An article by Tamara Lewis
“For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light. For the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth and find out what pleases the Lord. Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them”. (Ephesians 5:8-12)
As Christians we need to be very conscious of our surroundings, and of the things we expose ourselves to. The bible tells us that we are children of the light and that we have left darkness behind us, as Paul tells us in Ephesians above.
The very things which we are exposed to on a daily basis are the things that are destroying us on the inside, the things we are so familiar with that we hardly even bother to give them a second thought are often the most dangerous. I propose that the ‘fruitless deeds’ that Paul spoke about are prevalent in the media today, from the magazines we read to the programmes that we tune in to watch.
The media has a huge influence on our daily lives and we are constantly breathing in the fumes and pollution that it expels. The music industry is used to make people buy products or feel certain emotions, it can encourage, relax, make you angry, or depressed. Let’s not forget that the only reason music is so powerful is that it was created by the greatest creator of all times: God. Like all things that God has created it can be used either for the purpose of good or evil because he has given us the freedom to choose.
Romans 1:25 tells us:
‘They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshipped and served created things rather than the creator-who is forever praised. Amen’
Jesus says that there can be no lukewarm people in the kingdom of God.
‘I know your deeds that you are neither cold or hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So because you are lukewarm- neither hot nor cold- I am about to spit you out of my mouth’ (Revelation 3: 15-16)
The sentiment of this scripture is that we are without a shadow of a doubt required to stand firmly in one camp or another- God or evil and so it stands to reason that music too must also fit into one category or another. Not all music is produced for the good of others and not all of the arts and entertainment industry is geared towards positive ends.
Since the main aim of this industry is to produce money it stands to reason that either yours and mine welfare or mental state is the very least of their concerns. Christians need to be more concerned about what their children are listening to; the lyrics that accompany these catchy tunes and melodies are more harmful than it may appear at first hand. The apostle tells us in Colossians 3:2 that we should set our minds on the things above and no longer on earthly things, and many if not all of the lyrics from popular music are just that ‘earthly things’. The lyrics become thoughts that become mentalities that then display themselves through our actions. This can be seen in the most subtle actions and attitudes which we are witness to nowadays, and it is not only children that are capable of being influenced whether negatively or positively we all have that capacity.
We cannot afford to be complacent about this issue because these negative influences draw us away from our God, and the further away we get the more boundaries become blurred in our lives. We need to acknowledge our freedom is being removed whenever we are unable to make independent decisions. The greatest deception is that we believe our thoughts and opinions actually belong to us, when in actual fact we are being continually bombarded with opinions, which are received passively through the medium of music.
We cannot ignore the spiritual effects of music since the God that created this form of expression is a God of spiritual origin; therefore it would be ignorant to ever view music as having no effect or influence upon who we are.
The fact that music is so easily received is a part of the problem if we are not taught to be more conscience and aware than we are naturally, we are in danger of becoming sponges in a bowl of water, mindlessly absorbing everything we come into contact with.
‘This day I call heaven and earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live.’ (Deuteronomy 30:19)
Lyrics that are openly offensive are easier to identify than those that are less obvious are, however it is such subtleties, which will infiltrate are minds until we are oblivious to them. It is not our role as Christians to be ignorant about the world we live in, in fact I propose that it is in actual fact our role to be more conscious than the average person in the world that does not know Christ. We cannot claim to be children of God and yet remain blind to the works of the opposing force that operates around us. We need to take a stand and demand a level of perfection in our lives and that means being aware of just how much we continually settle for less than our inheritance dictates. If you want to be a successful Christian you have to study the word of God and allow Him to minister to you, this means that we should become more sensitive to the desires that God has, we should desire the things that God holds in esteem, such things as integrity, love patience, and truth. Scripture tells us
‘To the Jews who believed him, Jesus said, “if you hold to my teaching you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” (John 8: 31-32)
This scripture clearly tells us that knowing the truth that is Gods truth not the world’s truth is when we find true freedom and not the world’s idea of freedom.
