God is Clean. Why Shouldn't Your Music Be? The Messenger of the Music

THE MESSENGER

There are two areas that relate to the messenger of the music.  The first is the testimony of the person.  The second is how they relay the message.

POINT ONE – LET THE REDEEMED OF THE LORD SAY SO: THEIR TESTIMONY.

WAIT A MINUTE!  WHO IS THAT BOY SITTING WITH MY DAUGHTER?

You have probably heard of boys who come to church just so that they can date someone’s daughter.  Every Christian parent’s security alert should go off when a Christian girl raised in church has decided that this non-Christian boy isn’t so bad after all. 

The story goes like this:

She was out with some friends or was at school and she was introduced to him.  She is sure that his intentions aren’t anything but transparent and he might even be a Christian after all because he seems like such a good guy. 

As time goes by she notices some negative things about him, but the bad things have been far outweighed by the great time they have together and how she feels when she is with him.  Why are people being so picky and judgmental about him anyway?  They don’t know him like she does. 

She decides; the church is just full of hypocrites who don’t even care about her as much as he does.  So despite her loving family who fell in love with her the moment they laid eyes on her, who taught her to ride a bike, who prayed with her before she went to bed, who cheered as she set a spike in volleyball, who tentatively offered her the keys to their nearly paid off vehicle as she got her driver’s permit; she disregards all their concern and CHOOSES THE BOY.

Who is this boy?

He certainly isn’t respectful of the parent’s wishes.  He certainly does not care about her upbringing.  He certainly doesn’t care about the danger of rebellion.  He doesn’t care about the lusts of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, or the pride of life.  In fact, he thinks that there isn’t anything wrong with any of them.  They make things more fun.   He cares about the here and now.

Regardless of who this boy is we know one thing.  He is not a “child of the King.”  He does not have the wisdom that comes with the fear of God.  He is not a servant of the cross.  Sadly, this boy is a child of disobedience.  He is a slave to the prince and power of the air.  His master, whether he knows it or not is SATAN.

A good pastor once said, “A CHILD OF GOD HAS NO BUSINESS MARRYING A CHILD OF THE DEVIL.”

THIS NEW FLAME MAY BE STRONGER BUT THAT OLD FLAME HAS BEEN BURNING LONGER.

The Eternal Flame

I have mentioned previously about the passage in I Corinthians 6 which tells us to come out and be separate from the world and all unrighteousness.

I want to point out that when it says in verse 14, “Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness?”  THIS DOES NOT JUST REFER TO MARRIAGE.

If you have read the section in this about my testimony you will remember the control that music had over me.  It had become a part of who I was and was personally connected to my memories and experiences.

As a love song played, I romanticized about the singer and how passionate they were.  As someone angrily sang of a break up and betrayal I bonded with them because they understood me and had been there too.  When I wanted to feel crazy and free I turned to the singer who just “got it” and their music made me want to dance or be rambunctious.  

They didn’t know who I was but I knew who they were.  I read about them.  I followed their stories online.  I watched their biographies on television.  Their stories BECAME PART OF MY STORY.  I had grown up with them and they helped shape me.  We were yoked together in a way from which I have yet to become free.

When I am in the store and I hear a familiar song, my mind goes back.  When I hear the name of an “old friend” performer my ears perk up to see how they are doing.  They are like the old flame that never dies. 

SO WHAT’S YOUR POINT MELISSA?

My point is this.  If your close friends should be Christians, if your spouse or future spouse should be a Christian, if your pastor (who you listen to LESS THAN YOUR MUSIC) should be a Christian, than the people who sing a message to you over and over should also be Christians.  A CHILD OF GOD HAS NO BUSINESS BEING YOKED WITH A CHILD OF THE DEVIL.

Here is the good part about this though, IF…

1.  You have gone through your lyrics and only have words that are honoring to God.  You should no longer have the message of fornication, drugs, drinking, partying, or death piping in your ears.

