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Questor
Member



Joined: 2008/12/25
Posts: 78


 Re: Getting rid of secular music...

by carters on 2011/6/18 16:43:13

Quote:
I've been a Christian now for 16 years and since completely living my life for Jesus I have
started to feel more and more uncomfortable with non-Christian music. Has anyone else felt like this?

BUT...I realise that the time has come to delete all the songs off Itunes. I don't know why, but this is big deal. Every time I think I will do it, I start to back off. For me I find that secular songs have quite "dodgy" lyrics and they bring out very ungodly thoughts and reflections.

Does anyone else feel the same about this?






Alas, yes. I recall the day I first noticed that one of my favorite country music songs felt and sounded sexually provocative... made to suit the secular night club circuit.

It jarred on me, like a note gone sour, even though I still liked the song a great deal.

Music is meant to cling to the heart and soul, and this would not be a problem, were it not for the words in most secular music. This is why it is so hard for you, for any of us, to give up music that we once heard and enjoyed.

Music actually is a part of memory and recall, and a few notes can often bring back full pictures of times before that one would like to forget forever.

One has to be very careful these days, even on good Christian radio stations, to choose songs by the good associations you find in the words.

These days, I just pick and choose amongst the songs I like, and buy them track by track,that I might have a safe library to retreat to.

Even when I'm working out, I find I can then pre-select a series of songs from my own library, and design them around my warmup and recovery (slower songs) and running/jogging/dancing (faster songs),which actually make me feel good, and yet are good for me.



Ezekial 28:
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.
14. Thou art the anointed cherub that covereth; and I have set thee so: thou wast upon the holy mountain of God; thou hast walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire.
15. Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created, till iniquity was found in thee.
16. By the multitude of thy merchandise they have filled the midst of thee with violence, and thou hast sinned: therefore I will cast thee as profane out of the mountain of God: and I will destroy thee, O covering cherub, from the midst of the stones of fire.
17. Thine heart was lifted up because of thy beauty, thou hast corrupted thy wisdom by reason of thy brightness: I will cast thee to the ground, I will lay thee before kings, that they may behold thee.
18. Thou hast defiled thy sanctuaries by the multitude of thine iniquities, by the iniquity of thy traffick; therefore will I bring forth a fire from the midst of thee, it shall devour thee, and I will bring thee to ashes upon the earth in the sight of all them that behold thee.




 2011/6/22 1:22Profile
raguas
Member



Joined: 2010/3/16
Posts: 14


 Re:

Quote:
what is not of faith is SIN



In a forum like SI, I've been tempted to throw in my 2cents with so many threads but I have to restrain myself. I want to be few but purposeful when I speak. Most of all I want to be led and have the unction of the Spirit. Don't you feel like that at meetings? I sit so often [in my mind] wringing my hands cause I want to impart some [roll my eyes] wisdom for the rest of 'them'. I've learned to quiet myself. Not easy but I wanted to learn to listen. Hard to 'hear' when I'm constantly talking. Pastor Dave [Wilkerson] used to get us to just be quiet often in a the service when the Spirit was heavy [foreign to many Pentecostal types]. He also taught us that we should at times just be quiet before the Lord when praying. NOT EASY. I hope I didn't just contradict my point :)

Anyway, I believe I have something to add here.

Interesting thread. When we deal with things like this that are not so explicitly addressed in the Bible it makes for an interesting discussion or debate. I noticed the high 'views' on this thread. This obviously attracted a lot of attention because of the potential controversy it has. Grey area material but nevertheless important. Many things could be categorized with this: entertainment, recreation, social activities [facebook?].

I am glad I attended churches that taught about 'seperation' and holiness. Of course the danger of that is 'legalism'.

As a young believer I applied my philosophy of 'all or none' to my spiritual walk. Which I believe is biblical. After my initial, renewed commitment to the Lord [which I think should rather be a regular mindset], I threw away all my collection of secular music, etc.

As I continued in my walk over the years, I began to question my motives. As another poster mentioned, I wanted to be 'real'. Was I being superficial when I still had longing in my heart for some of that old music? I did go back and started listening to them but with a different mindset and I did so with a guarded heart. My goal was that what ever I did, I wanted my motive to be because of my conviction coming from my 'personal relationship' with God, not because someone told me to. God is always concerned with the heart condition. [Obviously, there are times and things that we should abstain from physically because of the damage [ex. drugs, pornography] they bring]. I wanted God to do the circumcision in my heart and then let it be manifested in my flesh.

