Music and The Church
Recently, I was asked to write an article for a church magazine about my personal experience, which could be beneficial for the youth. Although my writing might not be great I pray the story could be beneficial for at least one person, so here we go.
Growing up music was a big part of my life. I enjoyed it so much that I became a DJ while in high school. I was also a great dancer, from HipHop to traditional Ethiopian dances like Eskista, Guragina, etc…. In college, I was a HipHop, R&B and Reggae dance choreographer, and I loved it. My favorite artists were Tupac, Biggie, DMX, Jay-Z, Bob Marley, Sean Paul, Buju Banton, UB-40, Aaliyah, Ashanti, Avant, Joe, and Boyz II Men just to name a few. I even won “Man of The Year” contest during my college senior year because of the “sexist” (a.k.a. lustful) Reggae and HipHop dance performance judged by the female audience. I am not writing this to boast or because I was proud of what I did; it’s rather to let you know the extent of music’s impact in my life.
I loved music to the core, up until one day when I found out about what music does to your body and soul. I remember one Wednesday I went to Saint Virgin Mary church in DC with one of my friends to listen to the Word of God after we came back from the gym as that was our weekly routine. We used to also go to church on Friday nights but afterwards, we used to go out to the club and we didn’t see anything wrong with that arrangement, because we did not any better. I am sure there are a lot of youth doing the same thing currently with NO remorse. Anyhow, back to what I was saying. That Wednesday, the preacher we were used to was not around so they had a different sermonizer. That night, the new preacher taught about what music does to our soul and how the devil uses music to his benefit. I remember that night I went home, took all my CDs (I had collected about 2,000 CDs, new to old school, Amharic to Guragigina, HipHop to Reggae, SlowJams to R&B) and threw them out in the garbage. Since that day, with the help of the Almighty, I have been running away from music. With His grace, I changed my ways and became a Mezmiran.
It breaks my whenever I hear arguments about whether or not music is sin; especially within the church servants. It would have been better if these arguments were happening amongst the people that are following the “worldly” lifestyle because we don’t know better. However, when it’s within amongst Christians, it’s downright disappointing.
Nowadays, most people do not know what the affect music has to the way we lead our lives. Even in our church, there are “gospel preachers” that teach their students that it is okay to listen to “certain” music. They are telling them to choose and pick music they listen to because not “All” music is sinful. But that’s not what our forefathers told us. One of the greatest saints and preacher, John Chrysostom, tells us to raise children by shielding them from listening to music. He said “When you raise your child, do not let him waste his time by listening to this world’s music and falsified folktales, instead teach your child how to praise God”. A lot of people also use “wedding” as an excuse to enjoy music but Saint John Chrysostom says “For dancing, and cymbals, and flutes, and shameful words, and songs, and drunkenness, and revellings, and all the Devil’s great heap of garbage is then introduced”. Fitahnegest says, “Whenever a Christian goes to a wedding and hears music, he should not clap with his hands nor should he move his feet to the beat.” (F.N. Chapter 11).
These days, people love music so much, instead of listening to the teachings of the saints; they choose to listen to the so-called preachers that go against the forefathers’ lessons. As the verse says, “For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine (truth). Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear.” (2 Timothy 4:3). They are not only going against the church’s forefathers, they are also objecting the words that are found in the Bible as it says, “Is anyone among you suffering? Then he must pray. Is anyone cheerful? He is to sing praises.” (James 5:13).
Nowadays, most people do not know what the affect music has to the way we lead our lives. Even in our church, there are “gospel preachers” that teach their students that it is okay to listen to “certain” music. They are telling them to choose and pick music they listen to because not “All” music is sinful. But that’s not what our forefathers told us. One of the greatest saints and preacher, John Chrysostom, tells us to raise children by shielding them from listening to music. He said “When you raise your child, do not let him waste his time by listening to this world’s music and falsified folktales, instead teach your child how to praise God”. A lot of people also use “wedding” as an excuse to enjoy music but Saint John Chrysostom says “For dancing, and cymbals, and flutes, and shameful words, and songs, and drunkenness, and revellings, and all the Devil’s great heap of garbage is then introduced”. Fitahnegest says, “Whenever a Christian goes to a wedding and hears music, he should not clap with his hands nor should he move his feet to the beat.” (F.N. Chapter 11).
These days, people love music so much, instead of listening to the teachings of the saints; they choose to listen to the so-called preachers that go against the forefathers’ lessons. As the verse says, “For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine (truth). Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear.” (2 Timothy 4:3). They are not only going against the church’s forefathers, they are also objecting the words that are found in the Bible as it says, “Is anyone among you suffering? Then he must pray. Is anyone cheerful? He is to sing praises.” (James 5:13).
Did you graduate and you are joyful, then praise the Lord. Are you getting engaged or married and you are happy, then praise God. Are you celebrating your birthday or some type of milestone and you are cheerful, then praise the Almighty as He is the reason for every joyful moment you encounter in life.
