Worshiping God with the Devil’s Music
I think a false dichotomy has been created in the way the Church views music. It seems as if there is a worship of worship music, while anything written outside of congregational worship is somehow less pleasing to God. Such legalism is musical shaming. Personal sentiment doesn’t get to decide what’s glorifying to God and what isn’t. We simply don’t have the right.
If we (consciously or passively) hold one musical style or genre as more delightful to God, it will only discourage artistic multiplicity. What’s communicated is that only one culture is just, thus hurting the scope of our evangelism.
We should be able to draw people in with artistic excellence. To modify the words of C.S. Lewis: “The world does not need more Christian [music]. What it needs is more Christians writing good [music].” Imagine the opportunities we have to share the Gospel with people who may never step foot in a church. It’s highly possible that their first impression of Christ is us. We have a chance to either rebuild or destroy someone’s view of Christianity; the creation of objectively excellent music may be the first brick.
So, how should musical diversity in the Church be exemplified?
God creates us uniquely, giving everyone certain tastes, inclinations, and abilities. Some find their highest musical pleasure in leading Sunday morning worship. While an important and much needed service, many don’t feel that call. Sadly, I think many musicians feel as if they have to divorce their identity in Christ from their musical passions. What about creators of bluegrass, ambient music, or post-rock? No musical orphans should exist in the Church. No one is irrelevant in the body of Christ.
1 Corinthians 12:14–16 says,
“For the body does not consist of one member but of many. If the foot should say, ‘Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,’ that would not make it any less part of the body. And if the ear should say, ‘Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,’ that would not make it any less part of the body.”
In its broader context, the Apostle Paul is addressing the issue of unity in the Corinthian church. They were experiencing much division and theological chaos because of their misunderstanding of spiritual gifts and how they operate. Paul explains how every believer is valuable for the building up of the church. There is no aimless member in the body of Christ. God gave us all specific gifts, and we’re not meant to squander them (1 Cor. 12:18).
God made one body with many parts. Musically, the principle remains. No matter how small the audience, every genre needs a Gospel presence. Popularity isn’t a litmus test for whether or not we’re honoring God. He’s given each of us a role that only we can play. Every artist is needed and valuable, regardless of widespread acceptance.
Along with musical diversity is the importance of quality.
In Scripture, we don’t see God devaluing artistic craftsmanship at all. In fact, quite the contrary.
In Exodus 31, God called Oholiab and Bezalel to make the temple beautiful. For Bezalel, God “filled him with the Spirit of God, with ability and intelligence, with knowledge and all craftsmanship, to devise artistic designs, to work in gold, silver, and bronze, in cutting stones for setting, and in carving wood, to work in every craft” (Ex. 31:3–5, emphasis added). To help Bezalel, God “appointed with him Oholiab, the son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan. And I have given to all able men ability, that they may make all that I have commanded you” (Ex. 31:6).
Oholiab and Bezalel were given the Spirit of God to not only fulfill a practical need, but to make the temple beautiful. There was objective value placed on quality, not just getting the job done. Crafting the tabernacle with excellence was their undefiled act of worship to Him. God gave craftsmanship and artistic intuition where it was absent.
He empowered them to create.
God deserves the utmost of our talents, His glory is far too wondrous to offer only mediocrity. Psalm 33:2-3 says, “Give thanks to the LORD with the lyre; make melody to him with the harp of ten strings! Sing to him a new song; play skillfully on the strings, with loud shouts” (emphasis added). We must steward our abilities well. Settling for the bare minimum will never present God as the treasure He should be to us. Our greatest effort should be given to anything done in His name.
We live in a time where no musical inheritance is being left for the next generation to build on. We have an intensely real choice to make: Continue in musical indifference, or pursue the pure desires God places in us with all our might for His glory.
Improve genres. Create them. Make music so unabashedly bold that people cannot help but be drawn to it. Make music that bleeds with unrivaled artistry and reflects God’s glory to all who listen.
In his book Art & the Bible, Francis Schaeffer says this:
“A Christian should use these arts to the glory of God, not just as tracts, mind you, but as things of beauty to the praise of God. An art work can be a doxology in itself.”
Your projects matter. Nothing you do is so insignificant that God is unable to use it. Every riff, whale noise, ambivalent tone, song, and album is important, which is why we must put our all into them. Create something you’re proud to put your name on and represent God with. Even if you reach just a small number, the impact you have on those few could be eternally significant. Create with all your might, knowing that your labor in the Lord will never be in vain (1 Cor. 15:58).
Write music that gives you joy in Christ. Finding pleasure in Him is never an impure experience. It’s truly an inexplicable sensation when you find yourself tapping into exactly what God wants you to do, how He wants you to do it. It cannot be described or parsed out, and no interpretation is sufficient. But you’ll know the sensation when you’re creating in a fit of joy.
