MY VIEW ON THE MUSIC ISSUE

The invitation of a highly skilled secular singer to church to sing sparked of a highly volatile debate. Normally I don’t partake in debates like this but I feel a great burden in my spirit to contribute my humble opinion. I am a child of God who is crazy in love with music and has the gift of song writing. Most of my friends and acquaintances are music people so I write this piece from a position of understanding. Please take your time to read this piece and allow the Holy Spirit minister to you. Having said that much, I believe this debate becomes necessary because the fine line differentiating gospel music from secular music is almost completely eroded. This I believe is as a result of laxity on the part of the body of Christ when secular music began its incursion into gospel music. The implication of this incursion is that power is gradually ebbing out of Gospel music. People now leave worship concerts excited, entertained rather than blessed. I believe an understanding of the major basic differences between secular and gospel would end this debate once and for all. It would also help to reposition gospel music as a tool in Gods hand to bless and transform his people. I present this piece with the hope that it would bless the body of Christ. I do not intend to win an argument or present myself as wise. Please read on  The best definition of the word secular is non-religious. This would imply that secular music is not intended for spiritual purposes. It is therefore safe to say that its focus is entertainment, enlightenment etc. A popular secular singer once said it does not have to make sense provided it entertains. On the other hand, the focus of gospel music is spiritual growth and transformation of the listener. From this I can say that the secular singer is focused on entertaining his/her audience while the gospel singer is focused on being a channel of spiritual blessing to the audience. Based on the above assertions, I can say that while the \secular singer is an artiste, the gospel singer is a minister.  Secondly while the secular singer uses his skills to keep people looking unto him for relaxation and entertainment, the gospel singer employs his skills to point his audience towards the one and only sovereign God in worship and adoration. For the secular singer, music is about him but for the gospel singer music is about God.  While the secular singer is reward (which may be money, fame, laurels etc) driven, the gospel singer is impact driven. The gospel singer does not think of reward because he knows that he is on God’s payroll for as long as he impacts his audience for God. The secular singer does not have a right to such expectations (God only pays the people working for him) so he attempts to make as much as possible with his own human effort.  If the focus of both forms of music is different, it follows that the persons venturing into either of the two forms of music would require different skill sets. While the aspiring secular singer can survive and even thrive with natural skills and mental abilities alone, the gospel singer knows that he cannot survive without a spiritual empowerment only the hand of God can provide. To prove this point I always ask this question; what was the thing that drove away the evil spirit tormenting King Saul as he listened to David play the harp. To return to the era when music casts out demons, heals the sick and /or raises the dead, we need to seek divine empowerment.  To receive and maintain the spiritual empowerment required for outstanding success, a gospel singer knows that he needs to maintain a lifestyle of total dependence on God. He must live in accordance with the ordinances of God and maintain a life of communion and intimacy with God. The secular singer on the other hand may survive and even excel without a sustained relationship with God. This is evident in the lifestyle of some of the most prominent secular singers. I believe this point is solely responsible for music becoming a veritable tool in the hand of the devil to capture the heart of numerous listeners. The lewdness of the lyrics of songs these days and the sexually explicit nature of music videos is the major reason sexual immorality is rampant these. At this juncture, I must admit that it is true that not all secular singers live outside the ordinance of God but secular singers rarely fulfill the biblical requirements of ministers. I must also add that I believe God still calls some people to dedicate their musical dexterity to him alone. These people are specially commissioned and equipped for their assignment. That is what Rev. Kenneth Hagin calls the spirit upon. I read in a piece that since we are all priests and kings, anyone can be a gospel singer provided the person is born again. That’s like saying anyone can pastor a church and God does not call people to ministry anymore. If you are not commissioned by God for a particular purpose, do you have a right to expect God to make provision available to you for that purpose? Finally imagine with me how complicated and confusing it would be secular singers operate as gospel singers at will and return to their secular music. Singers who are focused on entertainment from Monday to Saturday would be expected to turn around to focus on being a channel of spiritual blessing on Sunday. People who sing indecent lyrics and dance with semi -nude women all week would be the ones to lift up ‘Holy Hands’ to lead us to God’s ‘presence’ on Sunday. We would then turn round and expect that God to inhabit such worship and show us his mighty power. In conclusion God is a spirit therefore they that worship him must do so in spirit and truth. Whatever conclusion you arrive at I want you to know that the standard of the Lord remains sure regardless of human manipulations. MAY GOD BLESS HIS CHURCH, KEEP US AND MAKE US READY FOR HIS COMING. DAPOSODE.