If you are just starting the "Song Choice" series now, then I strongly advise you to check out Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday's posts before you continue reading this. 

The Bad Song is somewhat self-explanatory, in my opinion.  A song that fits into The Bad Song category is going to go against the guidelines of Philippians 4:8.  Before labeling a song as a Good Song or Bad Song or Neutral Song, then you may want to use this list that is based off of Philippians 4:8:

• Does the song have a deceitful message that contradicts something in God's Word?
• Is there anything in this song that does not honor God?  Is there anything that dishonors a gender, race, or Christianity?  Is there anything that is not honorable?
• Is there anything within this song that is flat out wrong or even questionable to your Christian morals and values?  Does the song go against something that you believe in as a follower of the Lord?  
• Does the song contain impure lyrics?
• Does the song have lyrics that aren't "lovely" and "excellent"?  For instance, are there any ugly or violent or angry lyrics?  
• Would you be ashamed to praise this song to a Christian leader who you admire and respect?  Would you be ashamed to praise this song to God?  Does this song praise anything that is not true, honorable, etc.?
  

If you answered "yes" to any of these questions, then your song probably needs to be put into the "Bad Song" category... no matter how much you hate to admit it.  There are many Bad Songs that are catchy.  You may be thinking in your head right now, "Oh no, I can list several 'Bad' songs that I like, and I don't know if I want to give them up." 

Do you know a common excuse that people use to justify what they listen to?  You may have used this excuse many times.  "Well, I like this song, but all I really listen to the beat, not the lyrics."  Don't lie to yourself.  When you say this, you are not only lying to your own heart, but you are lying to God.  It is impossible to only listen to the music.  Impossible.  The words are pouring into your head each time you play that song, no matter what you try to focus your attention on. 

I was attending a high school chapel session one day when a speaker came and starting talking about some of the inappropriate music that we listen to (we being young Christians), and he asked us why we listen to some of the bad songs that we do.  One student used the exact same excuse: "I just listen to the beat and tune and stuff.  I don't listen to the words."  The speaker announced soon after that we were going to play a game.  He would play a short clip of a popular song from the secular media, and we were supposed to finish the verse.  Fun, right?  He played probably four or five songs, and we were able to finish all of them, singing out the words with pride at our vast music knowledge.  But towards the end of this exercise, my friends and I looked at each other with a sudden shame.  Why were we grinning, proud of our accomplishments?  The words that we were singing were not good at all.  They talked about sex, alcohol, and even suicide.  So much for only listening to the music part.   

See, the deal is, you can say that you're going to ignore the words to the song and only listen to the instrumental side, but the words are entering your head either way.  They're there.  And you know them.  Think about your favorite song with not-so-great lyrics.  You know the words to that song.  When you hear the song on the radio, you know when the bad parts come on.  You can probably even sing most of the song without the music.  Don't kid yourself.  Don't justify it to yourself.   

When you are purposely listening to a song that flat out disrespects God's Word and Philippians 4:8, then that means you are disrespecting what God has asked you to keep out of your mind.  There are some songs that are going to be up to you to decide for yourself whether or not they are "Bad," but then there are some songs- many, actually- that just are Bad, no doubt about it.  You can't change it.  They're not good.  They're not iffy.  They're not neutral.  They go against God, and so they're Bad.  

"Okay, I get it.  I've been listening to bad music.  But I really do like some of it, and I don't know how to summon the will it takes to stop listening to this kind of music.  I don't know if I can stop... I don't even really like most plain Christian music!" you might be thinking.  And that's tough.  It's hard to change the music that you like, and it's even harder to delete a song that you've listened to a million times and that you still enjoy after all this time. 

But you know what?  You can do it.  Don't say you can't, because you can.  You have God on your side, and He can always help you.  No temptation goes beyond what you can bear. 

If you have the problem of feeling like you can't stop listening to Bad Songs, then please keep reading over the next few weeks.  On Saturdays, I'll be reviewing some of these secular artists... but on Sundays, I'm going to be finding some possible replacement Christian artists who have good music and similar sounds to artist featured the Saturday before.  Contrary to what you might think, not all Christian music sounds the same... and not all Christian music contains a simple, boring, four-chord progression.   

As unified brothers and sisters in Christ, we can work together to be set apart from the world.  We can help each other to stay away from music that turns our thoughts and our hearts from God.  Believe it or not, worldly music is hindering to your relationship with Christ. 

