Let me tell you a story.......
A while back I was riding in the car with my covenant friend. We were chillin, listening to an old school R&B station. I wasn't really even paying attention to the song, I was just driving. Then out of NO WHERE, y'all, these images flooded my mind of me and a guy I used to mess around with. Images of us just doing ungodly stuff, and I was shocked. I was like what the heck?! I haven't seen nor talked to, and definitely haven't touched this dude in years! Where did those thoughts come from?! I started thinking about it and I thought, oh, must be this music we are listening to. So, I instinctively turned it off.
My friend looked at me like what happened to the music??? So I said my bad and turned it back on. At this point I started listening to the song. Lo and behold it was Freddie Jackson talkin' about some let me rock you tonight for old times sake! And I was like "Awww naw! I can't be listening to this mess!!!" And I turned it off again. It was crazy how a song that I wasn't even fully attentive to fired something in my brain that led to the lusts of my past.
When I met the Lord, I knew I had to give up the music that I loved so much, because when you decide to follow Jesus, it is not without sacrifice. {Side note: If you have gotten saved but haven't sacrificed ANYTHING of your old life expect now you go to church more often, you need to work that out with fear and trembling, cause that ain't right.} So, I gave it up. I literally collected every CD and gave them away and I deleted every song in my iTunes that did not uplift the name of Jesus. I just had to quit one day. Cold turkey. It was hard for me because, y'all, I was hooked. Hahahah! I remember saying to myself, "Dang, now I gotta get dressed to Regis and Kelly every morning! This sucks!"
But, it was so so so worth it at the time and very necessary. And I have recently decided to go back to where I began. Let me tell you why:
Music is a gateway to your heart. It truly is. Think about it. For example, you've seen Set it Off, right? With Queen Latifah, Jada Pickett, Vivica? Well if you have seen it then you gonna know exactly what I'm talking about. I cannot watch that movie, and if I do there is one scene that I must fast forward through, and it's the iconic scene where Queen Latifah's character gets gunned down in the street. Now, there are several movies I've seen where people get shot, but this scene was epic and emotionally intense for me. Because, number 1, they put it in slow motion and, number 2, the dang music!!! Think about when you watch a movie, and a lot of times it's "just the beat" that adds suspense or allure to each scene. A movie would be nothing without a score to move it along.
The same with our lives, people! We get to pick the soundtrack, and the music we choose will determine how we feel during each season of our lives! This is some revelation right here. When I was trapped in lust and sexual sin I had to take a long deep look at my soundtrack. Was I listening to songs that encouraged me to set my mind on things above? (Colossians 3) Or was I listening to music that would justify and empower me to continue in my sin?
I know what you're thinking, it's JUST MUSIC! Hah! Look, I love you for reading this, but that is soooooo ignorant. And you know it. You know music is not just music. It is a force that can motivate us or depress us, it can make us feel powerful or it can drain us in a hot second. What you are feeding your mind will plant seeds and those seeds will be watered and begin to grow! What kind of fruit could R. Kelly 'nem possibly be producing that will bring glory to God? I Believe I Can Fly? C'mon, girl, you know you ain't listening to that!
STOP coming up with excuse after excuse as to why you refuse to sacrifice your comforts and desires to please God. Stop it. You and me both. Jesus did not leave His throne and walk this earth in perfection so that you can say "Well, it's not that big of a deal." ANYTHING that separates you from God is a big deal.
So, how is listening to music about sex, drama, drugs, money, and false love separating you from God? First of all, when you listen to J. Cole, what are you thinking about? Jesus? When you are doing the wobble, the whip, or whatever else, what is on your mind? The word of God? Is Fetty Wap really bringing you closer to Jesus or promoting the fruit of the Spirit? Uh...nah. So why are you, my Christian brother, my sister in Christ, defending their music? You need to check your heart. Because eventually those seeds will take root and spring up some mess in your life. Galatians 6:7, 8 tells us that we reap what we sow. If we sow in the flesh we will of the flesh reap destruction! You continue to sow in the flesh then you wake up dumbfounded...found dumb...talking about some "I don't even know why I'm struggling with this!!!"
Uh, really? You sowed it...sooooooo????
We cannot constantly invite things into our hearts that promote and agitate our emotions and then wonder why our lives are a train wreck. We can't keep listening to hello from the other side and wonder why we can't let go of past relationships. That's just senseless, people.
The Bible says this: Finally brothers, whatever is TRUE, whatever is HONORABLE, whatever is JUST, whatever is PURE, whatever is LOVELY, whatever is COMMENDABLE - if there is ANY MORAL EXCELLENCE and if there is any PRAISE - think of these things. Do what you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, and the God of peace will be with you. {Philippians 4:8, 9}
Does anything in your playlist not meet these standards? If it doesn't meet one it doesn't meet any.
Let us, who are in Christ, be found guilty of one simple thing, pursuing Christ with all we have. That means we have got to stop asking what we can get away with as Christians and still be accepted by a world that hated our Savior. That means we have to stop looking so similar to the world that no one can tell the difference. That means we have to risk and accept rejection as often as it comes. That means we have to start asking how can I separate myself from this world and become more holy every day?
Being a Christian definitely means you don't do what everyone else does. Not because you cannot; but because you know that what's good to you ain't always good for you. C'mon. Be separate.
