Christian Music Challenge – The CMC
Do You Listen To Christian Music?
If not, I want to share something exciting with you.
Christian music is like an anchor during a storm. You can get back your peace and perspective despite the depressing headlines of the day. Just about everyone I talk to is ready to get a break from all of this junk going on in our world.
You have a lot of options when you listen to music.
Did you ever take the original Christian Music Challenge developed by Al Menconi? Taking that Challenge many years ago opened up a lot of musical doors for me. I’m talking about great Christian music, in all genres from pop to country to Christian rap. But, more about that later.
Shutting Out The Negative Values of This World
Our increasingly dark world will promote and glamorize anything that goes against our faith in Jesus Christ.
I can’t even turn on the television or read the news without negative headlines or news briefs changing my usually happy disposition to one of instant irritation.
Then there are the offensive plot lines that appear every night on television which are also glorified on movie screens across the country. Some parents deny that type of exposure can have a bad influence on their kids and sadly take their underage children to R-rated movies.
Does that make any sense at all? Why aren’t those parents taking the time to check out a movie before they take their kids to it?
There are enough websites out there to let us know if a movie has overtly sexual themes or is laced with obscenities.
I’ve made that mistake myself, although I didn’t have kids with me.
Recently, I started watching the movie “Wild” with Reese Witherspoon. I made the mistake of assuming this movie would be a lighthearted adventure.
Big mistake.
I should have, and will, from now on, check out a thorough movie review website first. Terrible language (including the mocking of Christ) was spewed in the movie, plus gratuitous and graphic nudity.
I turned it off about 15 minutes in, totally disgusted. What a terrible waste of time and money.
Here’s a helpful website that can help parents make better decisions about the movies they plan to take their kids to go see.
Hollywood Doesn’t Care
Hollywood doesn’t care about your kids or your family. If you’re a parent, relative, or a babysitter, for goodness sake, be aware of what the kids are watching. Don’t be fooled into thinking a movie is okay because the actors promoting it had some safer-viewing movies in the past.
What’s really sad, is that type of “entertainment” (and I use the word loosely) is later honored at a glamorous award ceremony with celebrities applauding each other for making millions of dollars.
I guess this makes me “uncool” for saying this, and I’m fine with that.
I love people, but I love Jesus Christ more.
Discovering Christian Music
For me, taking the Christian Music Challenge was like finding an anchor during a storm. I used to think that Christian music was just hymns and gospel. As beautiful as those genres are, it is comprised of so much more.
There are a lot of Christian rap artists I love to listen to – Toby Mac, for instance. I can listen to his music, crank it up, dance to it even, and not worry that I’m filling my head with the constant drilling-in of lyrics promoting hookups and violence.
Praise God for that!
We have options to offensive entertainment, we just have to take the time to seek it out. You can search youtube, Jesus Freak Hideout, New Release Tuesday, NoiseTrade, and cdbaby.com – to name a few places to discover great Christian music.
These days, a Christian mindset is often ridiculed. For what? For wanting to protect children, for wanting to keep our own thoughts on things above?
Your Whole Family Can Commit to Joy
You and your family can rise above the negative, overtly sexual, and violent secular entertainment and instead have a heart and mind focused on finding peace in Jesus Christ.
When the headlines are getting me down, I turn on music that lifts me up and brings me back to joy. God is in control and nothing that’s happening today is without His knowledge.
Don’t worry: this is not about forever tuning out any other type of music. But, you’ll find that your choices become more and more in line with a changed heart.
The real question to think about is: why would you want to waste your time with entertainment that’s against biblical values and may possibly undermine your relationship with the Lord?
My iPod is filled with a lot of music…country, classic rock and so on. But, I now turn to music choices from all genres that are uplifting and don’t dishonor God. I want my mind to be focused on things above, not jumbled and distracted.
I want my entertainment choices to enrich my life, not bring me down. I’d rather have my thoughts go somewhere like this, wouldn’t you?
From now on, I’m focusing on making better choices.
Bring it on home, TobyMac!
