The Power of Music

Dear friends

Not sure if I’ve ever mentioned it before, but prior to my salvation, I was into Rap, Hip Hop, Funk, Soul, Groove, R’n’B, Motown – black music!!! – you name it, I loved it!

This was one of the hardest habits to quit – I had to cleanse my computer, but even more difficult, my mind, my body, my taste, everything had been tuned into these sounds for so many years, for all my life really.

I did enjoy all kinds of worship music, but that wouldn’t have been the only music I would ever want to listen to, had I not known that it should be the only kind of music I should listen to and had I not known that the kinds of music I was listening to previously were bad for my spirit.
I even had some quarrels at work with the radio being on in the office, it used to really disturb me when colleagues wanted to listen to worldly music all day…. this is after I had been born again.
It’s hard to even escape worldly music!

And yet, I think we all need to take a moment to recognize and acknowledge the power of music!

Even in the bible.
When king Saul was troubled by an evil spirit, David came and played the harp and the king’s mental health went back to normal.
Just by playing some music over him!

Music is so much more than just sound.

Music can transport so much more than just what the words are saying.

Take the advert for Marlboro for instance, back in the days – if you’re old enough to remember…?
The Marlboro man riding freely into the sunset in Marlboro country, smoking and doing what he wants is why I started smoking in the first place!
I can still recall the sound!
I was very, extremely young and rebellious, felt trapped in my family home, where my parents were very strict and didn’t trust me at all.
I wanted to be free and do what I want!
I was very far away from being old enough to move out and leave this “prison”, so rebelling was what I thought could make me feel better.

Or let’s stick with the rap music….
I was much older then and further ahead with my idea of rebellion and living the life I wanted….
I didn’t live with my parents anymore and yet I still wanted to prove myself to them, wanted to be a “gangster bride”, or actually, I wanted to be with a man who looked like a gangster and yet wasn’t a gangster – if that makes any sense?
Well, nowadays, I guess it doesn’t, but at the time it did!

And that’s what music can imply – a lifestyle, an image, listening to a certain type of music can create a persona, a mask for someone who doesn’t know who they are – like myself at the time!!! – and who doesn’t feel accepted, loved and doesn’t know who they belong to.
The genre of music they are choosing automatically lets them belong to a certain group of people – the ones who are “into” listening to the same type of music!

I was looking for “my tribe” and this is exactly what the devil is working with!

By using music.

Or drugs.

When someone is taking drugs – and depending on which is their drug of choice – they automatically become “different” – their lifestyle is dominated by the drug – I guess that goes for all drugs.
And the deeper they dive or fall into the dependency, their life is never the same as the life of someone who isn’t used to having to raise so much money to fund their habit all the time – they are immediately connected to others who have the same habits and some kind of “insider understanding” lets them think others with the same habit are their friends – when not having any friends, or feeling disconnected, lost, lonely or hurt could be one of the reasons why they had started to take drugs in the first place….

Me, I’m well aware that I would have been an addict, even a prisoner if I had grown up in a different place and if I hadn’t been extremely lucky – or probably protected by GOD already at a very young age! – because even in the area where I grew up, there were criminals and drugs and I was right in the middle of this scene, just somehow got away and started university in a different town before I got sucked in too deep to be able to leave.

The power of music is greater than we all know, I believe.

Millions of people want to create this persona, want to make themselves and others believe that they are a certain type of personality. And they dress a certain way, go to certain events where other people will be who listen to the same music, they spend all their money to buy the music and to go to concerts where the “idols” will be performing….

In a certain way, even we Christians aren’t much different!

I believe it’s part of our human nature that we want to be in control of the image we are projecting, that we will do what we can to influence what people will think of us!

Even by being Christians.
Are we not dressing a certain way, talking a certain way, going to certain places to demonstrate certain attributes about our personality?
And are we not ALL (and I mean ALL) sometimes tempted to go back to our old ways or to do something carnal and overstep the rules and boundaries of the kingdom?
And when we are, what has triggered it?
Some music, a film, a photograph – some sensual perception normally, then a feeling came, a thought of “I might as well” or “why wouldn’t I?” and then an urge developed, perhaps including some excuses like “only this once or one more time” (I call this “junkie talk by the way”)…

Music is a MAJOR influencer and that’s why everyone is using it and involving it – OUR GOD is no exception.

When we worship, nothing can take us into the presence of GOD like worship and worship typically involves music.

The bible hints that satan was involved in music in heaven in

Ezekiel 28:13
¹³ Thou hast been in Eden the garden of God; every precious stone was thy covering, the sardius, topaz, and the diamond, the beryl, the onyx, and the jasper, the sapphire, the emerald, and the carbuncle, and gold: the workmanship of thy tabrets and of thy pipes was prepared in thee in the day that thou wast created.

No need to go into all the rumors about satanism in the music industry – it’s obvious that at least SOME types of music are not godly and that they are promoting violence, lust and all sorts of toxic behaviour and questionable values and hence we are all worried about the youngsters who are listening to this type of music – I believe this has been typical for every generation under the sun and I personally believe that music is the greatest influencer / manipulator – in a positive as well as in a negative sense.

To come back to my own story, when I became a Christian, I had a hard time “withdrawing” from the music I used to listen to and it took me years to find peace with not listening to it any longer and to find music I am happy and content listening to and that’s clean at the same time.

And just like a former addict, I sometimes want to go to the club, listen to old school music and “shake my booty” in the most unholy ways possible!

But then I remember what this brought me into and who brought me out of it and what I have now, what I have had since I’ve been saved and set free and I know that backsliding isn’t the solution – even if it’s hard sometimes, even if the flesh is screaming and pulling at me sometimes, even if my sinful nature is not dead and sometimes seems to be screaming soooo loud!

GOD is stronger than the devil and the spirit is stronger than the flesh – if we are feeding it right, if we give it the right position in our lives, if we are obeying to it, if we are listening to it – literally.

To what the spirit says, to the things of the spirit and this also includes and involves to music that feeds our spirit and that is aligned with the HOLY SPIRIT.

Make no mistake about it, friends, unclean music does us no good, it is an influencer and will not lead us in the right direction – no matter how fun and enticing it is – it is not created for our good, just like any other temptation, it is meant to draw us away from GOD.

When we are being oppressed by the enemy in whatever way, it means we have opened some sort of door to him at some point.
The ears are gates to our soul.
And when we open them to him, he will enter.

What are your thoughts on this, my friend?
How do you keep your ear-gates closed to the enemy?
Please let us know in the comment section.

I hope and pray that this will inspire, encourage, bless and heal you.
And that THE LORD will bless you abundantly in all areas of your life. That HE will keep you and shine HIS face upon you and bring you PEACE. In JESUS’ name I pray. AMEN.