Is It OK For Christians To Listen To Secular Music?
Music, so they say, is an expression of the soul. This means that an artist conveys emotions through songs. The ability of music to touch the listener's heart has something to do with the many faces expressed by emotion – from joy to sorrow, laughter and pain.
As a creation of God, it is only proper for man to dedicate the music he makes to his Creator. Not only does the Bible command this (Chronicles 16:9), it also says that God created music (Colossians 1:16). This makes it right to offer it to Him as a tribute and a form of worship.
But being unique and multidimensional, man is capable of thinking, feeling and doing things other than those that involve spirituality. In creating man, God didn't confine him like a robot to act and feel in a certain, limited way. He was given freedom to express his feelings in whatever creative form.
Get Our Latest News for FREE
This means a painter can draw natural sceneries as a tribute to God's creation. He can also paint other things like skyscrapers and bridges that highlight the advancement of man. He's not betraying God for this. Rather, he is putting his talent and gift of perception to the fullest, which is what God intends (Philippians 4:13).
Like painting, music is also a form of art that can be expressed in ways other than worship. God has given us beautiful feelings, like affection, which we can share to our loved ones. If we're free to love others besides God, singing about our feelings to our parents, children, husband, wife and significant other is the most natural thing.
The key here is to choose the songs we listen to, those that wouldn't lead us to sin by injecting unpleasant thoughts in our minds. A song about loving someone who likes someone else is fine, but music that glorifies adultery is something else. We can listen to secular music just like we can watch the news and read books. But we should seek God first in all things that we do.
