What's Your Soundtrack?

On Sunday our pastor asked a question that got me thinking.

What is the soundtrack of your life?

What do you wash yourself with throughout the day? What are the things that take up the majority of your time and thoughts? What are some of the biggest influences in your life, good or bad? Are we continually growing closer to our Heavenly Father or are we being drawn down the slow and gradual path of unrighteousness by the things that fill our life?

"The safest road to hell is the gradual one - the gentle slope, soft underfoot, without sudden turnings, without milestones, without signposts." - C.S. Lewis

The "soundtrack" of your life is not merely what you listen to, but that definitely is a good place to start because our ears are always open and generally people listen to a lot of music while they study, work, drive, and go about every day life. I know I do. I have wondered and questioned standards of media, for christians in general and myself in particular, for quite a while now. How do we determine what we should or shouldn't listen to? 

Philippians 4:8 says, "Finally brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy - meditate on these things."

Does that limit us only to things that are strictly labeled "christian" and talk only about Jesus? I don't think so, but neither do I want to be so blinded by the idea of "Christian liberty" that I allow myself to read, listen to, watch, and be influenced by anything or everything. I don't have the answers and there's not a list of "ok" songs and movies behind the concordance in your Bible. It is not so cut and dry. Nothing in life really is. There is always room for grace. And aren't we glad?!

As I've thought about this issue, specifically in regards to music, I have thought of a couple songs in my iTunes that should probably go. But then in the back of my mind I hear a little voice saying things like:

"but it's a really fun song,"

"but I like it,"

"it's got a good beat,"

"I don't listen to it that much." 

"is it really BAD?"

I know in my own life I am sometimes tempted to hold on to things that I know don't glorify God because I enjoy them. Because it pleases my flesh. It feels good. It makes me happy for the moment. If we truly loved and feared God it would be easy to give up fleshly things so that we would be honoring Him, but we don't. We are fallen, sinful creatures. We love the things that please us. However, we do not have to stay in that rut. God has given us weapons to fight temptation; the Word of God and prayer. Spend time in God's word and seek wisdom from Him. 

So. What is the soundtrack of your life?