Mindful Mixtape
November 7, 2018
Written By: Gabi Cormier & Josiah Frisbie
In Romans 12:2, Paul instructs us not to be conformed by the pattern of this world, but to be transformed by the renewal of our mind. We want to explore this concept in music and recognize the influence that music can have on us and our minds, and how we can listen to a song and understand the gospel in a new way. We believe God created music; therefore, we should be able to enjoy that gift as a whole.
Thankfully, there is a genre of music for everyone to enjoy. Whether your genre of choice is gospel, country, classic rock, rap, indie, etc. Music is truly a gift from God, and if you are anything like us, then you love all types of music, from The Beatles to Drake, from Disney classics to party hits, from old Taylor Swift hits to Queen… we love a playlist that is filled with variety.
There are many upsides to different types of music. From a Christian perspective, knowing music that is not necessarily by a Christian artist can create common ground for everyone, and it can also impact our walk with the Lord. God has given us music and we desire to enjoy that gift as a whole. Sometimes a mainstream love song can still be sung to God, even though it was written for another person. A great song can be utilized to bring God glory, whether it was written to be a worship song or not. Some of the best beats, melodies, and lyrics come from mainstream music. As Christians, we can listen to today’s top hits and think critically about how it compares to Christian music and how it affects our beliefs. We want to encourage you to listen to what all of your favorite songs are saying and ask yourself, “Do these lyrics bring glory to God, or are they hurting my walk with the Lord?”
What Paul is saying in Romans 12:2 is to not continue living our lives the way that we did before we were Christians, but to live a life reflecting who Jesus is and what He did for us (Romans 12:2, NLT). How does this relate to music? As we’ve stated, our duty as Christians is to be mindful of the lyrics that we are singing and listening to while also recognizing that we can utilize music of all types to bring glory to God, because we are called to live a life of worship.
Our goal in this blog post is not to persuade you to stop listening to the music you love, but to understand the impact that music can have on you. Mainstream music is not a bad thing to listen to, we just need to take the content that we put into our minds seriously.
We wanted to add some of our favorite songs from the SA Staff in a playlist for you all to check out. Enjoy! Mindful Mixtape