The Spirituality of Music
“If music be the food of love, then play on”
William Shakespeare
I remember once listening to the song by Bisa Kdei “Mansa” and at the beginning, someone can be heard saying ‘highly spiritual‘ before the song itself starts.
And that is exactly what music is. It is a highly spiritual entity, perhaps one of the strongest. Over the years God has really been teaching and still continues to teach me on the importance of guarding your ears, eyes and heart for from it flows the issues of life. The things we listen to and consume can literally change and affect our thought life, our mindset and eventually the trajectory and direction of our lives. It seems very dramatic right? But it’s very pertinent!
That is why I am so glad and inspired by the explosion of Afro Gospel in recent years. It has truly taken the world by storm, and it continues to do so. In that same realm we still must be very careful and allow the Holy Spirit to grant us discernment because everything might be lawful and have the ‘afro gospel’ label but not everything is expedient and may not be very nourishing to your soul.
McDonalds is good for a quick and fast meal but it’s not very nutritious. Selah.
I was watching the ‘Come and See’ podcast where Rev Ade Adefala was sharing his testimony on how he rededicated his life back to Christ and he mentioned a documentary called ‘The Truth About Hip Hop‘. Truth be told I had not heard about the documentary until mentioned in this podcast and I had to go and research on it before writing this post, but it literally confirmed to me that I had been feeling for the longest time. Which is that the music is highly spiritual and whatever we listen to we grant it autonomy to rule and direct our lives. Whatever spirit is operating behind that music or musical artist is then invited to start to operate within us as listeners.
Every so often if you are on Christian Twitter you’ll see the debate about listening to secular music and if it’s really unbiblical etc. This post isn’t really targeted for that but rather to allow you as the reader to come to that conclusion yourself. I will list some bible verses below that might be useful to ponder upon.
VERSES
- Let the message about Christ, in all its richness, fill your lives. Teach and counsel each other with all the wisdom he gives. Sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs to God with thankful hearts. – Colossians 3:16 (NLT)
- May the words of my mouth
and the meditation of my heart
be pleasing to you,
O Lord, my rock and my redeemer. – Psalm 19:14 (NLT) - And they sang a new song with these words: “You are worthy to take the scroll and break its seals and open it. For you were slaughtered, and your blood has ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation.” ‘ – Revelations 5:9 (NLT)
- speaking to one another with psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit. Sing and make music from your heart to the Lord, – Ephesians 5:19 (NIV)
- And they sang a new song before the throne and before the four living creatures and the elders. No one could learn the song except the 144,000 who had been redeemed from the earth. – Revelations 14:3 (NLT).
What we pay attention to and give ourselves to, shows where our heart, love and affections lie.
@musingswithmo_
Ultimately, the truth of the matter is that the life we live is highly spiritual and there are forces battling for the minds and souls of men. The Kingdom of God and light are trying to illuminate our minds and grant us the mind of Christ and conversely the kingdom of this world and darkness are working to pervert and keep us bound to our flesh and ungodly desires. Nothing just births nothing.
Some of the struggles we are going through is due to what we have allowed to enter our minds, spirits and consciousness. And music is a huge proponent of that. How many of us here do not listen to music at least once in a day. It could be why you’re in transit, while you are getting some work done, while completing chores or even as you wake up and try and get ready for your day. Music is literally everywhere!
I started writing this blog the end of November 2024 and by the start of December 2024, there had been the whole highlight reel of people’s music habits on Apple Music, Spotify and the likes and it has caused a little bit of a ruckus. Honestly, all of these things are distractions, and it is so unfortunate that we are unable to offer ourselves grace but also be brutally honest with ourselves.
Music is highly spiritual. Yes. God’s grace is also available to help wean us from those desires and heart longings that seem can never be quenched. Those that never thought they could live without Afrobeats. The advent and propagation of Afrogospel has taken over. Even with that we must be careful as anything in this world has the potential to be corrupted but we trust and believe that God that initiates anything will surely protect and guard that thing.
Nothing is a vacuum, so rather than complaining perhaps we should be working to support good and godly musicians, so they are promoted and get the right type of audience.
@musingswithmo_
Towards the end of the year there is typically a spotlight from music platforms on the summary of the year for their users. As people were posting their summaries on social media there was a bit of a circus on how some people’s music recap looked. Honestly, I think it was just another tool that could have been used to introduce each of us to some amazing new artists promoting good and Spirit filled music. Yet, it turned into something more sinister.
I discovered this new artist last year Dharmy David whose collection of songs are so powerful and remind me a little of the level of authenticity and rawness I enjoyed about Jonathan McReynolds music. He has a new album out by the way which you can listen to!
But these are some of the things that we must be wary of in this day and age. Guarding our ear gates and thus guarding our hearts and the things that we meditate and ponder on.
Music is a highly spiritual endeavor and we should be careful about what we feast upon. Our soul is far too precious to be taken for granted or treated with such levity. May God continue to help us all.
Now, we have our parts to play, please endeavor to share below your responses on what songs have edified your Spirit and soul. You never know who might be blessed and inspired by the artists you share. That is the only way light can continue to defeat darkness. When we increase and pay more attention to light, then the influence and attention given to darkness continues to diminish. Play your part, share your song choices below!
What are songs are you currently listening to? Who are your top musical artists?
#ByGodsGrace
Mo 🙂
Playlists for You
Apple Music – Worship
Apple Music – Upbeat
Apple Music – Hip Hop/Workout Music
Apple Music – Deep Worship
Apple Music – Love
Apple Music – Easter
Another resource to check out!
A young woman on a mission to discovering purpose, to inspire growth and contribute to the Kingdom mandate. On the blog we are all about learning and growing and this is done through writing on topics from Faith, Education, Music, Food, Travel and so much more... (Romans 12:2) View more posts
