Christina, Intern
Everyone has standards and beliefs. These influence their judgment on what they will accept from the culture. An example is the music one decides to listen to. In seventh grade, the popular music culture began to peak my interest, and I was captivated by the various tunes. Though I was skeptical of some lyrics, I unfortunately placed my concerns aside to enjoy the catchy tunes. I came to realize the themes in many popular songs contradict the Christian ideal. I learned I must use discernment in choosing the music I listen to.
In Matthew 6:22-23, Christ says “The lamp of your body is the eye. If therefore your eye is good, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness.” This also should be applied to our ears. The experiences we have through our five senses (taste, hearing, sight, smell, and touch) affect the purity of our souls. Have you ever heard the phrase “scarred for life”? It is typically used if someone experiences something terrifying or inappropriate. Though this is a casual, throw-away phrase, when one thinks about it literally, it means that we have left a mark on our souls that is difficult to remove. One of the ways we can aim to be like Christ is having a pure soul, heart, and mind. We can do this by guarding what we hear, especially in music, so that we are not “scarred for life”.
It is important to make sure the songs we listen to are uplifting for us because, while our vast human memory capacity is a blessing, we can memorize songs quickly – good or bad. After hearing a song over and over, such as a beloved church hymn, we eventually memorize and internalize it. We can also internalize the bad songs. To internalize something means to make it a part of us; what we have internalized is inseparable from us. Many of the popular, “cool” songs want us to answer to every call of our hearts, giving us unfulfilling, dark solutions to the trials and problems we face. Moreover, after our brain hears something too many times; sometimes, it just might accidentally come out of our mouths.
The process of discerning a song’s impact should be based on the lyrics, not by the tune or by what other people like. When considering the lyrics, keeping the purity of the soul in mind is most important; thus, avoiding the impact of songs that bring you down. In the end, music is a beautiful gift given by God. We can preserve its beauty by opening our ears to songs that lead us towards Him and not away.
Note: Our interns curate Spotify playlists of music worth listening to. Check them out here, though we strongly recommend that if you use the free version of Spotify, you set your age to under 15 to avoid inappropriate advertisements.