2.  You have analyzed your music and have gone through the battle of getting rid of any that have a sensuous or driving rhythm.

… THAN YOU PROBABLY DON’T HAVE MANY PEOPLE WHO AREN’T SAVED IN YOUR PLAYLIST.

POINT TWO – HOW THEY EXPRESS THE MESSAGE

FOR SOME REASON I CAN’T IMAGINE MARILYN MONROE SINGING HOLY, HOLY, HOLY.

Boy is it hard to find a decent picture of Marilyn Monroe.

I wasn’t alive back then, but I have heard stories and seen parodies of Marilyn Monroe singing “Happy Birthday” to a president.  She sang in a sultry, breathy voice exuding “bedroom talk.”  I was reminded of this when I briefly heard Jessica Simpson singing “O Holy Night.”  When I was in college there was a girl who sang “People Need the Lord” in a way that made the congregation blush.

There is something to be said for the presentation of a song.

IDENTIFYING SATAN’S VOICE

I don’t want to reiterate too much of what I said in the “music” section, but I want to remind you that Satan’s fruit is very different than the fruit of the Spirit.  EVERYTHING SATAN DOES IN UNCLEAN.

Satan’s fruit promotes:

Sensuality:  God refers to this as “chambering” (Romans 13:13).  It is when the holy, undefiled, sensuality of the marriage bed that God was open, yet discreet about throughout the Bible becomes public knowledge.  It is when the man’s bed chamber is open to all.  HELLO HOLLYWOOD ANYONE? 

War Without: Bitterness, wrath, anger, malice, clamour, evil speaking, filthy communications.

War Within: Sadness, depression, suicide.  These are the opposite of love, joy, peace, longsuffering, goodness, gentleness, and faith.

THAT PREACHER WAS SO DRY HE STARTED TO CRACK

I want to briefly divert from what type of vocal expression is Satan’s and speak about the ideology of emotions within music.  I remember a teacher in college that taught on a subject that could have been exciting.  In fact this section of the Bible is one of my favorite places to read.  Yet the teacher recited off an outline that we were to hand copy into our notes.  There was very little expository explanation and even less were the illustrations and stories that brought the subject to life.  This man loved the Bible, no doubt.  Yet, he lacked PASSION in his delivery.  I don’t think I learned a thing.

On the flip side we see evangelists that God calls into the ministry.  They preach the same messages over and over.  They are “professional preachers.”  Initially that term “professional preachers” could make you feel that they are sell outs, artificial, proud in their ability, or maybe relying solely on their “gift or oration.”  Their professionalism must somehow make them less spiritual or heartfelt.

The truth is that God has just allowed their livelihood to be their ministry as well, and they just do a good job doing what God has called them to do.  They could get dry and repetitive as they have probably told the same illustration one hundred times already that year, but GOD GIVES THEM PASSION about what they preach.  Only their family knows how many times they preached that same message that year.  As a listener, we feel that God meant that message for us, AND GOD DID MEAN IT FOR US, and the preacher fulfilled his calling and delivered the message well.

The same is true for singing.  God said for us to sing skillfully with a loud noise (Psalm 33:3).  He didn’t JUST say to sing with a joyful noise. (Psalm 98:44)  Just as the preacher works to better his message, the singer should do the same.  This does not make the singer less spiritual.

In the same light, just because a singer sings with emotion does not mean that the singer is being sensuous or prideful.  If a singer strictly sang the notes with no emotion, passion or zeal but with skill that would make it no better than one who sang with conviction or interpretation.  When a preacher preaches dynamically with voice inflection and fervor to some it may be the enthusiasm the drives the message home and to another it may be a distraction.  Yet, it does not mean the preacher was wrong in how he preached.  Matthew, Mark, Luke and John all shared the same message but in a different way. 

