CAUGHT IN THE HYPE OF FLAWED WORSHIP

By Akin Ojumu

Good or bad, safe or deadly, music is powerful. Music has a way of melting the soul and stripping away all judgements. A good song can make you laugh or cause you to shed tears. It is a powerful hallucinogen that can deaden the senses and make you want to fly high. Just like alcohol, music can cause people to do what they wouldn't ordinarily do were they in control of their senses. Music can catapult you to emotional heights where you momentarily forget all your sorrows.

Melodious songs have a way of penetrating deep into the soul, driving down deep into the mind, and enveloping the spirit in an intoxicating rapturous cloud. Whenever you are listening to nice music, endorphins gush out and your brain is suffused with the “happy hormones.” Because of the happy feeling it creates in your brain, you find yourself not wanting the song to end. So, you end up playing it over and over again, the same way an addict craves his fix and keeps going back for more. And the longer you listen to a harmonious song, the more you get enraptured in the melody. Then the lyrics impinges on your soul, and gradually you begin to assimilate the message it conveys. Soon, the message determines how you live; it becomes the sails that move the boat of your life.

Music is a vital element of the rites of all religions, pagan or Christian. The Oracle at Delphi and Temple of Diana – both of which are part of the mystery Babylon religions – use music to hypnotize the initiates causing them to let go of all inhibitions so they can willingly succumb to the sexual orgies that characterize the pagan worship. But this should come as no surprise to anyone since Lucifer was the Chief Musician in Heaven before he rebelled against the Almighty God and was cast out from the presence of the LORD. No being appreciates the power of music more than Satan does.

Having been educated about the force and influence that music wields, it is incumbent upon any Christian who values the destiny of his soul, to always keep their theological antenna up whenever they are listening to any song. It doesn’t matter whether it’s in the privacy of their bedroom, within the intimacy of their bathroom, or even during praise and worship at Church.

Christians must, at all costs, avoid getting caught up in the moment of any song without first authenticating the source of the song. No one should succumb to the emotional high that music creates without first verifying that the theology of the lyrics is sound. Never ever surrender your senses to the mass hysteria of corporate worship if you have even a scintilla of doubt about the words of the song being played. No matter how sweet it sounds, however pious it seems, always remember to run the lyrics of the song through a Biblical fact-check in your mind to determine whether or not it is Scripturally sound and brings glory to the Almighty God.

Just because a song tugs at your emotions, makes you feel warm and fuzzy, leaves you covered head to toe in goose pimples, sends a thrill down your spine, causes you to throw up your hands in the air, forces you to jump up and down, compels you to shout Halleluiah at the top of your voice, or makes you feel closer to God doesn’t make it a true worship song or godly music suitable for your consumption. 

The fact that the artist or singer is a “Christian” musician is not a guarantee that the song is safe for your soul. There are many supposedly Christian songs out there that are deeply rooted in flawed theology and are based on unsound doctrine but are written and produced by Christian musicians, nonetheless. 

So, before you start shaking your head, tapping your feet, and whistling along, remember to check that the song is alright for your soul.