“Music once admitted to the soul, becomes a sort of
spirit and never dies” - Edward Bulwer- Lytton
“Where words leave off, music begins” – Heinrich
Heine
“Music is the language of the spirit. It opens the
secret of life, bringing peace, abolishing strife” – Kahlil
Gibran
The
above quotations narrate the potency of music on human soul and spirit. The
power of music whatever field it may be considered cannot be overemphasised. It
is from this premise that this article seeks to admonish the Christian youth to
be selective of the kind of music they seek to avail themselves to.
Going
through scripture from Genesis to Revelation, the importance of music in
worship is clearly highlighted. However, it is important to also appreciate the
fact that, the use of music in worship is not only limited to the worship of
God (Jehovah), but also to the worship of all other spiritual entities. Thus, music plays
a key role in all religions. Which then means that music as a tool of worship
cannot be downplayed regarding its spiritual and soulical impacts.
Apart
from the religious settings, music also plays very important role in our
socio-cultural settings, serving as one of the key modes through which society
and cultures expresses itself.
The
Bible Admonishes...
Colossians
3:16-17: “Let the word of
Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all
wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with
gratitude in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, whether in word or
deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father
through him (cf. Ephesians 5:19a)
Scripture defines the categories of music the believer
must be engaged with and these include psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. These
are the songs that bring edification to the soul; not only that, but also serve
as medium of worship of the One True God.
Though the various categories of music for the
believer have been defined by scripture, this article goes further to propose
factors one can consider before relating with any kind of music. This is
necessary because the youth on daily basis is confronted with several kinds and
types of music, of which one would have to be conscious of what such music seek
to offer.
a.
Purpose: Music
is written with a purpose in mind or what one will call “the concept” behind a
song. One must therefore subject a song to the question: what is the purpose or the
concept behind this song, and to what extent can I be identified with this purpose?
It is out of the purpose we identify the values the song seeks to encourage or
promote. If the song is classified by the author as a love song; one must then
ask, what kind of love does it promote – lust, sensuality, infatuation or godly
love? Again one must also consider the frame or package within which this love
is presented or does manifest – profanity/nudity or a godly atmosphere where
the love of God becomes the reference point. Considering an era, where sex has
be devalued into a commodity, it has become the point of many secular music
where its distorted form is always portrayed. Unfortunately, women become the
objects of such distortion.
b.
Message: Examine
the words of the song (the lyrics) and consider its message. Does the song
communicate the Word of God or the intents of God? Paul from the scripture
reference above admonishes, that whatever we seek to do, we must do it to the
glory of God. If we then seek to glorify God, it is important that the messages
of the songs we identify with are consistent with what God admonishes.
c.
Associative Behaviour: No
music exists in a vacuum – every piece of music can be associated with some group
of people or a certain kind of behaviour or attitude. Here the question that
comes up for consideration is, “What does the music bring to mind or generate in
the heart of the worshipper – violence, cheating, drinking, smoking, truancy,
infidelity, prostitution, disloyalty or faithfulness,
godliness, gentleness?
d.
Emotional Factor: Music
stirs our emotions; either negative or
positive. The emotions test asks, "Does the music stir our negative or
sinful feelings?" The ideal music for the Christian should stir our
passion for godliness, prayer and righteous living.
e.
The Vessel involved: Who is the vessel behind the music, and what has been
the source of his or her inspiration? Sometimes in seeking public attention and
sympathy, some secular musicians can be very deceptive. They periodically come
up with gospel songs to gain the attention of the public; especially
Christians.
As I bring the first part of this article to an end,
it is important to quote
Philippians 4:8 which
provides an excellent guide to the choice of music for the discerning believer:
“Finally,
brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is
pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or
praiseworthy—think about such things.”
Does the song represent the
truth, are the words noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent, and
praiseworthy? Think about these.
By: Ps. Benedict
Eghan
