I grew up with a love for music that I still have today. Music can lift me up or help me through trying times. It can fill me with joy, love, compassion, or empathy. I sang in church with my family from a young age on up, and my dad was in a quartet singing Christian songs for many, many years. My mother and sisters also enjoyed singing, and we all played instruments. We were and are a family that loves music, and my family now enjoys music as well.
One thing I did not do for many years was think about the words of the songs I was listening to. If I liked the sound of the music, the way it was sung, the beat of it, or the chorus, I might listen to that song over and over again, memorizing it but yet not really ever thinking about what the song meant. I quickly realized when I had children that I needed to change this, as hearing children sing lyrics that are less than desirable immediately puts things into perspective.
I have liked a lot of different kinds of music in the past, but country music has always been my favorite. In about the last 5 years, I began listening to Christian music almost solely, with some country music sprinkled in. When my dh gave me an IPod for Christmas, I had so much fun choosing music to put on it. This is when I first truly realized the magnitude of the words of the songs. I ended up removing songs and deleting them. Even just one line that is off seems wrong when sung again and again. However, our family still likes country music along with Christian music, and my dh listens to country radio all the time with the boys.
I think I finally found a good way to teach music discernment to our children (and to us). My IPod is for the family's use and sets on the IPod dock in the kitchen for all to use. Anyone can suggest a song to be put on the IPod, but before I put the song on it, we Google the name of the song and "lyrics" for the song. We read through the lyrics together line by line, and the minute I find something objectionable, we talk about it, and it may not go on the IPod. It is becoming very clear to my sons that virtually every Christian song can go on the IPod, but many fewer country songs. They are starting to realize that many country artists sing a mix of "good" songs and "not so good" songs. They have stopped saying they really like so-and-so's music and instead say they really like a certain song. They realize that they can't just assume because a country singer had one song that was okay, that any song by that artist will be okay. They know they better check out the lyrics before they let a song become a favorite of theirs. This has taken away the battle of what we listen to and what goes on the IPod. It has also helped them listen to the words of songs very carefully before they deem it as worthy of learning well. I just thought I'd share this as it has helped our family enjoy music but do so in a way that is more discerning.
In Christ,
Julie
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