‘Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of such things God’s wrath comes upon those who are disobedient. Therefore do not be partners with them’ (Ephesians 5:6-7)
So why then allow your mind to be polluted by the lies of the world the untruths that surround us in this life are the very things we a Christians must make open stands against when the opportunities present themselves to us. Remember that the followers of Satan are not shy about being presented and making their opinions known openly. We see the evidence of this everywhere we turn from the magazines we read to the television programmes that we watch, continually we see images that oppose God, and it is these images that take precedence in own lives.
This is why we need to have a spirit of excellence, because without such a spirit we fail God and every unsaved person in the world today. God sent us to be fishers of men and he equipped us with the Holy Spirit so that we could be effective in this role. But in this spirit of excellence it is necessary for us to remember that God is a God of order and in using us to minister to others He calls us to use wisdom. The fact that many Christians today operate under the misconception, which is that, the Holy Spirit is using us to minister (in whatever way it may be), and therefore we do not need to train or learn anything else. Claiming that God will do it all without any work or effort on our part, as long as we make ourselves available. This is untrue because it assumes that the Holy Spirit does not require skill, education or knowledge, all it needs is a blank canvas. But how can this be when in the circular environment artists are operating at higher levels mainly because they have sought the necessary training and education in their field.
Just imagine how much more we could achieve with education and training alongside a God whom can use all that we have. If we do not pull out all the stops and use all of our resources effectively we will always be (as Christians) a couple of steps behind when it comes to winning souls for Christ. Surely God invented the whole notion of education and yet we shun training in the fields, which God has provided for us, and we seek the help of the Holy Spirit claiming that God can use an ignorant uneducated person to do his work for him. We cannot afford to be so arrogant as to assume that God will not just use a more equipped Christian. I for one believe that God is more likely to use a person that is willing to go the extra mile and gain what they can in order to be excellent not just mediocre at the things which God has called them to do. Having acknowledged the success of Satan in many if not all of the areas of media, surely then it goes without saying that we have to aim even higher in order to achieve standards, which even the world will admire and be unable to compete with. We are already one step ahead of the world if we know Jesus Christ anyway but just imagine how much further we could go with the training and education, which I believe God, is providing for us. How can we let Satan steal the minds of the next generation because we fail to provide alternative entertainment, which is of a high and praiseworthy standard that can be offered to the masses and not just those who are Christians? This is not to say that God will not use someone without formal education, but God requires us to learn all that we can in our fields so that our ignorance does not prevent the blessings from manifesting. Why would God use a Christian without knowledge when he can find a Christian with knowledge or at least the desire to obtain it?
The enemy would love us to remain ignorant to just how effective his own ministry is because then we become blind to just how much we could and should be doing for the kingdom of God. It is not enough to assume that God will do what we cannot the fact is God will do as much as you allow him to. If the mainstream need to know about Jesus and we know they will not find out from the media as it stands today then we have to create something worthwhile to replace what the mainstream are feeding them at the moment. This can only be possible if we really seek perfection and excellence in all that we attempt. This means being open minded enough to see the opportunities, which God has placed in front of you (this includes formal and informal training and education). Not to mention the gifts inside of you (the gifts of the spirit), which we have been called to use for the good of others and to bring light into a world of darkness.
The members of the enemies’ camp are very persistent and dedicated to their cause, therefore should we not be even more persistent and dedicated to ours?
This does not mean that we need to be obsessive fanatics with no sense of reality we need to find a balance. We cannot afford to make any more excuses, God has equipped us with more than we often remember, and we need to study the word and remind ourselves of the inheritance that he left for us.
The enemy knows about our inheritance and because he has this knowledge he is willing to do everything in his power to prevent us from receiving it. Satan would not bother with us if he did not know our worth, so we need to ask ourselves how long will we blindly walk around without ever acknowledging the many different avenues which Satan will use in order to destroy us mentally?
‘For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you and asking God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all spiritual wisdom and understanding.’ 10…And we pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God. 12…giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light. For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves (Colossians 1: 9-14)
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