The Power of Music

Music has the power to motivate, validate, comfort, energize, inspire, lift us up, or bring us down. I’ve seen it in my own life, and I’ve seen its effects on each of my children. My five kids (now teenagers and college students) have a wide variety of tastes in music–pop, rap, Broadway, country, Christian/worship…pretty much the gamut. And I can testify to the fact that their moods are affected by the music they have been listening to. I’m the same way.

Messages set to music are just more prone to stick with us than those not set to music.

My personal preference is (and always has been) to listen to music that specifically points my mind and heart to Jesus. I need the reminder and encouragement to help me “set my mind on the things that are above, not on the things that are on earth” (Colossians 3:2), and music helps me do that. My kids, however, sometimes like to branch out and listen to other music, and I’m getting better about listening to it with them, particularly while we’re in the car.

Sometimes I’ll ask them to tell me what different songs are about. They don’t always know, so I think it’s a good practice to help them really pay attention to what they are letting into their minds. (Sometimes they realize that it’s not something that is healthy to listen to on repeat.) When they were younger, I had more control over what they listened to, but now they have a lot more freedom and opportunity to choose their own music. I probably haven’t done a great job of guiding them through how to think about and interact with all different kinds of music, but I am learning and growing in this.

Although I gravitate toward Christian music, I realize that pretty much all music, whether it means to or not, directs us back to God. He created music, after all, so it makes sense that it would all have to do with Him. So even if the lyrics of a song aren’t outrightly telling us about God, they inadvertently are. Because if a song is describing real love or true joy, these things are rooted in God’s original plans for us. And if a song describes a longing for love or joy or peace, as a Believer, I know that that longing in each of us is actually a longing for what only God can give us. Even if a song depicts anger, sadness, fear, or confusion…All of it points us back to our need for God.

A couple of my children like to listen to music that they don’t want to share with me, and they will probably continue to try to hide it from me. But on the occasions that they do let me listen with them, I try not to give big reactions. Instead, I really try to listen to the words of the songs, point out what I think is good about them, and ask my kids for their thoughts on what they are hearing. This can provide teachable moments for my kids as well as teachable moments for me, since it helps me have a little more insight into my children’s hearts and minds.

I do want to point out that I think it’s also important to teach our kids to use discernment even when listening to “Christian” music. Some bad, watered-down, and/or me-centered theology can easily creep into our minds through some songs, if we aren’t alert to it. I try to point these songs out to my kids when I hear them, because I don’t want them to think that I’m only critical of “non-Christian” music.

I’m a pretty straightforward person; I like to be direct with my words. So I will most likely continue in my preference for music that is distinctly about Jesus. But I want to be aware–and teach my children to be aware–of God’s message to us through all music. We need to look for it, and the Holy Spirit can help us discern it.

Parents, do you look for teachable moments with your kids through music? Leave a comment and tell me how you do it!