Your Child and the New Age Chapter 16 Preparing children to discern the message in the music

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As long as America was predominantly Christian, the Holy Spirit's presence restrained occult activities. Today, as the rebellion against God intensifies, and as Christians flirt with the world and quench God's Spirit, demonic forces rush in. Many believe that the very drumbeat that mesmerizes children is also beating out a worldwide summons to the powers of darkness.

While some may reject that theory, all can agree that music has power to influence and change people. That is why, in the Psalms alone, we are encouraged more than sixty times to sing to the Lord. Singing shapes, affirms, and strengthens what we believe. It expresses the depths of our souls. Words that enter on the wings of music tend to nest in our mind and bounce back into our thoughts whether or not we call for them.

We can battle the contemporary decadence in music by training our children to listen to God's thoughts, to enjoy music and songs that build faith, and to base their actions on God's truth.

Step One: Listen to God, Not the World

• Renew your mind with truth (Romans 12:2). Continue daily Bible study - not just to gain facts, but know and hear God's heart. He will speak to those who love and follow Him (John 10:3-5; 14:21-27). Read the following Scriptures, looking for God’s messages. Discuss His guidelines; they apply to music as well as other kinds of influence.

1. What is God's attitude toward evil? Psalm 97:10-11; Proverbs 6:16-19; 15:9, 26; 21:4.
2. What are the consequences of playing with evil? Proverbs 1:29-33; 21:16.
3. How does God want me to respond to evil? Romans 13:11-14; 1 Peter 5:6-9; Psalms 1; 141:3-4; Proverbs 2; 14:7; 24:1, 21-22.
4. How does He want me to live each day? Ephesians 4:17-32; 5:3-21.

• Avoid compromising suggestions and situations. God says, "Flee also youthful lusts" (2 Timothy 2:22, KJV). This is not easy when a whole society craves sex and violence. Not long ago, heavy metal was on the fringe of music entertainment, and few listened to it. Now in the mainstream, it flaunts violent and graphic sexual images as damaging as those found in porn shops.

"Once I became addicted to pornography, serial murderer Ted Bundy told Dr. Dobson, "I would keep looking for more potent, more explicit, more graphic kinds of materials ... you keep craving excitement until you reach the point where the pornography goes only so far.."1

• Count on what Jesus accomplished on the cross. [Consider] yourself dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus.... Do not offer the parts of your body to sin, as instruments of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God..." (Romans 6:11, 13).

• Trust and follow the Holy Spirit. When children turn from moral absolutes to moral relativism, they become uncomfortable in God's presence. Those who have developed an appetite for immorality hide from Him. Feeling judged by His holiness, they have two choices: run or repent and receive His loving forgiveness. Most refuse to break their bondage to their sensual lifestyle.

The Apostle Paul wrote to the Galatian Christians who lived in a pagan society:

"Live by the Spirit and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature. For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what you want...

"The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity, and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions, and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.

"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control ... Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit." (Galatians 5.16-25)
 

Step Two: Help Your Child Choose Enriching Music

What is good music? This subjective question has no simple answer in these days of diverse selections and divisive preferences. While you may love classical or Christian praise music, most teenagers today do not. If your child has developed an appetite for thrash metal, you may have to start the weaning process by moving a step at a time.

• Ask God to lead you to His choices for your family.

• Listen to the music your child likes. Develop an atmosphere of love, mutual respect, and acceptance. Be open, understanding, and supportive. Discuss the message of the lyrics. Ask questions such as: "Do you agree with those lyrics? Do your friends? What happens in your mind when you keep hearing the same message over and over?"

• Study and buy music together. Examine record jackets, read the titles. Discuss different groups. Talk about the values, attitudes, behavior, and dress promoted by Madonna and other idols. Remember that many titles deceive. For example, the band called The Church plays neo-psychedelic music about volcano suns and magic mystery tours. In his top hit album, Faith, George Michael sings about sex, not God. When he sang with the group Wham, his catchy tunes emphasized kinky, sadomasochistic sex. For example, "The Edge of Heaven" suggests that straps, Chains, and screams make heavenly sex.

