Music

I can't tell you how big of a difference it makes in my day when I listen to worship music instead of the mainstream music on the radio. It seems like just about every song on the radio now is about partying. They make it all seem so fun and harmless, like it's something you have to do because you're young. I know that at times, that's had a big effect on me. It's made me jealous and angry, just listening to this music, feeling like I was missing out on a part of life that everybody else was having fun with. But as I've grown closer with God, I've realized that the draw to partying has become less and less. I don't feel upset anymore when I'm sitting at home on Friday nights, I actually feel glad that I'm not out somewhere getting drunk! To me, that is huge, because when I was younger I practically dreamed about going off to college and going wild. But now that I'm "getting serious" with God, the thought of partying kind of repulses me. I feel like I don't want to let God down; I want to obey Him. I think about Jesus going through all that pain and dying, and it becomes a lot more personal when I imagine it's that sin that I just committed that put another slash on his back or another nail in his hand. I've noticed that a lot of the time when I'd sin, I'd do a quick little justification in my head that makes it ok, but when it's done and over with I feel terrible and beg for forgiveness..but then I'd do it again later, and it's just like a big circle. It's not worth it, sin is not worth it. Now I realize that repentance is a lot different than just saying sorry, and that's what I try to do. I don't try to abstain from sinning to earn salvation or "good standing" with God, I do it because I love Him (because He loved me first, of course!) I also realize that there's nothing I can do on my own, because as humans on this earth, God is the one who sanctifies us, not ourselves.

Back to the topic of this post, music. Lol I got a little sidetracked there, but anyway.. Let me say that I do not generally like contemporary Christian music. I don't say this to put down those artists or other people that like them, it's just not my cup of tea. When I hear that music I just don't feel any emotional connection, and it ends up all sounding the same. I love music that I can feel the soul of, so to speak, praise music and just regular music. The kind of worship music I like is the kind that makes me desperate for God. I guess that's the best way to explain it. Basically all I'm trying to say, is that if something tempts you, hearing music that encourages that is going to make it even harder to stay away from (yes, I suppose I'm pointing out the obvious there.) But on the other end, listening to praise music will make it easier to keep your mind on the Lord, worship Him, and make your temptations much easier to deal with. God is always with us (I think that Hebrews 13:5 is my favorite promise God gives to us,) sometimes we just forget that. Thank God for the gift of music!