Not
all twelve of the most popular songs a month ago encouraged sexual immorality
of some type. Only eleven of them did.
Of those, at least three were so
graphic and explicit that they truly deserve to be called pornographic
music.
How
do I know this? I have not listened to those songs and don’t want to! A friend posted an
article by a leader in Christian youth ministry. That article seeks to warn parents and others
who may not be aware of just how bad the stuff is that young people are
listening to. Warning: although I think
the article is needed and helpful, in order to show how bad the situation is,
the author included examples of the disgusting lyrics.
This
massive flood of sexually immoral and pornographic music reinforces the evil
influences of instantly available pornography, popular nearly-pornographic MA
TV shows, and a culture which accepts and celebrates many perversions of sex.
All
of this deeply grieves my soul, especially when I think of my daughter’s generation
(she’s 19). Many of them have been
exposed to massive quantities of sexual temptation along with philosophies and
worldviews which encourage them to indulge.
As
I was walking and prayerfully thinking about these things this morning, an
image came to my mind:
I imagined
something like the worst flooding from Harvey, but even worse. The flood waters represent the flood of
sexual immorality inundating the world our youth and young adults live in. Many
of them are already drowning in those dark, muddy, polluted waters. Others are
treading water or hanging on desperately to a log. Some are huddled on roof tops, temporarily
safe but needing rescue from the ever rising threat. And a few are in rescue
rafts and helicopters, seeking to pull their friends out of the muck. But the rescuers are so few compared to the
multitudes in danger.
Things We Can Do
It
appears to me that this battle is most intense among our youth and young
adults. Those of us who are older need
to do all we can to support, encourage, equip, strengthen, and provide safe
havens for those young people who have a strong walk with Christ and who are
serving as “rescuers” for their generation.
We
need to set excellent examples of moral purity.
If you’re lamenting the terrible lyrics in popular music while you are
watching sexually explicit R rated movies and MA rated TV shows, they will spot
your hypocrisy faster than their i-gadgets can download a song. (For more about
watching TV, read
here.)
We
should get serious about intercessory prayer.
We should follow the example of Moses.
As long as Moses was holding up his hands in prayer, Joshua was winning
the battle (see Exodus 17:11). This type
of prayer goes way beyond a blessing at a meal or a 5 minute prayer time. We need to get serious about prayer because
our young people are in a serious spiritual battle.
This
battle is not primarily about what people should say “no” to. Saying “no” to evil music is important, but
that’s not the deepest issue. The
deepest issue is leading people to know God.
It is people who do not know God who are so vulnerable to sexual
immorality:
NIV 1 Thessalonians 4:3-5 It is God's will that you should be sanctified: that you
should avoid sexual immorality; that each of you should learn to control your
own body in a way that is holy and honorable, not in passionate lust like the
pagans, who do not know God;
When people don’t know God, they seek substitutes for His
love in all the wrong places.
We don’t want to simply tell people “don’t listen to
music with immoral lyrics”, even though that is good advice. We want to introduce them to music which
praises Jesus and lifts up our souls and fills our minds with the truths that
set us free.
I close with prayer (please actually pray this, or
something similar in your own words):
God, have mercy on us. Please rescue
our young adults and youth who are caught in a terrible flood of
immorality. Strengthen, protect, and
empower those who already know You to reach their friends for Christ. Rescue many out of this flood and help them
to find your true love which satisfies much more deeply than the devil’s deadly
alternatives. Let the Name of Jesus be
lifted up and let the younger generations (and some older folks, too) come
streaming to Christ for Your glory. In
Jesus Name, Amen.
No comments:
Post a Comment