Keep a Balanced View of Music
THE music industry today is a multibillion-dollar business. Popular musicians and their promoters are making a great deal of money. Yet, it is a fact that unhappiness, premature death, and suicide have marked the lives of some very successful musicians. And it has been amply demonstrated that some music is morally, emotionally, and spiritually debasing and can lead to violent, antisocial behavior.
However, it is good to have a balanced view of music. While there is much that is wrong and bad in this art form, some music can enrich one’s life and bring a measure of joy and contentment. It can uplift us emotionally and spiritually. Consider just a few examples.
The 150 psalms of the Bible are literary masterpieces—lyric poems, sacred songs, and prayers. Today they are read with pleasure in hundreds of languages. However, the ancient Hebrews did not just read the psalms; they sang them. Often they did so with beautiful musical accompaniment—a powerful way to link the wisdom of their God, Jehovah, as expressed in the words, with the emotions that trained singers could impart to the listeners. Far from being too basic or even primitive, the quality and style of Hebrew music was apparently loftier than that of the surrounding nations of the time.
Later, the Christians of the first century sang psalms and other sacred songs to praise God and to bring relief to stressed emotions. Music thus served to enrich their lives. And by singing Bible-based songs, they embedded more deeply in their hearts the knowledge of God, which they needed to guide their lives.—Matthew 26:30; Acts 16:25.
The ancient Greeks believed that music develops the human personality and makes a man or a woman more complete. In this 20th-century world, which emphasizes education in science, economics, and logic, the development of the emotional side of personality through the arts is often neglected.
Stay Balanced
Listening to a piece of fine music can be a beneficial and pleasurable experience. Yet, a person can get even more enjoyment out of playing a musical instrument or singing with a group of friends. Music literacy may open up a vast field of real delight.
Of course, as with other good things in life, there is need for moderation, good judgment, and selectivity in this area of entertainment. This is true not only in the type of music chosen but also in the amount of time spent in listening to or playing music.
If a certain type of music is beginning to have a negative effect on your emotions, actions, and relationships, then select another style. Protect your ears to protect your emotions to protect your heart and mind!
This is especially true in regard to the lyrics. They may begin to mold you according to the wishes of those who do not share your views on life and morality, who may instead promote ungodly, immoral life-styles. In some cases even the title of a song can set the wrong kind of feelings in motion.
God’s Word, the Bible, admonishes those who would please him to “present [their] bodies a sacrifice living, holy, acceptable to God, a sacred service with [their] power of reason.” (Romans 12:1) Clearly, our emotions are part of that ‘living sacrifice.’ So if we should ever find that through the power of music, our emotions are beginning to becloud our critical judgment and reason and misdirect our actions, then it is time to change our music-listening habits. Remember: The power of music can affect your heart and your mind—either for good or for bad!
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Enhancing Learning Ability
“Research indicates that regularly hearing harmonious music can enhance a baby’s learning ability. But in many homes, they never hear any.”—Audio, March 1999.