When you think of the greatest music ever recorded do you think of The Beatles? Mozart? What about Christian music?
If you consider Christian music at all you probably think first of the songs you hear on K-LOVE, the nationally syndicated Christian radio station. You might consider some of the great hymns like “Amazing Grace.” But would you consider classical music to be “Christian” music?
“Always pain before a child is born.” – Bono
It took three and a half hours for my infusion of the drugs when I took chemotherapy. It took seven days for the drugs to wear off so I could feel somewhat normal again. It took four months until I was finished with chemotherapy.
Time seems to stretch on forever when you are struggling through a tough time. When you’re in the middle of a crisis, it’s hard to see the end. The pain seems like it will never go away.
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?
(If you like this post, you should buy my book. Thanks for reading!)
John Mayer
Music can be a great motivator when you need to be picked up in tough times. But music can also be a distraction. There are some great bands and artists that I wish had lyrics that were more in line with Christianity.
John Mayer would be a great Christian artist if he wasn’t such a sleeze bag in his private life, as we learned in his interview with Rolling Stone and that magazine sold wrapped in brown paper.
It’s a shame that we put musicians and music groups in categories but the fact is some musicians approach their lyrics from a Christian perspective and others don’t. Some are clearly secular (see everyone in the top 40!). Others not so.
Some fit nicely into the Christian genre (Chris Tomlin) but others don’t, yet they are Christians (U2). Switchfoot has a Christian perspective, gets airtime on K-Love but their lyrics don’t mention Jesus, although they are Christian.
With that said, here are five secular artists I’d love to see “go Christian”:
