but the world seems so attractive to them. It feels alluring, seductive- mainly because they have never known it's full power and destructiveness.
(now here's the kicker)
So they don't necessarily go for the world whole hog.
They just flirt with it.
Ouch!
How many ways do I flirt with the world? More than I'd care to admit in a public forum. So I'll just focus on one. Music is one of the areas I dip my toe deepest into worldly waters. A fair helping of what I listen to (to the extent that I get to listen!) is secular. I could devote whole posts, if not an entirely separate blog to the music I love and why I love it. Reviewing music would be a dream job for me. (I've always wanted to use words like 'jangly' and 'rollicking'. I don't know why) . I can easily see myself living without television. I break out in a cold sweat at the thought of living without music. I'm just trying to provide some reference here. I really love music. Now, if I use the Scriptures as my standard ......
- Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things. Phil 4:8
But, I could quickly point out that none of it has lyrics that are morally reprehensible. I've never heard a Death Cab for Cutie song. Rappers who brag about cop- killing and girlfriend-assaulting have never appealed to me. On second thought, rappers in general have never appealed to me. Neither do the girl groups whose stage presence always seems to be long on suggestive choreography and short on clothing OR the "emo" bands whose songs are defined by dark, hopeless lyrics.
See, I could list example after example of secular music that is sooo much more worldly than what I listen to .......
But then I'm letting the world be my standard. Sigh.
It's so easy to feel OK with decisions you make when you're only flirting with the world.
3 comments:
I listen to a lot of Christian music, but I have to admit that sometimes I just feel like some Journey or Tim McGraw or others that aren't so bad. I really don't feel bad about listening to secular music sometimes. But you just have to listen to what the Lord is speaking to you.
Kathy, Thank you for your thoughts. My struggle with this issue isn't new, it comes in cycles. I've found my kids are unknowingly, a pretty good indicator of how healthy my musical diet is at any given time. When I'm listening to primarily Christian music, it's those songs I hear my kids singing around the house. Last week though, in a period of five minutes I heard Peanut singing both Tom Petty's "Breakdown" and "When We All Get to Heaven". So that was already on my mind, then the S.S. lesson reinforced it. Again with the diet metaphor, I'm just feelin the need to cut back on the junk food and load up on fruits and vegetables. This issue will probably rise again though, as I have never been able to completely cut out junk food (spiritual or otherwise).
It's funny that you used the diet metaphor -- just the other day I told my husband to put a Beethoven CD in because we needed our music vegetables!
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