Modern Idols in the Church | Our Music
The idea of worshiping an idol is something that we’re not very familiar with here in America. And because we don’t usually see the physical representation of what we perceive as being an “idol” (i.e. a golden statue), it’s often hard for us, as Christians, to be able to identify where idolization has taken root in our hearts. And with all of its comforts, material pleasures, and a push to hold onto the worldly things that we love, America can be a difficult place to combat idolization.
The Church of Jesus Christ, meaning those across time who have truly followed Jesus Christ with their lives regardless of denominational bent, is entangled with the history of “church”—meaning the organizational structure that has operated systematically throughout history and has oftentimes isolated the very people it was meant to minister to. And in this church structure, we have often failed at keeping Jesus Christ and his mission for us at the pinnacle of priority.
Idols are things that we have placed above God. We treat them with a level of sacredness, of reverence. And, maybe not with our words, but with our actions we claim that these things we hold so dear NEED to be honored, respected, and must never be taken away. Sometimes, we do have emotional ties to these things because of nostalgic moments, but nevertheless, this is no excuse to place things on pedestals in the Church of Jesus Christ that have no place being there.
The Idolization of Music
It’s been my experience that music has crept its way to a place of idolization in the hearts of many Christians. It can be hard to see this due to the fact that we use music to express our main idea of “worship.” It’s also difficult for Christians to see this because music is often attached to many nostalgic moments in the church, which can be very important for them personally. I can understand this. But music is only meant to play the role of seeing how creative our God is and to give him glory for it.
We have such an unhealthy, strangling grip on music in church culture today. And just to be clear, this is true on both sides of the spectrum. On one hand, there are certain church members who despise any sort of creative alterations to what may have been typically done during the music portion of a church service, one they’re familiar with. They don’t like the way the songs are written, or they don’t like the style of music in which it’s played. Or both.
On the other hand, you have (typically younger) church members who believe that the church is going to die off if they don’t “modernize” and start playing newer music with better lighting and camera production. Any attempt to incorporate older songs is just a step in the wrong direction.
Now, I’m not going to lay out both sides of the argument and sit here and say that both are right. No. To be completely honest, both are dead wrong. Why? Because music is a creative gift that God has given us, and the beautiful thing about it is that it can be unique to each person. So virtually every opinion regarding music is, by nature, SUBJECTIVE.
Quick clarification: the message you’re delivering with the words in the song needs to be a message full of truth. It shouldn’t be subjective. But even in that, there are rarely songs in the church that are about horrifically wrong ideas of God. That’s again more of a subjective, even cultural, take on it. For instance, there are many older songs whose culture used language to really emphasize the might, power, and sovereignty of our great Creator (truths). But now today, there is a culture and a language of writing songs that take a more intimate approach, focusing more on the fatherly nature of God (also truth).
But churches split over these types of arguments. It baffles my mind just to think about it. If a church's foundation crumbles when the music is adjusted, the foundation was wrong. I know we have certain freedoms here in America, but just because we have the freedom to have these opinions does not mean that we should. This is the reality: we are comfortable with putting music on a pedestal, because it can bring US joy. That’s what we want front and center: the things that can bring us joy and happiness.
But we’re meant to embody and engage the world with the joy of the Lord. The true Church of Jesus Christ is not meant to be comfortable. Being free enough and comfortable enough to argue over, and be upset about, what the music is like in your church is a horrible condition of the American church.
The Purpose of Music
The purpose of music is for our enjoyment. It falls right in line with things like the taste of delicious food and drinks. It’s been created for our pleasure, and to ultimately be something that we can partake in while giving glory and credit to the One who created it.
But the Church of Jesus Christ has a mission, and there is no room for false idols. We can not waste our time and energy bowing down to our own selfish preferences. How can we be the Church if our feathers are so easily ruffled? How can we be effective in our evangelism if we get stuck arguing about what music should be rightfully played at church? If music is a stumbling block for Christians, then I pray that it gets removed. I hope it doesn’t come to that because I ultimately love music. But if it stops the Church from acting like Jesus, then be gone with it. Music is a beautiful gift, but Jesus’ sacrifice for us is more beautiful and more of a gift than anything ever will be if you’re a Christ follower.
Our dedication, homage, and life is to Jesus, not to music.
—Luke Soliwoda