Here's a story that happened to me at church, with a young man who is handicapped (almost blind, growth stopped at 4 feet/ 1.2 meters, and has other issues that should have led to his death years ago). Most at church due to his size and the need of help to get around (except at church
) treat him as if he is a child. He just celebrated his 36th birthday, but when this happened he was about 29.
I was making coffee for church classes being held in the kitchen, when he comes to the doorway all angry and starts talking almost to himself about being a man, and he's going to listen to whatever he wants to listen to, and won't be told by anyone what he should listen to or not listen to. Hearing this I asked him what happened. He told me that a couple of people at church were telling him that he needed to stop listening to Rap music, because it was ungodly. (He felt they were treating him like a child as if he couldn't make his own decisions!)
I told him, I agreed! He was a man, and as a man should be able to make his own decisions. He was happy that I agreed with him
I then asked him that as a believer and a man, if he should be listening to music that did not edify God? Would God be happy? As a man he needed to make this decision for himself, and that no one else could make it for him. Yet whatever decisions he ultimately made would be between him and God. Well, he wasn't happy about what I said, and he went stomping off.
A couple of hours later he came back to the kitchen and apologized about his actions and stomping off the way he did. He asked me then what he should do. I told him, that the decision was still his to make, but maybe trying to find similar music, that lifted up instead of taring down, might be an option for him. He nodded his head in agreement, thanked me and left with a pensive look on his face.
Since I knew he liked rap, I went on line and found some Christian Rappers, and downloaded a couple of albums for him. Since then I haven't heard anything about listening to secular rap music
Please don't ask me what I thought as I listened to it, to make sure it was uplifting!!!!
As a believer, what we listen to, just like what we do, can and does affect how non-believers see Christians, much less how it might affect our own growth in the Lord. If you can picture our Lord listening to this music with you with approval, than I guess you have your answer. However, I don't believe He would be approving of it. As far as non-believers, they really don't need any more justification for not believing, so as a Christian I really attempt not to give them anymore excuses by which they can lie to themselves in order to continue to reject our Lord Christ Jesus, and Salvation.
YBIC
C4E
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Psalm 150:3-6 [3] Praise him with the sound of the trumpet: praise him with the psaltery and harp. [4] Praise him with the timbrel and dance: praise him with stringed instruments and organs. [5] Praise him upon the loud cymbals: praise him upon the high sounding cymbals. [6] Let every thing that hath breath praise the LORD. Praise ye the LORD.
Ephesians 5:19-20 [19] Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord; [20] Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ;
Isaiah 38:20 The LORD
was ready to save me: therefore we will sing my songs to the stringed instruments all the days of our life in the house of the LORD.
