Well now here comes ol' mean ol' Tonya to rain on everybody's parade, you know mean ol' Tonya with her religiousity. (LOL)
A few years back I was trying to get closer to the Lord, and was struggling with a lot of depression issues. One day while driving I found myself flipping through the dial, picking up one rock station after another, listening to the songs and skipping the commercials like I always had.
A song came on by Pink Floyd, and I found myself singing the words. The words weren't particularly horrible, as most Pink Floyd songs go, but suddenly I found myself having suicidal thoughts that just seemed to pop up out of nowhere.
I caught myself, and I prayed, and God told me to turn off the radio. He told me that if I were to beat the depression, that I needed to only listen to things that glorified Him. So, from that day on, I would only listen to christian artists, whether they were metal, rock, worship, whatever, it had to be christian artists - the real deal and not just touchy-feely artists. It had to be music that brought me closer to God and not farther away.
This decision was a huge step in my spiritual growth. It made a huge difference in my life. And while I still battle depression from time to time, I never have suicidal thoughts anymore.
I'm not going to say that the music caused my thoughts, but it certainly wasn't doing anything to stop them. And anybody who has ever listened to Pink Floyd knows that although they are quite talented and yes they rock, they don't really have any music that's what I'd call uplifting, in fact most of their material is quite the opposite - hopeless and despairing.
Maybe some would say I'm "weak" or "wrapped up in a nice bubble", but I'd rather be weak and use Jesus as my crutch than to be clueless as to my own spiritual downfall until it's too late. I guess to some extent, I'd rather be wrapped up in a "bubble of niceness", then to find myself wrapped up in a straight jacket.
I also believe that when you speak the words to a song over yourself, you can bring those curses on yourself. There is power in our words, and that is scriptural (it's in James). I was just telling my son today that a rather benign song that I happen to like, Here I Go Again by Whitesnake, is a seemingly harmless song but if you really think about it, it's kind of a downer of a song. I really like that song and musically it rocks, but the words are all about how someone was meant to be alone and that's the story of their life, and that's the way it is, and there is no hope for them ever finding any other people who love them.
It's not just a matter of the music you listen to, it's WHO you listen to, as well. Because who you listen to does influence you whether you like it or not. It influences your daily decisions and your life choices. And you can't honestly tell me that a song about a serial killer makes you feel closer to the Lord. I mean, be honest.
I think we're in enough reality as it is, without taking any more of it in. To me, it's like walking into a smoker's lounge, and having to inhale second hand smoke, and then saying, "Oh why not, now that I'm here, let me just light up a cigarette since I'm smoking anyway". That would be kind of silly, and that's how I see embracing the world for the simple fact that we're surrounded by it anyway.
I'm sure this will probably make somebody angry, because every post I make seems to tick somebody off on this board, but whatever at least you've heard my two cents.
That said ---- I once threw my entire skeleton out of whack at a Sacred Warrior concert. My doctor was TICKED!!!!!! He was an Osteopath, and he popped and snapped everything back into place while lecturing me. "Your body was not meant to do that, Tonya", he said, "Don't let me hear of you doing this again, or I will NOT treat you!"
LOL the next week I was back in the mosh pit, nay, crowd surfing thank you very much, at the King's Place in Reynoldsburg.
I'll never forget the owner's lecture he gave us every week (he looked and sounded like Hank Hill too!):
"NOW LISTEN UP, YOU KIDS! IF YER GONNA BANG YER HEAD, BANG IT ON YERSELF! DON'T BANG IT ON ANYBODY ELSE! YOU CAN BANG IT ON A WALL, YOU CAN BANG IT ON A POLE, YOU CAN BANG IT ON A CHAIR, BUT DON'T BANG IT ON ANYBODY ELSE!"
Mon Jun 09, 2008 5:12 pm
