Eddie Vedder of Pearl Jam
“I guess it was the beatings … made me wise.”
That line is from Pearl Jam’s song “Rearview Mirror.” When I was in the middle of six rounds of chemotherapy, that song really gave me energy and “fight.”
Vedder said when he wrote the music, it made him feel like he was in a car leaving a bad situation. That’s exactly how I perceived it — I would soon be putting my bad situation behind me, although I was far from finished.
But it’s not “Christian” music. It does not talk about God or anything associated with Jesus and what you would typically hear on K-LOVE. So should we only listen to Christian music?
There are secular artists that have positive and good things to say, but it requires a good “ear” to understand what’s being sad. (Other songs are so obviously bad that you’ll know immediately.)
Some “secular” music is not healthy. It drives you away from God and his principles. I don’t listen to that kind of music, and I also don’t eat Big Macs!
I listen to K-LOVE and Christian music regularly. (I love to listen to groups that don’t put themselves squarely into the Christian genre but they are Christians, such as Switchfoot and U2.) I also occasionally listen to secular music as long as it stays within the boundaries of what’s right and true.
I try to keep Philippians 4:8 in mind with everything in my life:
Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.
What do you think? Should Christians only listen to Christian music?
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