IV. Can music be evil or worldly?
You may have read books or watched videos that teach on music and warn against various styles of music, pointing to their association with things that are ungodly. Those discussions about music can be both helpful and at times misleading.
They are helpful in that
1) They make us aware that we should be concerned
about the music we hear.
2) They expose some very real issues of sin and abuse
of music to promote evil.
But they can be misleading in that
1) They tend to pick on just 1 or 2 styles of music (Rock, Pop),
and give the rest a pass.
2) They often misidentify the problem.
Let me give you some guidelines for thinking about music as it relates to sin.
First we must realize that
1) All music belongs to God.
All music that we create is a part of this world. And all music belongs to God as a part of His creation. God gave us music to enjoy and glorify Him in all of life.
2) Music itself cannot be "sacred" or "secular."
When you are considering just the music—not music and words together—not music in other contexts—just evaluating the tune—music itself is not "sacred" or "secular." It is a false dichotomy to divide music into categories—thinking that God has His music over here—music that He prefers and delights in—and the world has its music over there that it delights in and prefers—and the really bad stuff—that is the devil's music.
There is no "God's music," "world's music," and "devil's music." It is all God's music. No tone or beat has ever been sounded in this universe that does not belong to God.
Music is not inherently religious or worldly, good or evil. There is only music—which can be employed for worship, for recreation, for celebration, for numerous occasions in which we wish to raise our affections and give voice to our emotions.
3) Music can't be evil because "evil is nothing, i.e. no–thing."
Evil does not consist of things, be it bullets and guns or tones, rhythms and instruments.
[For an explanation of this principle listen to the message by R.C. Sproul from the Ligonier National Conference held in June 2010 on "What is Evil and Where does it come from?"]
Evil does not consist of things, rather—
4) Sin is an issue of the heart.
When we see music that is wed to words or actions that dishonor God, if we are not careful, we can come to the conclusion that the problem is the music, when the real problem is sin. Sin is always an issue of the heart. Sin is found in our motives and intents as we create and use music, not in the tones, rhythms, and instruments we use to create and make music. Music can certainly be used in sinful ways to express sinful desires and wicked intentions. But the music itself is just a tool.
It has been this way since the beginning:
In Genesis 4:21 we read of Jubal—the father of those who play the lyre and pipe—the first time music is referenced in the Bible. Two verses later in Genesis 4:23 we have the first recorded song in Scripture—a boast exulting in murder and lust for revenge.
All styles of music can be abused in sinful ways. Often it's styles like Rock and Pop that are targeted as "worldly" or "evil," while styles such as Classical are championed as wholesome and safe. Critics point to the perverse lifestyle and evil intentions of many Pop and Rock musicians.
And we should heed their warnings and be on guard against using music to sin against God.
But honestly, all styles of music can be abused by sin. Classical, Rock, Pop, Country and Jazz can all express a wide range of emotion. And all have a history tainted by sin. All have had composers and performers whose lives have been shattered by sin.
We need discernment to judge every style and genre of music. A better way think of music in regard to evil is—
5) Music can be used in ways that honor God or profane God.
When music honors God, it is intentionally composed or used to praise Him, acknowledge Him or celebrate what is good and right. Music that honors God does not necessarily need to be worship music. It can be music that celebrates life, love, marriage, family, children, home, and many other gifts of God—and celebrates these good gifts in God-honoring ways.
When music profanes God, it is composed or used without thought of God, as an end in itself, making music to be an idol or empty. Or it is composed to celebrate or promote things contrary to God and His revealed will. And this can happen in all styles of music.
Music itself simply expresses and reflects emotion. It does not in itself distinguish between sinful expressions of emotion and pure expressions of emotion.
All emotions can glorify God when channeled and expressed in God-honoring ways. God created our emotions for us to express to His glory. But emotions can be hijacked, misdirected and used in sinful ways. And music has certainly been abused and misused to express emotion in sinful ways.
This world has produced some wonderfully passionate and expressive music. The music is for us to use and enjoy to God's glory. The problem lies in that the world is often passionate and expressive about the wrong things. Their emotions have been hijacked and sent in sinful directions. And so the music they use to express themselves has been hijacked and misdirected as well.
So how do we know—
V. What music can we enjoy as Christians?
Let me close with—
A. Some parameters for enjoying music
1) Do all to the glory of God
All music, whether it is sung in church, at home, on the stage, in the car, in private, should be sung to the glory of God. That is NOT to say that all music must be suitable for corporate, family or private worship. God is glorified when a man sings a love song to his wife, when he uses music to teach his children, or sings about his home or nation, or many other good gifts that God gives.
2) Keep a watch over your mind and heart—guard your affections
Music is a powerful tool. It takes what we sing and embeds it in us. It shapes how we emotionally respond to truth as well as error. What we sing and what we listen to will have an impact on us. It makes memorable our words and gives voice to our affections. It heightens and inspires and connects with our emotions.
What you choose to imbibe will feed your soul. What you choose to listen to will stick in your head. This is especially true of music. How often does a tune come to mind that just stays with you? As you turn up the radio or iPod, ask yourself: Do I really want to wake up singing this in the morning?
B. Some questions to ask when evaluating music
It is good to ask questions: questions related to truth and worldview, questions related to the affections and emotions and questions related to identity and expression.