I am torn. I shouldn’t be.
I am lover of country music. I like old country, from the 80s
and 90s. I recently pulled out an old CD to play in the car. I can belt out the
lyrics with almost every song. I sing it deep from within me. The album I am
currently hooked on is an old Randy Travis Greatest Hits album. He is awesome,
the epitome of country music. I feel like I am part of the music when I sing
along.
That is part of the problem.
Have you ever listened to country music? Some are genuine love ballads,
but most of the music is about broken homes, failures, one night stands, and old
romances. While I love to sing along to these, the more I do it and the longer I
do it, the more I become like the music in my thinking. Doubts start to creep
in about the type of person I am, how much I really can love, I could go on. And as much as I love this music, I am going to have
to change.
People say and would suggest that music is just that, music.
But it seeps into who we are. The more we expose ourselves to this kind of
subliminal messaging, the more chance we have to believe it. And I am at the
point of wanting something better for my mind and my soul. I am afraid of the
influence all of this has on my mind and my heart.
I want to guard my heart for things that are more uplifting
and more meaningful to me.
But don’t get me wrong or hear me unclear, it is not ONLY
country music. While country is a struggling point for me, there are songs that
can leads us down wrong paths in every genre of music.
\
We were in the car traveling on Easter weekend and someone
in our family likes to listen to the radio on scan….we listen for hours at a
time on scan….waiting for the right song to come on. So during the drive, a
catchy tune had come on and we stopped. Sarah immediately recognized it. It was
a fun sounding song, one that you could enjoy listening to, bop around in your
seat….and start singing along with the chorus instantly. So Scott looked up the
song and the lyrics. Wow. I couldn’t believe what the song was really about. The
song was Timber, by Pitbull. I am sure many teenagers (and adults) have this song on their playlists. Here is a
selection of lyrics from the song:
“Let’s make a night you won’t remember. I’ll be the one you
won’t forget.”
What exactly is this suggesting, I am sure you can take a
guess and the remainder of the song was the same or worse!
What are we becoming dull to? It becomes easier to fall into
traps when we are constantly listening to these songs that drag our minds and our guards down. I was really taken
aback by the Pitbull song because it was a really fun catchy song and I liked
it, until I knew what I was really listening to. It is the same with the
country.
I guess people assume with country that you are going to get
dried up romance, divorce, and one night stands…..but the junk and mind games
is through every genre.
So what is the message we really want ourselves to have? Or our
children? I believe music to be very important. And I am making the choice now
to listen to Christain music today…to kind of get my brain, my soul back on
track. I’ve been told before, how can you only listen to Christian music? My
likes in music have been drastic over the years and there are a lot of groups I
still love and songs that get me. I have not had a relationship with Christ my
whole life, so there are plenty of bands and songs that I listened to that
influenced me in my careless lifestyle, so many years ago. But as a believer, I
have a choice to make. I have to make the choice to listen to what inspires me
and lifts me up, not music that drags me down.
I will continue to listen to some Randy Travis, but only the
tracks off the CD that are about long lasting love…like Forever and Ever Amen
and Deeper than the Holler.
It matters what we hear…and to say that we can parse it out
and keep the junk separate, we are fooling ourselves.
I would rather find myself in awe of what I am listening to
than in despair.