Time is Running Out!

Sup, bro.

Like I’ve stated in a previous entry, Fridays are usually the busiest days of my weeks. Yesterday, I was tired. I was pushing boxes for a good part of the day and packing stuff in for the renovation. I knew that I had a lot of junk, but after trying to clear out my room, I realized I had a bunch of junk. Keep in mind, I don’t really use bold or italics much. Yes, it’s that serious.

One of the commitments that I made to God was to not listen to secular music for a while. It’s cool to be on the hip tip, but this is for God. I researched a bit about fasting in regards to food and found that it was done in order to show devotion to the Lord. Jesus disparaged those who fasted yet displayed their zeal in public rather than privately and to the Lord (Matthew 6:16). That’s a no-go. At camp, Jon Erick mentioned that he fasted off secular music. It seemed like a good idea to me.

I talk about this guy a lot, huh?

There’s something very calming about Christian music. Its effect on me is very interesting. Whenever I tune into KLOVE, I do not speed. Whenever I’m listening to other stations, my foot becomes lead and I have trouble maintaining a good speed. I’m also a little indecisive when I’m listening to that hip stuff. Whenever Lincoln Brewster’s “This is the Day” or Casting Crowns’ “Every Man” (which has been getting a lot of airtime) or TobyMac’s “Lose My Soul” comes on, it’s like I go on cruise control. It’s 65 mph all the way. It’s curiously cool.

I always thought that fasting was done for sobriety. Food is good, no doubt about it. But, sometimes we’re so full of it that we can’t see what’s going on. Sometimes we’re so blinded by our riches that we fail to see where the wealth came from. It taints our true emotions. With secular music, it’s the same thing. We’re surrounded in Dolby Digital 5.1 with profanity, sexuality, and pride, enveloped in loud bass lines and intricate cadences. Because we constantly hear this type of music, it taints what God has in mind. Because it is always present, it is hard to discern what is really happening. It’s only by the absence of it that I realized the difference.

I’m not saying that secular artists are not able to make decent music, though. They can. God has given us all gifts, but who we choose to use it for is the difference.

As I was driving to the youth Bible study, Jon paused the music to take a call. “Ashley, from Missouri” called in, requesting Chris Tomlin’s “Amazing Grace.” She said that it was her birthday and that despite it being her special day, she wanted to remind herself that it wasn’t all about her.

It wasn’t all about her.

That really warmed my heart. I literally went “aww” in the car. Her statement, though, should be a creed in the Christian way of life.

Yes, I am saved.

Yes, I am forgiven.

Yes, I am going to heaven.

What about your friends? What about your family? What about that boy bullying your kid? What about your brother who is in a bad way? What about your sister that has cut off complete communication with you? What about that guy who disrespected you in public that one night?

Remember: Jesus died for all of us. Not just you. Not just me.

The Bible says,

So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it for the glory of God. Do not cause anyone to stumble be it Jews or Greeks or the church of God–even as I try to please everybody in every way. For I am not seeking my own good but the good of the many, so that they may be saved (1 Corinthians 10:31-33).

Always keep that in mind, folks.