I've been seeing this theme on a few different blogs within the past few months. Basically, so many people are criticizing Christian music on the whole saying that it's the same kind of stuff being said over and over, it's unoriginal, or even the people singing have never really faced what they're singing about. For instance, some sing about praising God while in the midst of the storm, yet have truly never faced a real storm. Now, let me say first that while I don't agree with some, I do agree with some. I think there are many who just write songs about glorifying God to sell when their lives don't reflect it in any way. I think that some write about peace in the midst of the storm, when in reality, they blame God for their storms. But, I do think that the positives in Christian music outweigh the negatives.
If we were to look about 20-30 years ago, when it came to more "contemporary" Christian music, I would have given this complaint more thought. There just wasn't a wide variety of it out there. But, today, if you don't like a certain type/style of Christian music because it's too cliche, listen to a more original artist...Yes, some might be cliche, but certainly not all of it. If the bandwagon likes the cliche, let them. The SAME exact thing goes on in pop music as well as rap as well as country. It's irritating when we'll ascribe all of the originality in the world to Lady GaGa for wearing a meat suit on stage and writing music about how gay people are born the way they are, but smash Christian music when it glorifies God because "it's already been said." Well, if you think that trying to get attention by outlandish actions is originality then good for you, but we've seen it before in different venues by different people with different ridiculous acts. Although I mentioned a specific name, I'm not attacking a specific artist. That's just one example of how we seem to attribute attention and awe to those who act differently. We see it when gangsters rap about how they're the hottest on the block and they'll cap anyone who gets in their way. And, many times it's the beat that will attract a person to listen to it, not the original words or belief in the words. I mean, how many suburban teen boys listening to this are really going to go shoot someone with their AK-47 that they don't have?
My argument is that even cliche can still be edifying and glorifying to God even though we might think it's unoriginal. I understand that so many words are used liberally and I don't deny that many of our Christian artists do get on a bandwagon of how to sing and what to sing about. But, in their defense, and writing stuff occasionally myself, why not write about the same things? Why not talk about praising God all the time? Sure, there are times where praising God is difficult, but we write about that too. Normally, those songs will not get the popularity that a praise song will because, let's face it, who wants to sing about the mully-grubs on Sunday morning when you're coming to get strengthened? So, the radio might be jam-packed with songs that, in a round-about way, say the same things, but I would say, in context, that it's a good thing.
To sum it all up, I have to hit this last issue. I kind of touched on it in the first paragraph. I've heard snippets of (and even at times in my younger days listened to) some of the trash that some young people listen to today. I'm not talking about what you might call decent (in the moral sense) secular music like Justin Beiber or Jonas Brothers. I'm talking about the stuff that's completely littered with violence, sex, drugs, and language. It's the type of music with subjects that I wouldn't want my kids listening to one day. And, while I'm not the type to say that music can turn kids into walking barbarians who kill for fun, I do think that it can have a negative influence. It can have kids thinking certain topics are cool and gives them an outlet to bring it up or live it out. When someone idolizes Katy Perry and she sings about kissing a girl and liking it, that adds fuel to the fire. When artists sing about being pimps and never holding down a relationship with one woman because that's for chumps, it adds fuel to the fire for young guys sleeping around. There are clearly deeper issues within these realms, where once again, music isn't the cause, but it's an enabler. For a person trying to live a healthy Christian life, although some music might be cliche, the benefits can outweigh that. I've had MANY times in my life where I was down about something and a song has lifted my up. Not to the point of getting me all better, but helping my walk. Sure, a secular song may not have put me through the roof with my anger or self-pity, but the Christian music certainly helped. This CAN help our youth. If not for anything else, to give them an alternative to some of the trash out there.
