Cleanse your iPod and Praise the Lord!
One of the young ladies who participated in our LT / Unleashed group came home and wrote on her facebook “Just finished deleting those dumb songs that shook up my life; and am now purchasing the whole LT 2011 Worship Song List.” Good for her!
This reminds me of a similar decision I made in the spiring of 1974. I used to ride to church and Bible study with friend who often commented about how God convicted him to give up his secular rock music once he had gotten saved. He particularly brought it up when I was driving and had the radio on 
He was definitely trying to send me a message, but I was not very open to making the same decision myself. I loved my rock music!
And then Lent came around. I was still involved with a traditional church and thought I should give up something for Lent. I couldn’t think of anything to give up except my music. Reluctantly, I decided to forgo rock music for 40 days.
Gone were The Beatles. The Rolling Stones. Black Sabbath. Wishbone Ash. Carlos Santanna. Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young. Even James Taylor and Carol King. And the radio would be off while I drove.
We didn’t have “contemporary Christian music” or Christian radio in those days. Consequently, my life got a lot quieter. My car rides got a lot quieter. And then, a strange thing happened. I began to remember songs I had sung at church and prayer meetings. I began to SING songs of praise to the Lord. My car became a sanctuary of prayer and praise to God! My heart and mind were set on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God (Col 3:1-2)!
I’ve never gone back to listening to secular music (well, I sometimes listen to instrumentals by Enya or Kenny G, but that’s about it). And, I’m far better off for it. I thought I would have a big void in my life if I stopped listen to my secular music; instead, I filled a big void in my soul by praising God all throughout the day and night.
Now, I look back at some of the junk I used to listen to and wonder how I ever liked that stuff. Most of it was filled with sin and ungodliness. I said I didn’t listen (or at least didn’t believe) the lyrics, but even today — nearly 40 years later, the lyrics come back to me word for word if I hear one of those songs in a restaurant or on the car radio of someone stopped next to me at a red light.
The truth is, music goes deeper than your ears or mind — music goes to the heart. I believe it was designed by God to do so. And the most prolific preachers of our day are not in a pulpit — they are musicians singing to us over the radio, on MTV or on our iPod. And when we hear a 35 minute sermon once a week, attend a Bible discussion once a week and read a few minutes a day, how can that compare to hours of secular music penetrating our soul on a daily basis? Truth is, it can’t.
Well, my hats off to Christina for her decision to cleanse her heart and mind by taking the practical step of cleansing her iPod. Trust me: she will be a different person in a matter of weeks! And, if you make the same decision, you might be as well. I know because it worked for me.
Category: Christian Living, Culture, Uncategorized
