Pick Your Music Wisely

“‘Now therefore write this song and teach it to the people of Israel. Put it in their mouths, that this song may be a witness for me against the people of Israel.“ Deuteronomy 31:19 ESV 

As I headed out the door to run before church yesterday morning, I was meditating on what I had just read in Bible study and scratching my head. After making it through the desert and having either seen or heard about the miracles that God had done over the course of 40 years as He led the Israelites to the brink of entering the promised land, how could these people have gone astray so quickly as the Lord predicted they would? And the answer to that of course is they would slowly forget God’s goodness and thus compromise a little at a time. They would begin by failing to read the law as they were commanded to do which would lead them to eventually disregarding the law altogether (just as our nation has, a nation also formed by a God Covenant). And as I read further, I couldn’t help but think about how big a part music has also played in the declining morality of our nation and of our world. Think about it… music has the power to influence us to speak, act, and think according to the lyrics contained within the songs. And since the lyrics of most music is godless and profane, we have a society that is becoming increasingly ungodly as well. Which is the very reason you and I must be very discerning when composing our running playlists. 

And you know, when it comes to music, God showed us by example that we are more apt to remember things when we put them into a melody (another reason music has power) which is the very reason He told Moses to “write this song and teach it to the people of Israel” so that when their falling away occurred (as He predicted), they would call to mind how they were cautioned against worshiping false idols, rejecting Him, and breaking His covenant. The song would then serve as testimony against them for their ingratitude and other sins. 

So knowing how much power music has over the mind, let us vow to listen to only those songs that draw us closer to Christ my friend, songs that promote the standards laid out in the Bible rather than the ways of the world. And let us remember that the enemy has polluted much of the music in our world today, even the songs labeled as “Christian” so we must be very studious in our selection of the tunes that we listen to. 

Heavenly Father, thank You for reminding us that Satan has infiltrated much of the music in our world today, and in doing so led countless people away from God. With that always in mind, help us to judge the goodness of a song by its lyrics and not by its tempo. That means no matter how good the beat of a song might be, we must reject it if it rejects the standards God has called us to adhere to. It’s in your precious name we pray Jesus. Amen. 

Happy Running!