So as time passed, I realized that come to pass. We are not only called to be separated from this world, we are called to be separated unto the Lord. The absence of the latter can quickly lead to legalism. As I hungered for God and coveted a sensitivity to His voice [something that I struggled after and continue to seek], I found that somethings just cool my passion and distracts from my eternal direction. I wanted to guard the presence of God in my life and also guard my passion for Him. As vessels, what are we going to put in the limited capacity of our earthen vessel?

I think we can use several layers or filters when dealing with things that are not so cut and dry. Many already mentioned by others.

1. Motive - test your motive because you can give your body to be burned and without love, be in vain. God looks on the heart - always.

2. Impact [You]- what is the impact it will have on your walk. Does it help or hinder, focus or distract [look not to the left or the right - keep your heart with ALL DILIGENCE, heat up your passion or cool your soul, does this grieve the Holy Spirit, numb your discernment, we are at war

3. Eternity - giving account for our time spent in light of eternity and God's purposes. Does this sow to the Spirit - which is eternal or the flesh?

4. Impact [Others]- what we do is not our personal thang. What do we teach others in our example. When we fall, we don't fall alone.

5. Holiness - He said be holy as He is holy - friendship with the world is enmity with God. Who shall ascend to the hill of the Lord - he that has clean hands and a pure heart

6. Other - we need to be careful how we encourage or teach others. We can speak the truth in love but allow them to mature and come to their personal conviction. They should not change because of what someone says even if it is right. Give them the space that we were afforded. Because one day that action can be reversed if it wasn't a work of God. For some of us, it also too time. Pray for them, love them, trust God.

Nuf said. Ok, I just preached to myself.


_________________
Ricky Aguas

 2011/6/28 12:07Profile
carters
Member



Joined: 2011/5/24
Posts: 138
Australia

 Re:

Thanks Raguas,

Well written. I appreciate your post.

The motive is really important and in my case in getting rid of the secular music was because everyone of those songs reminds me of my past. As mentioned before, songs are very intertwined with my emotions, not godly emotions...

Songs remind me of a time when I was not walking with the Lord & partying up in the clubs...the songs pull me back to those times. Sometimes these memories can be drawing of the flesh back into an ungodly place where I stumbled before & where the focus was all on impressing those around me, trying to get attention on myself OR it could bring back memories of ungodly and sinful relationships from my past.

Most of the secular songs on my itunes take me back to these past relationships. These memories are depressing, humiliating or flesh inticing.

So in hindsight...I see things alot clearer now and I am extremely pleased I do not have any more of the memories of the past on my computer. I am very pleased I am rid of the past and I can face the present & the future without reminders of the past.

Everyone is affected by music differently. And just like you said, you need to look at your motives. I do not have anyone in my life affecting the decision I made, no legalistic influences - just wanting to glorify my God with my thoughts and wanting to move on from the past once and for all...completely & set free :)

In Him & through Him only
Sherid


_________________
Mrs Carter

 2011/7/6 0:30Profile
Scott1969
Member



Joined: 2011/6/24
Posts: 38


 Re:

I quit secular music when I was saved . I wanted whatever God wanted in my life. The world's music didn't appease to me anymore. A Christian should listen to music that only gives glory to God. If the music overrides the message, it is not worth the time to listen to. Thanks and God Bless !


_________________
Scott Thompson

 2011/7/6 1:21Profile
Josef83
Member



Joined: 2010/8/21
Posts: 111
Sweden

 Re:

What is your opinion Guys about the fact That Paul Washer is promoting christian rappers like Flame and LaCrae ?
I cannot find it in the scripture.
I know also William Botth used Music to evangelize.

 2011/7/6 1:48Profile
Veronica226
Member



Joined: 2010/2/3
Posts: 144
Montana

 Re:

Wow raguas, I really appreciate your post. That was very encouraging. :)
This really caught my attention:

Quote:
We are not only called to be separated from this world, we are called to be separated unto the Lord. The absence of the latter can quickly lead to legalism. As I hungered for God and coveted a sensitivity to His voice [something that I struggled after and continue to seek], I found that somethings just cool my passion and distracts from my eternal direction. I wanted to guard the presence of God in my life and also guard my passion for Him.



I had never thought of it in that way before. I gave up most secular music last year (except for some classical and instrumental music). The way I saw it was that I loved Him and wanted to do what pleased Him. I hadn't thought of it as "guarding the presence of God in my life" but looking back, that's what it was in my heart I just couldn't articulate it like that.
Thank you. That makes things a little bit clearer for me. It's not just to separate from the world, but to the Lord. I wonder, if I just separate from the world and don't separate unto God, is it even worth it? I don't know. I don't think so, because then it could turn into legalism. But you have given me something to meditate on. Thank you.