Sadly, instead of changing our ways to follow the words of our Creator, we try to find a verse that will support our desire. When it comes to the topic of music, the people that are pro-music hurry to quote a story of king David. It says king David was “dancing and singing” when the Ark of the Covenant came back from the house of Obededom because he was overjoyed (2 Samuel 6:14). Let me ask a question here, do you think king David was singing worldly music when it says, he sang? Most certainly not! According to our church scholars these were the words of king David when he received the ark, “Sing unto God, sing praises to his name: extol him that rideth upon the heavens by his name [Lord], and rejoice before him” (Psalms 68:4). So does this sound like the worldly “song”? Are not these the words of praises for the Almighty? When we bring up this story, we are using the word of God falsely to suit our sinful desire.
Also, I recently heard an example that was given on a sermon. The preacher said “On the book 1 Samuel 18:6 it says ‘when David returned from the slaughter of the Philistine, that the women came out from all the cities of Israel, singing and dancing, to meet king Saul, with tabrets, with joy, and with instruments of music. 18:7 And the women answered one another as they played, and said, Saul hath slain his thousands, and David his ten thousands.’ These women were praising David with their songs therefore all music is not bad”. Oh boy, I could not believe my ears. Are we really justifying music based on some random women singing and dancing for king David? So does this mean we can now conclude as long as it is stated within the bible it is ok to do? If that is the case then, on Mathew 1: 6 it says, “David was the father of Solomon, whose mother had been Uriah’s wife”.
Sadly, instead of changing our ways to follow the words of our Creator, we try to find a verse that will support our desire. When it comes to the topic of music, the people that are pro-music hurry to quote a story of king David. It says king David was “dancing and singing” when the Ark of the Covenant came back from the house of Obededom because he was overjoyed (2 Samuel 6:14). Let me ask a question here, do you think king David was singing worldly music when it says, he sang? Most certainly not! According to our church scholars these were the words of king David when he received the ark, “Sing unto God, sing praises to his name: extol him that rideth upon the heavens by his name [Lord], and rejoice before him” (Psalms 68:4). So does this sound like the worldly “song”? Are not these the words of praises for the Almighty? When we bring up this story, we are using the word of God falsely to suit our sinful desire.
Also, I recently heard an example that was given on a sermon. The preacher said “On the book 1 Samuel 18:6 it says ‘when David returned from the slaughter of the Philistine, that the women came out from all the cities of Israel, singing and dancing, to meet king Saul, with tabrets, with joy, and with instruments of music. 18:7 And the women answered one another as they played, and said, Saul hath slain his thousands, and David his ten thousands.’ These women were praising David with their songs therefore all music is not bad”. Oh boy, I could not believe my ears. Are we really justifying music based on some random women singing and dancing for king David? So does this mean we can now conclude as long as it is stated within the bible it is ok to do? If that is the case then, on Mathew 1: 6 it says, “David was the father of Solomon, whose mother had been Uriah’s wife”.
Therefore, let us not quote the Bible to support our sinful desires because that has a consequence. As it says in 2 Chronicles 36:16 “But they mocked the messengers of God, and despised his words, and misused his prophets, until the wrath of the LORD arose against his people, till there was no remedy.”
There are also other clear and
. For instance Isaiah 13:21 says “satyrs (demons)… dance”. Demons not only dance, they also admire people that sing and dance. As it is written “…they [people] danced and played with demons. [As people were singing] the demons admire their dancing and drunkenness.” (1 መቃቢያን 36: 27-28). Let me add one last quote from Saint Hawi “Singing and dancing are from the devil, therefore let us stay away from such act”. (መጽሐፈ ሐዊ አንቀጽ 50). We can go on and on to show that worldly music is from the devil by quoting from the Apostles Saint Peter and Saint Paul but for the sake of the length of this article, you all can look up ሮሜ13:13 and 1 ጴጥሮስ 4:3. Nowadays, I don’t need to go any further to prove music is from the devil. We can literally see it on YouTube. For instance, Google Lil Nas X and see if he is not in full support of the devil. When listening to any type of music, doesn’t it start with humans and end with humans? One could argue there are music that talk about nature, beauty, etc…but the point is none of them lead us towards our Father in heaven!
King Solomon says “Catch for us the foxes, the little foxes that ruin the vineyards, our vineyards that are in bloom (Song of Solomon 2:15)”. Basically, Solomon is saying don’t treat any sin as a small sin because the little sin we think we can get by with are those that are going to destroy us. As the saying goes, ውሻ በቀደደው ጅብ ይገባል. As a proof, on social media, you can witness where our young “mezmirans” are spending their weekends. They initially started by saying, “Oh there is no problem listening to traditional Ethiopian music” but now they are the ones that are in the club showing off their dance skills on social medias with no shame.