It's always a struggle to overcome temptation, but you can do it.  If you need a prayer, some advice, or if you have an opinion or Bible verse to contradict or support today's post, then submit your comment below or send me an email.  I would love to hear from you.

And this ends this week's "Song Choice" series.  I hope this has opened your eyes to some of the things that you're putting into your head.  Researching this has sure opened my eyes to this issue, and I am absolutely glad that I have begun this topic.  There are some songs that I am going to have to delete from my playlist, and there are some songs that I am going to have to pray about.  All I know is that I'm striving to glorify God, and I am willing to make any sacrifice to reach the place where He wants me to be.  Nothing is worth disappointing my Savior and my Father, not even music.

Today's photos came from here, here, and here.    

Please check out the posts from Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday to catch up, if you're starting here.

Today's topic has actually had me struggling to write what God wants me to write.  I actually wrote out a survey, passed it out to a couple of kids at school, and even posted it on a forum at SusieMag.com.  I got some great responses from other young, Christian teens that helped spur me on to go ahead and write this post, a day late. 

What I mean by "The Almost Good With A Little Bit Of Bad Mixed In Song" is pretty self explanatory.  This kind of song- to save screen space- will also be known as "The Iffy Song."  Have you ever liked a song because of its catchy tune, and then stopped to listen to the lyrics and thought, "Whoa... I didn't know that was in there!"  There have been so many instances like this in my life.  One of my favorite songs is "I'm Yours" by Jason Mraz... but it has the "d-word" in the lyrics.  Another song that I enjoy is "I Gotta Feeling" by the Black Eyed Peas, but it takes God's Name in vain at least twice.  There are so many other cool songs like these two that are so fun, so likable, so catchy... but then there's that teeny-tiny little thing that makes them iffy. 

So are they okay to listen to?

This is a tough one for me because I do like some of these "iffy" songs, and I am almost afraid that if I say that it is a sin to listen to them, then I will not only be a hypocrite... but I'll have to stop listening to these songs.  And I love these songs!

This week, I have been praying constantly to God that He will show me the truth about the music that I put into my ears, and what I have decided to do today is put up a short series of questions below and let you decide for yourself. 

1.  Does the "iffy" part in this song turn you away from God at all?  I mean, has this song put a naughty phrase or word or idea in your head more than you would think about it than usual?  Have you found yourself singing along with the lyrics, even the "iffy" ones? 

2.  On a scale of 1-10, 10 being the worst, how bad is the worst part of your song?  Is the word "hell" used inappropriately once or is there a raunchy paragraph about a sexual encounter?   Think about it... some words and some lyrics are worse than others. 

3.  How do you feel about the fact that you, as a follower of Christ, are listening to a song with an "iffy" part that does not glorify God while there are people who are being tortured and killed right now around the world because they are standing up for God as outspoken Christians?  Does this song set you apart from the world or make you blend in more than you should?

4.  Can you get a clean, radio-edit version of this song?  For example, "Teardrops on My Guitar" by Taylor Swift can be purchased without the one cuss word.  In my small opinion, the edited version of that song is automatically moved to the "Neutral Song" list. 

5.  What do your parents think about this song?  Do they disapprove of what you're listening to, or do they say, "I think this song is okay for you."  Their opinion does matter.

I think that for the most part, the "iffy" songs do need to go.  Jesus wants us to serve Him with our lives, and that may involve sacrificing the fun things that are a part of blending in with the world.  The Lord has called us to be Set Apart.  Jesus made the sacrifice of being beaten, mocked, and murdered on a cross for you and for me.  The least we could do is sacrifice a few awesome songs that don't glorify Him.  Think about it. 

I'm not going to sit here and say, "Every single "iffy" song out there is bait from the devil, and if you listen to these songs, then you're a horrible Christian!"  Ultimately, your song choice depends on your heart.  My song choice depends on my heart.

However, I do strongly encourage you to sit down and talk to God.  Get His opinion.  Let Him speak to you and help you to decide how to clean up your playlist.  After all, He does know best.

Do you have anything to add to what I've said above?  Comment your opinions, questions, and verses in the comment box below or send me an email.  I'd love to hear your input on this topic.

The pictures from today's post came from here and here.