On the topic...
I've had many bad and evil experiences with secular music so I abstain from most of it as much as possible. I can visibly see the change in my little sister when she listens to certain bands, even though she is not saved it still affects her.
Also I recall one instance when we were painting the youth room in my church. One of the men helping us had put on worship music and we listened to that for a while. But as soon as it ended (the CD? the playlist? not sure) one of the youth jumped on the chance to put on her own music (VERY secular music) and you could physically feel the atmosphere change. Several arguments broke out and many snippy comments were made. And I felt the enemy's attacks in my spirit. I talked to another adult about it and they said they also felt the change when the secular music was put on.
If the only reason not to listen to secular music was to keep the enemy from attacking in that way, it would be reason enough for me not to listen to it.

May we press on to glorify the Lord, even in such a "small" area such as music!!
In Christ,
Veronica


_________________
Veronica

 2011/7/6 1:49Profile
ginnyrose
Member



Joined: 2004/7/7
Posts: 7534
Mississippi

 Re:

And then there is SILENCE.

Why are people afraid of it?

Why not 'play' it?

Why do people think silence needs to be filled with noise? Even music, whether it be good or bad?

SILENCE. Listen. What do you hear? Nothing? Listen some more.

What did you read this morning? Have you thought about God's word and what it is teaching you? Or, are you allowing music to drown out this voice that would love to teach you, speak with you...

SILENCE. Ahhh, it has the feel of velvet...

Listen! hear the birds singing? Hey! there is a mocking bird - hear his beautiful singing - he imitates other bird's songs! Now, no musician can imitate that beautiful warbling.

Silence.

Listen. You may hear something more beautiful....


_________________
Sandra Miller

 2011/7/6 8:50Profile
Enochh
Member



Joined: 2007/8/22
Posts: 116
Indianapolis

 Re:

excellent ginnyrose. leave it to you.


_________________
Jeff

 2011/7/6 9:17Profile
SamBuabeng
Member



Joined: 2010/12/6
Posts: 6
Ghana

 Re: Getting rid of secular music...

Hello brother,it takes all things to do it.YOU MUST NOT ONLY DELETE IT YOU MUST HATE THEM-the very thing that took Jesus to the cross.PLEASE DO IT FOR JESUS

 2011/7/6 10:39Profile
Solomon101
Member



Joined: 2008/4/1
Posts: 536
America's Flyover Country

 Re:

While I am in agreement that followers of Jesus have no business filling their hearts and minds with much of what is out there it seems to me that the posts reflect far to much "blanket condemnation". It would seem wise to judge anything by its content and fruit...whether you personally label it "secular" or not. There are some very decent songs of devoted love between a man and wife out there. Songs that promote fidelity and the loyalty of wedded love. Although it may be "secular" it is also an excellent message that we would do well to follow. I think we could all agree on that. As an example I post the lyrics from the totally "secular"... but very Biblically consistent ,"WHEN I SAID I DO". Obviously it deals with what the couple meant when they took their marriage vows. It follows

WHEN I SAID I DO

Songwriters:CLINT BLACK, CLINT PATRICK

These times are troubled and these times are good
And they're always gonna be, they rise and they fall
We take 'em all the way that we should
Together you and me forsaking them all
Deep in the night and by the light of day
It always looks the same, true love always does
And here by your side, or a million miles away
Nothin's ever gonna change the way that I feel,
The way it is, is the way that it was

When I said I do, I meant that I will 'til the end of all time
Be faithful and true, devoted to you
That's what I had in mind when I said I do

Well this old world keeps changin', and the world stays the same
For all who came before, and it goes hand and hand
Only you and I can undo all that we became
That makes us so much more, than a woman and a man
And after everything that comes and goes around
Has only passed us by, here alone in our dreams
I know there's a lonely heart in every lost and found
But forever you and I will be the ones
Who found out what forever means

When I said I do, I meant that I will 'til the end of all time
Be faithful and true, devoted to you
That's what I had in mind when I said I do

Truer than true, you know that I'll always be there for you
That's what I had in mind, that's what I had in mind,
When I said I do

end lyrics

While I am sure some may try to knot pick something wrong here... it simply isn't there. In a nutshell...we made a vow to be devoted to each other for all time. The world we live in will see us go through good and bad times, easy and hard times. Whatever times come...I made a vow to be devoted only to you (my spouse) and that's exactly what I meant and will do.

Secular or not.. it is a mind set and commitment we need in the church and world!

So....I hope we can be mature enough to evaluate a piece of music by its content and message rather than if we label it "secular" or not. What is the message and what fruit is it looking to produce... those are the better questions in my mind.

Blessings,

Solomon101

 2011/7/6 11:16Profile





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