repost | music and the ever higher walk

*Hey fam... I want to say sorry for not posting the last 2 weeks. Life's been so crazy, but God's doing some pretty amazing things in my life. I am doing my best to be consistent. I hope you enjoy this post! I don't want anything to come across in judgement, we're all at a different place, and I embrace that! Also, hang on a minute until Thursday, my birthday, when I'll share a special post that might just have some fun announcements!*

Hebrews 12:1-2 says, "Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God."

This has been one of the most encouraging, convicting, and uplifting verses for me the last few days! There are so many weights and sins that ensnare us every day. Big and small!

Music is one area that isn't black and white for most Christians. Some of us listen to all hymns. Some of us listen to hymns and contemporary Christian. Some of us listen to hymns, Christian contemporary, and clean secular. And some of us just full blow listen to everything.

I like a lot of music. Music is so huge to me, honestly! I listen to a really wide variety, some things that people might think are super conservative and some things that people might think are a little out there. But I'm not you, so answer these questions for yourself and live your life for Jesus above all else, I'm working on mine too. We're all in this together, y'all!
When it comes to music, what is right and wrong? What should we analyze in music? What does the Bible say about music? We will dig into that in this post along with analyzing some popular music lyrics!


To begin, I want to ask you a question... How do you respond to music? The answer to this question will greatly vary as we are all created differently and have different emotions. I personally tend to emotionally connect to the tune/music/rhythm. On the other hand, my mom connects to the lyrics rather than the music. It's not that I don't hear the lyrics, I do! (And I'll talk more about this later!) But the music is first what tugs on my heart, then the lyrics.

Since we're all different, it's easy to think that it doesn't matter what we listen to as long as we respond to it well. But this is a wrong way of thinking!

Like I said above, I connect to the music, then to the lyrics. I might not pay attention to the words this way, but eventually I will. If I think that just listening to the music and ignoring the lyrics is okay, I'm lying to myself. The tune might be catchy, but the words can be poison.

Here's an example... there is a particular song that I used to hear all. the. flipping. time. It was seriously annoying!! The tune was repetitive and would get stuck in my head, and the lyrics were monotonous also. I totally didn't like this song, but hearing it would get it in my head for days at a time. I talked with my mom about it and she said she'd get this song in her head too. Well, a few days later, I find out my brother thinks the same thing. We might connect differently to songs, but we all respond the same way! We all agreed that this song wasn't completely honoring to God, annoying, and just ridiculous.

So what do you do when you get a song stuck in your head? Fill it with Scripture! Pray that God will take it from you and replace it with things that glorify Him! It might sound simple, but trust me! It works!

Here are 5 questions you can ask yourself when you don't know what to do with music!

1. Does it glorify God? 

This might be a vague question, and one you hear all the time. But honestly ask, does this song glorify God? Would He be pleased if He had one earbud in and I had the other? What would Jesus think of my playlist? 

Think of Philippians 4:8 as a guideline... 

Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things."

2. What message does this song get across? 

What does the song tell you? Is it a godly, encouraging, clean, uplifting message? Or does it tear you down, glorify the world, and lie to you? Seriously ponder the lyrics. Would this song help you in a time of temptation, struggle, loneliness, or defeat? Or would it encourage you to sin, feel more down and lonely, or dishonor people in your life? Remember, what might be good to the world is usually not good to Christ. HIS ways are best!

Think of Matthew 15:18-20...  

"But the things that proceed out of the mouth come from the heart, and those defile the man.  For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornication, thefts, false witness, slanders.  These are the things which defile the man; but to eat with unwashed hands does not defile the man.”

3. Would you listen to this song with your parents? 

Okayyy... I'd say this question is more of a challenge to accountability. :) What would your parents think of this song? Do you listen to things that would honor your parents? In my case, my family shares a music account.  But, if we listen to something by ourselves, it is always something that fits our standards. Some of us might have different taste, but we choose to respect that. We listen to things ranging from hymns to Tauren Wells to Mandisa to The Piano Guys to soundtracks to Riley Clemmons to Ed Sheeran to Tori Kelly to Vivaldi! Believe me... there is no quiet car ride in this house! I would love to challenge you to go over your playlist with your parents and ask them to evaluate it from an authorities perspective. Be willing to change and be open to their wisdom and godly counsel. If your parents are not Christians, maybe approach a godly elder or parent from your church to mentor you in this area. It will make a huge difference, and, it will glorify God.

4. Does it have straight out sin portrayed? 

I'm not blind to the possibilities of sin in songs. And it makes me sick to know what some promote. This is a black and white area for sure. When you are choosing music, ask yourself... Are there unclean/unholy/cuss words? Is there a message of sexual themes, violence, crime? Suggestive lyrics? Alcohol/drug use? These days, I feel like some people should be arrested for the things they share in their music.There should be no hint of sin in the music you choose, hands down. Sometimes, there might be a super mild cuss word or love song or talk about drinking, and in these cases, it's in your personal court. There's a few songs that I can think of that might talk about kissing, "poured the beer down the sink," and only one I can think of that has an extremely mild cuss word in it. My family still uses discernment in this, and that allows us to listen to more broad music, while choosing the best possible. My standards won't be your standards, so if you listen to more conservative music than me, or less conservative, please don't start up any arguments. I don't judge, but I still care. 

