Christ & Music

Recently, I've been listening non-stop to music. I've also been thinking a lot about music- the kinds I used to listen to, the ones I listen to now and about how that relates to my growing relationship with Christ. This is important to me because music has a way of changing my emotions and planting or manipulating thoughts way quicker than other mediums like TV shows. I get into a much more "intimate" state of mind through sounds than through sight. The same goes for reading books- because it triggers my imagination way more easily.

I think I wrote a post about the kind of music I used to listen to in the past, but I don't remember where it is or when I wrote it. So I'm just gonna go ahead and write another updated version.

First of all, I will say that the type of music that I listen to has changed drastically over the years. The biggest and most tremendous period of change however, began since I dedicated my life to Christ sometime in 2008.

Some of you will remember that I used to listen to A LOT of trance and techno. So much so that I became one of those geeks who could tell the difference between melodic trance and ambient trance (yes there are many different sub-genres of trance). But that wasn't all I listened to. I also enjoyed a nightly dose of heavy metal, rock, alternative, pop and classical. Some of those singers that I can recall now are P.O.D., Ayumi Hamasaki, Sean Paul, Beyonce, SlipKnot, Massive Attack, Craig David, Britney Spears, OceanLab and so on.

My preferences may have variated over time, but trance/techno almost always remained a constant.

When I became Christian, I didn't stop listening to those artists overnight nor did I stop listening to trance/techno immediately. In fact, it took me about a year and a half to get to a point where those songs simply were not attractive to me anymore.

A part of why this happened is obviously because I decided to stop listening to songs that weren't holy. That meant no more swearing, cussing, singing about sex, drugs, suicide or anything of that sort. What a reality check! As I was deleting and throwing out all those songs, it occurred to me that almost all of what I listened to had lyrics glorifying that stuff. Yet even as I got rid of those albums and became more conscious about the lyrics I was listening to, I would still keep certain "innocent" sounding songs by secular artists. Mainly, they were songs that either had no lyrics or songs that weren't singing about anything harmful. As a result, you'd still find Ferry Corsten or Armin Van Buuren CDs in my collection. They enjoyed tremendous playtime too especially when I had to stay awake on long drives home.

Yet something didn't feel right, but I quite couldn't put my finger on it.

Later, I realised that I was not depending fully on the Holy Spirit to guide my listening choices. Only He can give me true discernment and wisdom about the songs I was listening to!

He finally opened my eyes sometime early in 2010 to see that even though certain songs weren't outright offensive to God, they were pulling me away from Him. For example, even though many trance songs have no lyrics in them and therefore aren't obviously offensive to anyone, they were detrimental to my growth in Christ. The reason for this is a personal revelation from the Holy Spirit; so what it may mean for me may not mean the same for another who is listening to redeemed music (more on that later). But what I came to understand was that immersing myself in trance/techno tunes always left me in a sort of hypnotic state where I often felt depressed, empty or needy. Once in that state, I would be more susceptible to all sorts of temptation.

Once more, I had to reevaluate EVERYTHING that I was listening to, watching or reading. Instead of being legalistic about them (is it breaking any of God's commandments?), I checked myself to see what kind of effects that music was having on me. Was it bringing me towards or away from God? Did it encourage my faith or discourage it? What kind of seeds was it sowing in my spirit?

I guess this was the point where I truly just fell out of love with trance/techno and all the other seemingly "innocent" bands I was still listening to. So, I cut them all out not because they were wrong, but because I just didn't enjoy them anymore.

Today, I was testing out my new headphones that just arrived in the mail and decided to listen to an old OceanLab tune in them. The last time I had headphones, listening to that song gave me goosebumps, so hearing it again after all these years was really interesting. I could actually see the beauty behind it objectively while a voice warned me that this was a seductive song buried in subtleties. I could feel the strings of my emotions starting to get played on......

Interestingly, the Youtube suggestion that came up on the sidebar was for Christian trance and I decided to check that out. Now I've heard Christian trance before and two years ago in its Youtube infancy, it was just plain terrible. Now, things are a little better but nowhere near great yet.

But since I liked trance/techno, wouldn't it be okay for me to listen to Christian trance/techno?

For me, the answer is still "No".

Just because a song uses Christian jargon/imagery does not mean it is of God nor honours Christ. If the song or band promotes a sinful spirit of "sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies" (Galatians 5:19-21) instead of a Holy Spirit of "LOVE, JOY, PEACE, PATIENCE, KINDNESS, GOODNESS, FAITHFULNESS, GENTLENESS and SELF-CONTROL" (Galatians 5:22), chances are, it is not a good idea to listen to.

See it doesn't matter what they're singing or not singing about in those songs. Those beats recall deep longings for things I have struggled with. Those melodies recall memories of a past I wish to leave behind. Each time I hear any sort of trance or techno song, I can feel my guard being slowly let down because it's almost like a siren's song to me.

Interestingly, the one genre I've never taken a firm interest in- hiphop and rap, is fast becoming a favourite genre of mine.

Like techno and trance, the culture attached to hiphop and rap is one of worldly sin. Hiphop and rap artists are notorious for promoting sex, drugs and alcohol as well as blatant hedonism. Even worse, many rap stars claim to be Christian yet mislead millions by the ungodly lifestyles they lead. However, praise be to God, there are now talented artists such as Lecrae, Trip Lee and Tedashii who are "redeeming" this genre for Christ by writing songs that are packed with the power and grace of the gospel.

When I listen to those songs, all I want to do is get closer to Christ. It also reminds me of the hard work I'd put into running track all these four years since everyone on the track team listens to hiphop. In short, Christian rap and hiphop moves me and uplifts me in a way that Christian trance and techno never will.

For someone else who perhaps grew up smoking pot while jamming to a Jay Z song, Christian hiphop may not be wise. I don't know.

All I'm saying is, be careful little ears what you hear. For the Father up above is looking down in love. And since "our enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour," (1 Peter 5:8) it would be wise to always be on guard in our spirits with the Holy Spirit guiding us and giving us peace about everything we set our hearts and minds on.

Again, I am also not claiming to be perfect or any more perfect than any Christian out there. I still have Russian songs in my music collection that are techno-sounding. I don't feel convicted to get rid of them because they are the only last songs I have to help me learn Russian (I did throw a chunk out though). Sure, I may listen to a little old 16 year old Britney once in a while, but I refuse to let my music define me. However if one day the Holy Spirit leads me to see that what I'm listening to is causing others to stumble, then I will gladly stop.

Listening to godly music will not make God love you any more than listening to secular music. However certain kinds of music can lead you further away from Christ and living according to His Word. And if we choose to pursue those things over His voice of truth, that's when the devil gets to call our bluff and pounce on us unsuspecting sheep who have wandered far from the protection of the Good Shepherd.