byMusic is one of the most consumed content in this digital age. It’s everywhere – both in Christ and in the world. There are so many businesses that supplement their business services with music, all for the purpose of providing entertainment time for people. But music does have an impact on several people, both in good and bad ways, depending on the kind of music they listen to.
Years ago, I wrote an article titled “Why Christians shouldn’t listen to secular music” on our ministry website. To my shock, it has always been one of the most trending articles being read on the website, surpassing over 15,000 web views (as of the time of writing this article). Anytime our ministry web team checks the source of such traffic, almost a hundred percent of such impact comes from organic search, not paid or even on social media. When I get shown the statistics, I am always amazed to learn that several people are having difficulty understanding this topic.
The origin of music according to scripture
When did music start? Historians can give all the references they want, but Genesis has a clearer picture of how music began. Music is spiritual, and anything that happens in the physical has spiritual roots, known or unknown by the parties involved. Music didn’t start from earth but in heaven. Since God created heaven and earth, and there are several scriptures that confirm that there’s music in heaven, with even 24 elders worshipping the Lord (see Revelation 4:10), what makes you think music isn’t spiritual? It is. So, God invented music. But he’s not the one who brought it to the Earth. Are you shocked? It’s the devil, through evil humans.
A song is secular when its origin cannot be traced to God or His presence.
How music was invented on the Earth
The Bible confirms that God created Lucifer with inherent musical instruments – tabrets (representing all stringed instruments. For example, the guitar) and pipes (representing all wind instruments. For example, the trumpet) – see Ezekiel 28:13. So when iniquity was found in him and was cast upon the Earth, the Earth became formless and void because that incident brought chaos on Earth. Please note that all these things happened before the creation story, starting from Genesis 1:3. Some theologians call it the Pre-Adamite season.
Even though God made the world and cleared the chaos, the devil remained on Earth. After God made the world, he gave Adam and Eve the authority to rule over it. But how come the devil, through the serpent, manoeuvred his way into the Garden of Eden? It was because he was already on Earth before God created humans.
The repercussions of Cain leaving God’s presence
Adam’s disobedience paved the way for sin to enter the world (see Romans 5:12). But Cain took it further. After murdering his brother Abel, the Bible says he left the presence of God (see Genesis 4:16) and dwelled in the land of Nod, east of Eden. From that time, all forms of evil started sprouting up on the Earth through his generation. Polygamy was introduced by Lamech (see Genesis 4:19). Lamech’s offspring, Jabal, invented work (purposely for a living) by making humans toil to have food and a place to sleep (see Genesis 4:20). Jubal, the half-brother of Jabal, was the one who fathered all those who played the harp (representing all stringed instruments) and flute (representing all wind instruments) – see Genesis 4:21. So Jubal was the one whom music came to the Earth.
My question is, where did all those inventions come from? From a polygamous home outside the presence of God. We know that anything that proceeds outside God’s presence is evil, meaning all those inventions were used for evil purposes, not for good. So, in the case of Jubal, my emphasis for the purpose of this article is that he invented secular music. That implies that music is secular when its origin cannot be traced to God or His presence. So, anybody who gets inspiration for a song and cannot trace it to the work of the Holy Spirit is led by the devil.
God turning an evil invention into good
Even though music came as an invention on the Earth outside God’s presence, God has turned it over for the good of believers by bringing in gospel music. However, it came later, making both gospel and secular music heavily present on the Earth. That is why some Christians struggle to find the balance between the two. Hmm!
You are more likely to remain conscious of God when you keep listening to gospel songs, sometimes throughout your day, as you do other things.
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Distinguishing gospel music from secular music
Now that you know the origin of music according to Biblical understanding, how do you distinguish between gospel music and secular music? Yes, there are many music categories according to the world (hiplife, hippop, reggae, RnB, etc). But I want to narrow it down to gospel and secular music. How do you know whether a song you just heard is gospel or secular?
Before I delve deeper into this topic, I want you to understand that the fundamental way to do this is to check whether the song glorifies God or not. If it glorifies God, it is gospel music, but if it doesn’t glorify God (or glorify any other thing or human aside from God), it is secular. Please get this understanding so well. Now, let’s delve deeper.
Distinguishing through lyrics interpretation
There is no song without lyrics except for instrumental songs. Even so, they are usually composed from the original song. Every song has lyrics attached to it. Because of this, one primary way to distinguish whether a song is gospel or secular is by interpreting its lyrics.
To be on the safer side, check out the lyrics of the song before downloading or streaming it. Many people don’t do this, so they don’t measure the impact the songs they listen to have on their lives. If you are listening to secular music and its lyrics are misleading, usually to sinful things, it will affect you. That is also the opposite of gospel music. You are more likely to remain conscious of God when you keep listening to gospel songs, sometimes throughout your day, as you do other things. Even Paul testified of this when he wrote in Ephesians 5:19 (NKJV) that,
“speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord,”
Do you see the word “heart” in the scripture above? That means music has an impact on your heart. Why listen to secular songs, which will impact your heart to sin, instead of listening to gospel songs that will help you remain connected to God in worship?
Distinguishing by spiritual discernment
Sometimes, you may not understand the lyrics, primarily if it’s written in a language you don’t know. I thank God that there are so many apps that help translate between languages. But they are not enough when it comes to music. The Holy Spirit, who’s fully God and dwells inside each believer, knows no boundaries to give divine direction. He is the most accurate Person who can help you discern whether a song is from the gospel genre or secular. He can even help you to know the spiritual message every gospel music carries and how it can impact your life. So, pursue a deeper intimacy with Him.
Final takeaways
As a Christian, secular music is not the type of music you are supposed to listen to, regardless of excuses. They will dampen your spirit when you do that. So, don’t do it. But even as you listen to godly songs, be selective.
You are a blessing!