5. Does is press you towards Christ? 

This is SO important! Paul said in 1 Corinthians 10:23 Everything is permissible, but not everything is helpful. Everything is permissible, but not everything builds up."

Would this music make you fall in love with Jesus more, or would it make you more comfortable with the world? Even if the song is a clean, fun secular song, ask yourself this question. I began listening to more steady flow of clean pop music a few months ago, and even though it was acceptable, it was not making me fall more in love with my Savior. All music should draw you closer to Christ and His love for you! Not the world. Remember... all these things are temporal, but the things of the Lord are eternal. Spend your time developing a relationship with our King and our One True Love. 

And lastly, here are the three songs that we will analyze! But, I'm not going to analyze them quite yet. You have the chance to put into action the things I have challenged today. So, take these lyrics, ask these questions, and hit up the comments with your response and thoughts on the songs! I'll follow up the comments later.

"Rude" by MAGIC 

Saturday morning jumped out of bed and put on my best suit
Got in my car and raced like a jet, all the way to you
Knocked on your door with heart in my hand
To ask you a question
'Cause I know that you're an old-fashioned man, yeah, yeah

Can I have your daughter for the rest of my life?
Say yes, say yes 'cause I need to know
You say I'll never get your blessing 'til the day I die
Tough luck, my friend, but the answer is no!

Why you gotta be so rude?
Don't you know I'm human too?
Why you gotta be so rude?
I said, I'm gonna marry her anyway
(Yeah) Marry that girl
Marry her anyway
(Yeah) Marry that girl
Yeah, no matter what you say (Okay)
Marry that girl
And we'll be a family (Uh)
Why you gotta be so rude

"Most Girls" by Hailee Steinfield 

You know some days you feel so good in your own skin
But it's okay if you wanna change the body that you came in
'Cause you look greatest when you feel like a d**m queen
We're all just playing a game in a way, trying to win at life

Most girls are smart and strong and beautiful
Most girls, work hard, go far, we are unstoppable
Most girls, our fight to make every day
No two are the same
I wanna be like, I wanna be like, most girls
I wanna be like, I wanna be like, most girls
I wanna be like, I wanna be like
I wanna be like, I wanna be like
I wanna be like, I wanna be like

"No Tears Left To Cry" by Ariana Grande

Right now, I'm in a state of mindI wanna be in like all the timeAin't got no tears left to crySo I'm pickin' it up, pickin' it upI'm lovin', I'm livin', I'm pickin' it upI'm pickin' it up, pickin' it upI'm lovin', I'm livin', I'm pickin' it up (oh, yeah)I'm pickin' it up (yeah), pickin' it up (yeah)Lovin', I'm livin', so we turnin' upYeah, we turnin' it upAin't got no tears in my bodyI ran out, but boy, I like it, I like it, I like itDon't matter how, what, where, who tries itWe're out here vibin', we vibin', we vibin'Comin' out, even when it's rainin' downCan't stop now, can't stop so shut your mouthShut your mouth, and if you don't knowThen now you know it, babeKnow it, babe, yeahRight now, I'm in a state of mindI wanna be in, like, all the timeAin't got no tears left to crySo I'm pickin' it up, pickin' it up (oh yeah)I'm lovin', I'm livin', I'm pickin' it upOh, I just want you to come with meWe're on another mentalityAin't got no tears left to crySo I'm pickin' it up, pickin' it upI'm lovin', I'm livin', I'm pickin' it upPickin' it up, pickin' it upI'm lovin', I'm livin', I'm pickin' it up (oh, yeah)Yeah, we turnin' it upThey point out the colors in you, I see 'em tooAnd, boy, I like 'em, I like 'em, I like 'emWe're way too fly to partake in all this hateWe out here vibin', we vibin', we vibin'Comin' out, even when it's rainin' downCan't stop now, can't stop, so shut your mouthShut your mouth, and if you don't knowThen now you know it, babeKnow it, babe, yeahRight now, I'm in a state of mindI wanna be in, like, all the timeAin't got no tears left to crySo I'm pickin' it up, pickin' it up (oh yeah)I'm lovin', I'm livin', I'm pickin' it upOh, I just want you to come with meWe're on another mentalityAin't got no tears left to cry (so don't cry)So I'm pickin' it up, pickin' it up (oh yeah)I'm lovin', I'm livin', I'm pickin' it upComin' out, even when it's rainin' downCan't stop now Shut your mouthAin't got no tears left to cryOh yeah, oh yeahOh, I just want you to come with meWe're on another mentalityAin't got no tears left to cry (cry)So I'm pickin' it up, pickin' it up (oh yeah)I'm lovin', I'm livin', I'm pickin' it upPickin' it up (yeah), pickin' it up (yeah)Lovin', I'm livin', so we turnin' upYeah, we turnin' it up


I'm not going to tell y'all if I'm "for or against" these songs, but want to hear your thoughts! This is just an encouragement to live ever higher no matter what, even when it's hard. 

Hit up the comments with your responses! Y'all are the greatest. Jesus loves you and I do too!