MY HUSBAND DOESN’T LIKE TOMATOES, BUT I DO…

There are good choral arrangements sung with precision and skill.  There are some great quartet arrangements sung with joy and harmony.  There are more soothing hymns sung with solos and various arrangements.  There are solo pieces that reach into the heart in a prayerful way or bring glory to the majesty of God.  There are some uplifting praise and worship songs that edify the Lord in a holy way, and there are instrumental pieces that bring awe of God’s mathematical genius in the intricacies of orchestration.   All are acceptable, but all may not meet your personal taste.

Someone recently told me this illustration and I thought it was very good.  Biblical guidelines about music are indeed black and white.  Yet, once you filter through those steps, God allows personal taste.  Music boundaries are not like the center line of a highway, they are instead like a road set within the two white outside lines.  Your individual tastes have liberty within GOD’S BOUNDARIES.

STAY OFF THE SHOULDER

Outside of the white lines on a road you will find what is called the shoulder.  This is the small edge before you go off of the road.

What type of singing is outside of God’s boundaries; the shoulder so to speak.  Let me reemphasize this GOD IS CLEAN.  A VOICE SHOULD BE CLEAN when it is expressing any message.

1.  Breathiness – There is a type of breathiness that exudes sensuality.  This type of expression should be left between a husband and a wife alone.  It has no place in music.

2.  Yelling, Raging, Screaming – This is not singing.  It is not a way in which we would / should communicate to our children, family or friends.  It is not holy communication.  It is not uplifting.  It should have no place in our music.

3.  Sadness – The fruit of the spirit is that of joy and hope.  Yet many singers sing in a husky, unclear, almost whiny voice that brings attention to the emotion of the song and the singer.  Yet, the emotion it conveys is not one of joy.  The emotion it brings across is angst and sadness.  Look for a clear voice that comes naturally from within that expresses cleanly a positive lyric.

GOD IS CLEAN – WHY SHOULDN’T YOUR MUSIC BE: CONCLUSION AND CHALLENGE

I hope you understand my heart and that I want everyone to be free from the power of the flesh and understand how to steer clear of Satan’s music.  It is a tool that is part of him that he precisely wields and at which he has become an expert in the past thousands of years.  If you haven’t read MY TESTIMONY yet, please do so.

You have had the opportunity to look at THE LYRICS of your music and recognize that GOD HAS A PURPOSE FOR THE MESSAGE within music.  We should limit our idle listening and feed our spirit with words that bring glory to God and peace to our hearts.

THE MUSIC BEHIND THE LYRICS has been explained to help identify Satan’s music, and I have answered some questions from some readers to further clarify that SATAN DOES INDEED HAVE A MUSIC – HOW TO IDENTIFY IT.  This section of purging your music would tend to be the most difficult because the pull of Satan’s music is a strong one.  It seems so innocent and fun, yet it is not playing with you.

The importance of separating from the world and not becoming “yoked” with children of disobedience has been focused upon here in THE MESSENGER OF THE MUSIC.  Also, you should be discerning about the voices and expression of the singer and look to see if it comes from a good tree or a corrupt tree by analyzing it’s fruit; sensuality, war without or war within.

IF YOU ARE UNSURE HOW TO BE FREE FROM YOUR MUSIC AND WHAT MUSIC IS AVAILABLE THAT MEETS GOD’S GUIDELINES, I would recommend a few steps.

1.  Take a month off from music and pray that God gives you victory over the power of music.

2.  Spend the next month listening to music like that which can be found on www.oldchristianradio.com a 24 hour on-line radio station.  The music on this station is available to purchase through the site and it is ALL above board.

3.  After that second month, start picking and choosing from other Christian music genres like “The Wilds,” “Ron Hamilton or Frank Garlock, Greater Vision, The Perrys, The Cathedrals, Mark Rogers, or The Mark Trammel Trio.  NOT ALL ALBUMS ARE 100% ALL THE TIME: SPIT OUT THE BONES.  With prayer you should be able to spot that which is clean and that which is not.

4.  ENJOY THE FRUITS OF THE SPIRIT AND COUNT EVERY DAY WITHOUT SATAN’S MUSIC A VICTORY AGAINST THE FLESH.