Wednesday, January 6, 2010

Grooving To A Different Beat

I'm working from home today as I was only able to get two hours sleep last night. My parents were down visiting my brother (who was just sent home from the hospital yesterday) and that meant I had the privilege of sharing a room with my nephew. Who knew that a 14 year old boy could snore like a freight train? The kid is gifted to say the least. In all fairness, I think he was just extra tired!

I'm preparing a message for youth entitled, "Be Careful Little Ears What You Hear". Do you remember the song from (realizing that I am dating myself here) Sunday school?

Oh be careful little ears what you hear.
Oh be careful little ears what you hear.
For the Father up above is looking down with love,
So be careful little ears what you hear.

Since I have been living with my niece and nephew I have gathered quite an interest in what they are listening to and pouring into those melons that we call brains. It is interesting to see how music affects their emotions and changes the environment of those surrounding them based on what they are absorbing. Youth in general are absorbing so much more music than 20 years ago (assuming that was my teenage years ... and it is) as it has become much more accessible with little cost. With the likes of Napster, Bearshare, Limewire & Frostwire a plethora of songs are only a click away. I can remember having to pay for the stuff that I wanted to listen to ... and hence my limited collection at their age equivalent.

Back to my message: My heart's desire for students is that they learn to discern between what is permissible and what is beneficial for their lives. When it comes to music choices, a lot of times it is garbage in, garbage out. I'm not concerned about the style as much as I am about the content. The lyrics possess the power to either glorify God or distract their attention from their creator. I'm not going to "preach" at them this week as much as I am going to get them in a round table discussion about what they listen to and why they listen to it. I'm not here to judge them, but to love, direct and help them define their own moral compass as they develop into adulthood. These are the generation of leaders who have the ability to do great things for God RIGHT NOW! Let's hope that they hear what I have to say and make the necessary changes to their iPod/MP3 Players libraries. I think I need a nap! Good thing my nephew is gone to school.

Let the beat go on!

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