Update Your Playlist—Why Music Choices Are Important

A highly-trained athlete stands in the soft sand of a beach in the early morning sunlight. She is about to do a series of hundred yard sprints, which she will follow-up with pushups, lying leg-lifts, and crunches. As she prepares for the grueling two-hour workout that has been the basis of her athletic success, she does one more thing—adjusts her headphones over her ears, pulls out her music player, and presses play. Each day she chooses just the right music to get the most out of her workout.

Elite athletes and people everywhere know that music has the power to help us do the seemingly impossible. However, if you turn it up loud enough and increase its beats per minute, the same music that we casually enjoy can become a form of torture. Music is more powerful than we can imagine.

The Bible is filled with music, and in several places it outlines God’s purposes for music. King David, himself a skilled musician and magnificent songwriter, wrote in Psalm 108:3-4, “I will praise You, O Lord, among the peoples, and I will sing praises to You among the nations. For Your mercy is great above the heavens, and Your truth reaches to the clouds.” David wrote numerous poems to God and set them to music. You can read them in the book of Psalms. Have you ever written God a song?

The music we listen to should be a source of praise to God, but that’s not all. Our music should edify us and those around us. The Apostle Paul picks up on this when he states, “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord” (Col. 3:16).

Music that focuses on God also helps us to hold onto our faith in God and pass that faith on to future generations. Here again, David agrees: “One generation shall praise Your works to another, and shall declare Your mighty acts. I will meditate on the glorious splendor of Your majesty, and on Your wondrous works” (Ps. 145:4-5).

Did you know that music is also an ideal vehicle for telling others about God? Some may never respond to a sermon, but they will respond to music. Music is one of the few art forms which cannot be resisted. David writes in Psalm 40:3, “He has put a new song in my mouth—praise to our God; many will see it and fear, and will trust in the Lord.” David saw music as a way to tell others about the God whom He loved. If the music we choose does not uplift God, edify us, help us retain our faith, or lead others to know God, it’s time to update our playlist.

For a deeper understanding of the issue involved, we suggest people go to the following link: https://www.adventist.org/en/information/official-statements/guidelines/article/go/-/a-seventh-day-adventist-philosophy-of-music/