Acts 16:25 About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them.
“Words make you think a thought, Music makes you feel a feeling. A song makes you feel a thought.”- Yip Harburg.
Music carries a message. Does your singing attract or annoy others? Paul and Silas were unlawfully dragged into the dungeon and battered for delivering a slave girl from the spirit of divination at Philippi. The bruised new entrants in the prison were bloody and beaten yet benevolent and bold. The conditions in the prison under the Roman tyranny was unimaginably appalling. Archeologists reveal that Roman prisons were dark dirty dungeons, nauseatingly smelly with very poor sanitary conditions. Researchers say that these dungeons could have been their cultic centers of human sacrifice as skulls with traumatic head injuries, animal residue and fruit rind were discovered. So, clearly the Roman prisons were no were near the present day air-conditioned prison units with mattresses and preordered food!
Paul and Silas, with bleeding lips and battered backs, continued to preach into every prison cell with their songs and hymns. The inmates did not complain of noise pollution but were listening to them. Suddenly there was such a violent earthquake that the foundations of the prison were shaken. At once all the prison doors flew open, and everyone’s chains came loose (Acts 16:26). The singing of Paul and Silas set the prisoners free spiritually and physically. The jailer thought that all the prisoners would have escaped after the violent earthquake But Paul shouted, “Don’t harm yourself! We are all here!” (Acts 16:28).
Godly music is a conduit of divine message:
1. Meaning: Not all music that comes under Christian cover conveys spiritual meaning. There are those that try to imitate the world to attract attention. Fastidiously analyze the meaning of the song before meditating on the lyrics. The rudimentary team should always be Godly values and principles. The meaning of the song makes all the difference.
- Masking: Not all modern day Christian music are birthed out of divine inspiration. Check the nascence of the singer and the sonnet. For even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light (2 Corinthians 11:14b). Music that distracts our emotions sensually is clearly carnal. There are songs that sound like a love song to a boy friend and not the Sovereign Saviour under the mask of Christian contemporary music. Beware of the masquerades.
- Messaging: Not all music that comes under Christian cover carries the message of Jesus Christ. Paul and Silas sang songs that loosened the chains of the prisoners. The Roman prisons were known as “the gates of Hell”, yet, the spirit-filled songs turned the gates of hell into a porch of heaven. The test of authenticity of a song or music is the effect it has on our mind and the message it carries to our heart. Be mindful of the message.
All music carries a message – examine the meaning and the message of the music before it meddles with the mind.
Psalm 71:23 My lips will shout for joy when I sing praise to you.
Prayer: Divine Daddy, anoint me with the wisdom to peel the façade of ungodly and unholy music that is masked as Christian contemporary music. Amen.
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