There are also other clear and
. For instance Isaiah 13:21 says “satyrs (demons)… dance”. Demons not only dance, they also admire people that sing and dance. As it is written “…they [people] danced and played with demons. [As people were singing] the demons admire their dancing and drunkenness.” (1 መቃቢያን 36: 27-28). Let me add one last quote from Saint Hawi “Singing and dancing are from the devil, therefore let us stay away from such act”. (መጽሐፈ ሐዊ አንቀጽ 50). We can go on and on to show that worldly music is from the devil by quoting from the Apostles Saint Peter and Saint Paul but for the sake of the length of this article, you all can look up ሮሜ13:13 and 1 ጴጥሮስ 4:3. Nowadays, I don’t need to go any further to prove music is from the devil. We can literally see it on YouTube. For instance, Google Lil Nas X and see if he is not in full support of the devil. When listening to any type of music, doesn’t it start with humans and end with humans? One could argue there are music that talk about nature, beauty, etc…but the point is none of them lead us towards our Father in heaven!
King Solomon says “Catch for us the foxes, the little foxes that ruin the vineyards, our vineyards that are in bloom (Song of Solomon 2:15)”. Basically, Solomon is saying don’t treat any sin as a small sin because the little sin we think we can get by with are those that are going to destroy us. As the saying goes, ውሻ በቀደደው ጅብ ይገባል. As a proof, on social media, you can witness where our young “mezmirans” are spending their weekends. They initially started by saying, “Oh there is no problem listening to traditional Ethiopian music” but now they are the ones that are in the club showing off their dance skills on social medias with no shame.
I am not judging them at all as I was doing the same thing; I am just stating the obvious. The only difference is there was no social media back in my days to flaunt my sin to the whole world. At the end of the day, dancing is dancing traditional or not.
Don’t think there is nothing wrong with listening to music because the moment you think it’s ok, that is when the devil digs a hole to bury you in sin. The one thing you cannot do is be a servant of God and a music lover at the same time.
As it is written ““No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other.” Matthew 6:24. Revelation 3:16 also says “So, because you are lukewarm, neither hot nor cold, I am about to spit you out of my mouth”. Either you are God’s or the devil’s. There is a saying in Amharic “ሁለት እግር አለኝ ተብሎ ሁለት ዛፍ በአንድ ጊዜ አይወጣም (You may well have two legs but you still can't climb two trees at the same time.).
The proverb “እንኳንስ ዘንቦብሽ እንዲያውም ጤዛ ነሽ” comes to mind when I think of this generation, Generation Z and Alpha. Basically the proverb means, let alone church servants telling them that there is no problem listening to music, nowadays everything they see and hear is filled with lustful music. The commercials, TV shows, movies, even their school “activities”; basically, everything they do is associated with music. Not to say the previous generations (the Baby Boomers, Millennials (aka Gen X) and Gen Y) are any better but when it comes down to being exposed to the devil’s temptations, none of them have it worse than Gen Z and Gen Alpha. So, by encouraging music, let us not push them further into the deep hole when they actually come to church to run away from the sin of the world. Imagine how one will feel, after seeing how the devil uses music and that person comes to church to shield him/herself from music but finds church servants “living it up” in the club or at family gatherings. Oh I wonder what God will say to his servant when he brings his lost child to church but the servant pushes the person back to the world he came running away from
May the Almighty help us all defeat music 🙏🏽
Don’t think there is nothing wrong with listening to music because the moment you think it’s ok, that is when the devil digs a hole to bury you in sin. The one thing you cannot do is be a servant of God and a music lover at the same time.
As it is written ““No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other.” Matthew 6:24. Revelation 3:16 also says “So, because you are lukewarm, neither hot nor cold, I am about to spit you out of my mouth”. Either you are God’s or the devil’s. There is a saying in Amharic “ሁለት እግር አለኝ ተብሎ ሁለት ዛፍ በአንድ ጊዜ አይወጣም (You may well have two legs but you still can't climb two trees at the same time.).
The proverb “እንኳንስ ዘንቦብሽ እንዲያውም ጤዛ ነሽ” comes to mind when I think of this generation, Generation Z and Alpha. Basically the proverb means, let alone church servants telling them that there is no problem listening to music, nowadays everything they see and hear is filled with lustful music. The commercials, TV shows, movies, even their school “activities”; basically, everything they do is associated with music. Not to say the previous generations (the Baby Boomers, Millennials (aka Gen X) and Gen Y) are any better but when it comes down to being exposed to the devil’s temptations, none of them have it worse than Gen Z and Gen Alpha. So, by encouraging music, let us not push them further into the deep hole when they actually come to church to run away from the sin of the world. Imagine how one will feel, after seeing how the devil uses music and that person comes to church to shield him/herself from music but finds church servants “living it up” in the club or at family gatherings. Oh I wonder what God will say to his servant when he brings his lost child to church but the servant pushes the person back to the world he came running away from
May the Almighty help us all defeat music 🙏🏽
Written by Meti, Mar studios.
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