So-called New Age music didn't seem to impress the youth culture until 1988, when Enya's hit album Watermark blended it with a mellow form of rock. Since the door is open to new variations, watch for hypnotic and meditative sounds intended to produce altered states of consciousness.

• Listen for lyrics that teach New Age spirituality. But remember, New Age music is a broad umbrella that may even include meditative Christian music. As God said in 1 John 4:1, "Test the spirits."

• Include your child in choosing music for your home. Tell why you like certain kinds of music; share the benefits you receive. Explain that biblical truth set to music delights God and builds faith and spiritual strength in us. Ask yourselves these questions:

1. Does it honor or dishonor God?

2. Does it encourage me to trust and follow Him?

3. Does it communicate the power of God, of man, or of Satan?

4. Does it focus my mind on the glory of God or the rebellious forces of Satan? (Philippians 4:8; Colossians 3:1-3)

5. Does it encourage adherence to, or rebellion against God's values?

6. Does it produce a craving for a form of music rather than for God?

7. In concert, do listeners worship God or the musician/ singer? (Deuteronomy 5:7-8)
    

• Consider how your music lines up with your personal goals. Ask questions such as: Do I want to be close to God? To please Him? To enjoy His peace and protection? What happens when I listen to songs that oppose truth?

Look at Paul's goal in Philippians 3:7-10. If you choose the same goal - to know Jesus, share His suffering, and live by His resurrection life - rejection and exclusion for your obedience to Christ become stepping-stones to triumph.

• Set limits. While you cannot monitor what your child hears and sees at a friend's house, you can say no to certain kinds of music in your home. Explain your concerns. Many children welcome parental boundaries as their excuse to say no to peers.

Dr. Bernard Sable, chief guidance expert for the state of Washington, commented after a rock concert in Seattle, "There's a lot you can say about the music - why it attracts the teenage crowd. The music is loud and primitive; it's insistent and strongly rhythmic. It releases in a disguised way the all too tenuously controlled, newly acquired physical impulses of the teenager."

• Suggest Christian alternatives. Christian rock may not be the best substitute, but it is far better than secular rock. Check the lyrics to make sure they don't distort God's Word. For up-to-date information and suggestions, ask at your local Christian bookstore or write the Menconi Ministries, P.O. Box 969, Cardiff, CA 92007.

• Guard against trying to please your children by providing "Christianized" versions of pagan delights. For example, adding biblical words to a raging heavy metal beat most likely makes mockery, not wholesome music. Don't be like ancient Israel, which craved the corrupt practices of their heathen neighbors. Adding idolatry to traditional worship, they became spiritually blind and morally corrupt. Enemies invaded their land, when "every man did that which was right in his own eyes" (Judges 21:25, KJV).
   

Step Three: Join Group Efforts Toward Constructive Change

• Work with other parents on limits to destructive forms of music.

• Ask the youth leader of your church to teach about contemporary music.

• Pray together for God's guidance and victory.

• Be confident that He cares about your child's spiritual health even more than you do.

• Continue to thank God! Remember, while He calls us to join Him in His battles, the final outcome is certain: He has won the war!

When foreign armies attacked Jerusalem, King Jehoshaphat trusted God, called the people together, acknowledged God's superior power, and praised Him for His total sufficiency.

God responded with power-fired encouragement that lifts hearts and builds faith today. Make it your own: "Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged. Go out to face them tomorrow, and the Lord will be with you."

Do you remember the rest? Jehoshaphat organized musicians to lead the procession of soldiers into battle. Then as the people sang and praised God, He accomplished the victory on their behalf. (See 2 Chronicles 20:1-22.)

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Endnotes: I will try to add these as we have the time. If you need them soon, let us know. Our priority is to meet your need to be equipped for the spiritual battles ahead.

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