Before humans existed and decided to make it their own,
music existed. Music is a heavenly creation, made for the sole purpose of
worship. The angels sing of the glory of God eternally. It is commonly believed
that it was in that very gifting that Lucifer excelled in Heaven. How then can we ever separate from that
purpose alone?
A car’s sole purpose is to drive. It may be used to
transport, it may be used to carry all of someone’s stuff, it may ever be where
someone lives, but it will never cease to be a machine created for the purpose of driving. Music is the same. We can use
it however we claim, but it is, and will always be a machine for worship.
So, if it is not used to worship God, it does not stop being
worship. And if it is not worshipping God, then what is it worshipping? In that
context, in makes sense that it would be one of the greatest affecters of
people’s moods, mentalities, and spiritualities, whether or not the partaker
intends it to be. It makes sense that it resonates in our deepest being, and
why years after hearing a song we can recite it and conjure its melodies. It
makes sense that with his fall, Satan would use it to manipulate us, because
he, more than we ever could, understands its purpose and power.
Our words in the natural have far heavier weight in the
spiritual, whether or not they are ours or someone else’s. When we sing along,
we are declaring those words out of our mouths and from our spirits. Ephesians 4:49 says, “do not let any unwholesome talk come out of
your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up, that it may
benefit those who listen.”
James 3 talks in
length about the taming of the tongue. “Take
ships for example. Although they are so large and are driven by strong winds,
they are steered by a very small rudder wherever the pilot wants it to go. Likewise
the tongue is a small part of the body but it makes great boasts. Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small
fire. The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among parts of the body. It
corrupts the whole person, sets the whole course of his life on fire, and it is
set on fire by hell itself.”
Words are DECLARATIONS, which can set terrible things in
motion from the slightest of misconceptions. Take for instance the song that
makes my spirit livid and yet I constantly hear it sung boldly from the purest of
hearts, inviting so much in with no intention or regard. Rihanna’s song “I Love
the Way You Lie” declares, “Just gonna stand there and watch me burn, it’s
alright because I like the way it hurts. Just gonna stand there and hear m cry,
it’s alright because I love the way you lie.” The tune is catchy, the melody is
hauntingly beautiful, and that is exactly what hooks us in. He, Satan, hooks us
in ever so sneakily, with melodies like these and and so many others, creating
a multitude of people soaking in such lies, and declaring them out.
I wish this was the only one, but mainstream music is
plagued by this coercion, this is just the perfect example. IN that reality I
am convicted, and have been for a while, and realize that it is a black and
white situation; a life and death situation. Music that does not edify the Lord
edifies something else. Music that does not worship the Lord, worships
something else. Some of it is blatant and obvious and some of it seems permissible,
but is just as dangerous.
Rather than try to make exceptions, to pick and choose from
what is too catchy to want to let go of, and ignore the altruism of this
concept, I will see all music as worship. I will choose to see it as it was created
to be, and only take in that which helps me become that which God has created
ME to be.
