Apples of Gold
Radio Script for July 28, 2008
“Music Moves You, and the Lyrics Point the Way”
Hello, I’m Doug Apple…with Apples of Gold.
Music moves you, and the lyrics point the way.
A lot of people say it doesn’t matter what kind of music they listen to because they don’t pay attention to the lyrics anyway.
But they admit that music moves them. It touches them at some deeper level. Maybe it excites them or motivates them. It gets them going in the morning. Music can make us happy or sad or goofy or serious. If you are a normal person, then music moves you.
The question is, in what direction?
Here is what I think. The music moves you, and the lyrics point the way.
I was flipping through the paper this weekend and saw that the #1 pop song once again is a song entitled, “I Kissed a Girl.” The title sounds innocent enough, like just another bubble gum pop song.
The problem is, it’s sung by a girl, Katy Perry. It’s set to a catchy pop beat as she sings, “I kissed a girl and I liked it.”
This is the number one song on the Billboard Hot 100. The song has only been on the charts for 11 weeks, so maybe you’ve never heard it – but if you Google the phrases “I Kissed a Girl” and “Katy Perry” it returns about 2.4 million hits.
By comparison, a search of “Billy Graham” returns only 2.8 million hits.
So this song is being enjoyed by millions of people. Would you say that this song is “moving” people? I don’t think any song gets that popular if it isn’t moving people at some level. It’s the beat. It’s the sound. It’s the latest catchy thing. It’s popular precisely because it’s connecting with people.
But what about the lyrics? Will the millions of girls who like the song suddenly start kissing other girls? I’m guessing that most of them won’t.
But here is how lyrics work. They plant ideas in your mind, and ideas have consequences. The more you hear an idea, the more seeds you plant in your mind; and the more seeds you plant, the more likely they are to bring a harvest.
Now most of us aren’t robots. We don’t hear song lyrics and immediately do what they say like mindless zombies. But here is what happens. They affect us when we are vulnerable. When we are vulnerable, we are much more open to the power of suggestion.
Even in the song the singer admits that, on the day she decided to try kissing a girl, she had been drinking.
When people are inebriated, they are definitely open to the suggestion of song lyrics. When someone has just been hurt, they are vulnerable. When someone is at a fork in the road, they are vulnerable. Even when someone is really excited, they are vulnerable.
What does a married person do when they find themselves attracted to someone else? When that happens, they are vulnerable. I think one thing that will guide their actions will be the lyrics they have been listening to.
If they have been ingesting a steady diet of puppy love songs, or even songs that glorify cheating, they will be far more likely to move in that direction.
When you encounter a young man on the street at night, what kind of lyrics do you hope and pray he has been listening to?
Some people think it doesn’t matter, but trust me, it matters. If you don’t think it matters, try crashing your local college keg party and swapping their music for some Christian music. Even if the music is identical, the lyrics will clear out the party.
Why? Because the lyrics would be pointing in the opposite direction.
And this is where we can take advantage of the power of lyrics in our own life as Christians. If the evil one starts to throw a little keg party in your heard, then start playing Christian music.
See, evil thoughts, tempting thoughts, even discouraging thoughts and depressing thoughts – they will all flee when you play music with godly lyrics, with lyrics that encourage and uplift and glorify the Lord.
Let me tell you how we do it at our house. We don’t allow any secular music. If it’s not Christian, you can’t play it at our house. It’s that simple.
Did you know that we each have a spirit? First Thessalonians 5:23 says, “May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
So we have this spirit inside of us. And Second Corinthians 7:1 says we should eliminate everything that contaminates our spirit.
I think song lyrics reach our spirit, and certain song lyrics will contaminate our spirit.
“So what should I do, Doug? Just whatever you say?”
Hebrews 12:9 says we should “submit to the Father of our spirits…”
James 4:7 says, “Submit yourselves, then, to God…”
When we submit to the Lord, this includes our music. And when we submit our music to the Lord, His usual standards apply – leaving no room for any lyrics that are unholy, unrighteous, ungodly or worldly.
“But Doug, that’ll wipe out most of the songs on my iPod!”
Good riddance. If they don’t please the Lord, they are poison anyway.
Did you get that? If they don’t please the Lord, they are poison. They will lead you away from Him.
I’ve heard all the arguments, and they are all full of holes. Music moves us, which is why we love it so much.
Yes, music moves us – and the lyrics point the way.
Comments?
E-mail me: dougapple@wave94.com.
May God bless you today! With Apples of Gold…I’m Doug Apple.
© 2008 The Arrow’s Tip
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(Proverbs 25:11 – “A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in settings of silver.”)
Why “The Arrow’s Tip”? Each morning, after diligently seeking the Lord, I write Apples of Gold. Then before I release it to the public I pray one final prayer, “Lord, send forth your arrows.” I envision Apples of Gold as arrows, tips dipped in the river of the water of life that flows from the throne of God (Rev. 22:1), sailing toward the hearts and minds of men and women around the world.
Doug Apple
General Manager - Wave 94
Christian Radio for Tallahassee
PO Box 4105
Tallahassee, FL 32315
(850) 926-8000
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