Hearts And Minds

We all love music, I'd dare say. We probably all have that one song that truly defines us, too. Music has been around a while and I'm assuming it'll continue to be written, recorded and performed until...well, the end of this world.

I encountered one such instance of music being performed last night. It was the Switchfoot concert at LifeLight in Sioux Falls. I've listenend to Switchfoot's music. I have one of their CDs. It's a good one and they sang some of those familiar songs last night. Songs that I put under the title of "Trevor's Life-Songs" Soundtrack and if you know me, you'll know that there's a song by Casting Crowns which is the title track of my soundtrack :)

As I was at the concert, the lead singer was talking about a song which spoke about the American Dream. Then he talked about politics and presidents. Then he said, "This next song is about the true leader of the nation." And then my thoughts went with it. In the realm of music, there is a war going on. It's not fought with bullets but with beats. There are no armies, just albums. There's rarely peace; just "pausing". The aim of this war: the hearts and minds of everyone but the target audience seems to be youth.

There are 4 battlefronts, at least in my mind:
1) Christian music fighting for Christian hearts and minds
2) Christian music fighting for non-Christian hearts and minds
3) Secular music fighting for Christian hearts and minds
4) Secular music fighting for non-Christian hearts and minds

1) Although I can't say for sure, I'm ASSUMING that all Christian music is safe to listen to and will not lead anyone away from Christ or understanding who He is. There may be some theological differences, and depending on what those differences are, they probably aren't enough to distract away from the point of Christian music: to worship and glorify God. So this battle front is winning, in my opinion.


2) It's on the radio. It's just a turn of the dial away. It's in the music stores ready to be purchased. There are varying styles enticing varying personalities of people. Again, my assumption is that more Christians purchase and listen to Christian music than non-Christians. But I'm not sure what else the Christian artists can do to get the non-Christians to listen to their music. It's not a lost cause but as a Christian, it's hard for me to take on the perspective of a non-Christian.


3) I listen to a lot of secular music. It's mainly country, rap, hip-hop and top-40. Here's my issue with this music: yeah, it doesn't always include lyrics which reflect the Christian life but as Christians, we need to listen with a discerning ear. I think it's okay to hear these songs as long as we understand that what they're singing needs to be put through a filter so it doesn't motivate us to actually change our lifestyle. Granted, there are some songs which are highly uplifting and even mention God or Jesus. But is it truly okay to listen to these songs? The radio is free so it's not like you financially support those non-Christian artists. These artists are truly talented and I feel that they ought to use their spiritual gifts of singing/playing to support themselves. But ought Christians put their dollars towards support non-Christian messages? It's a grey area and I'm not going to say one way or the other but I'm just throwing it out there.


4) There is a very dangerous song out there. It's dangerous for all of us, me included. I love this song because it's catchy and well written and fun to listen to. I hate this song because the messaage is this: one-night-stands are okay. The song is "Lookin' For A Good Time" by Lady Antebellum, a country group. I suggest listening to the song because it's very interesting. I listen to this song with a discerning ear; I know one-night-stands are wrong for several reasons. But what about the non-Christian audience? Do they have a discerning ear? It's possible they do but if they don't, then this song becomes a free-pass to a "good time".

The other issue with #4 is artists that sing/write these songs are very bold to distribue such songs. How comfortable with the lyrics do you have to be to write it, sing it and then send it out into the world and have everyone who hears it know that you "support" what the lyrcs say?! Don't you have to truly believe in what you're singing in order to sing it? And even if you don't agree with it and sing it anyway, you are essentially putting your stamp of approval on the message in that song. And those without a discerning ear recognize this and then they think it's okay to believe what the music says.

We've got a war to fight, people. Personally, I write a lot of music that I want to give to secular artists. My lyrics reflect Biblical principles. They are uplifting and positive. They acurately portray a Christian life which isn't always happy-go-lucky but is a blessing every day we live. I want to overflow the music stores with secular music with a Christian message.

There are a lot of unchurched people who get their "sermons" from the radio.

But who's preaching to them?

Who's preaching to you?