Awareness

5-4-2009


A friend of mine gave me a CD of a very popular rock band, that is phenomenal instrumentally, and the lead singer has an amazing voice. I put the CD in, and it was about three seconds into the first song that I realized I couldn’t listen to that particular song any longer. Though it was the type of music I love, the lyrics crushed my spirit. In other words, the song was the exact opposite of a song that would honor the Lord. My wife and I looked at each other and were shocked that a song with those types of lyrics could be played on the radio. The thought of a kid listening to this type of music gives me a better grasp on how the typical 12 year old has already had a physical relationship, thus many of them have become pregnant. It doesn’t surprise me how people that would fill their minds with this type of music engage in impure actions. I am far from a prude, and quite frankly I am shocked at how some Christians find it wrong to have a glass of wine, to go dancing, etc. I see nothing wrong with these things, as there is nothing that states these things are wrong biblically. However, I do believe we are called to listen to the right things and watch the right things, as doing the opposite WILL corrupt your mind.

I recall a time in my life when the song I referenced earlier wouldn’t have fazed me a bit. In fact, I would have sent this CD to just about everyone I knew. I am proud to say I am sensitive to ungodly music, because not that long ago I wouldn’t have been. In Ephesians 4: 17-19 Paul says, “So I tell you this, and insist on it in the Lord, that you must no longer live as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their thinking. They are darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardening of their hearts. Having lost all sensitivity, they have given themselves over to sensuality so as to indulge in every kind of impurity, with a continual lust for more.”

When you chase worldly things, it seems you can never get enough. Eventually your heart becomes hardened and you lose all sensitivity to the impure, and in fact the pure becomes uncomfortable to you while the impure makes you feel temporarily satisfied. We aren’t born with impure thoughts; we have impure thoughts by surrounding ourselves with impurity. It may be a song about lust that gets you lusting. It could be an inappropriate show, movie, video, etc. The world bombards us with impurity, and as a Christ follower, you should be sensitive to the impure. If not, we have some work to do. When you hear a song with impure lyrics, change the station or change the CD. Your mind is like a gas tank, and if you fill it with the right gasoline, the car is going to run the way it was made to run. If you fill your gas tank with the impure, you will BREAK DOWN! No matter how much impurity you pour into the tank, the vehicle will never run the same until you clean all of the impurities out, and refuel with the proper fuel!

Application:
1. Read Ephesians 4: 17-24
2. How would you rate your sensitivity level to the impurities of the world?
3. What do you need to stop watching, and stop listening to? Who do you need to stop hanging around?