While reading A. W. Tozer's "The Attributes of God", I came across this paragraph that made me chuckle.

 

"Do you ever stop to think about the rapture?  It's going to be something that's never happened before.  You might be walking around on the street and hear the sound of the trumpet - and suddenly you're transformed!  You won't know what to do or how to act.  And the people lying in their graves, what'll they do?  I know what they'll do - they'll sing!  There's going to be singing at the consummation, on that great day!

 

'Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou was slain, and hast redeemed us' (Revelation 5:9) - that's the theme of the new song.  The theme of the new song isn't 'I am'; it's 'Thou art.'  Notice the difference!  When you look at the old hymnody of Wesley, Montgomery and Watts, it was 'Thou art, O God, Thou art.'  But when you look at the modern hymns, it is 'I am, I am, I am.'  It makes me sick to my stomach.  Occasionally a good hymn with testimonies is all right, but we've overdone it.  The song of the ransomed is going to be 'Thou art worthy, O God.'"

 

What made me chuckle was Tozer's strong words, "It makes me sick to my stomach."  I can relate to his frustration.  I have written a few posts on my preference for hymns.  Because of my tendency to be self-righteous, I was once very rigid about the style of music I would prefer in a worship service, and I once shunned contemporary Christian music altogether.  By God's grace, I have realized how arrogant and prideful my attitude was, and have come away from that stance.  Everyone has his or her own preference for style of music.  But that's all there is to it, it's just personal preference.  Some are more inclinced to express their praises and thanksgiving to God through hymns accompanied by the organ or piano only.  Some sing praises to the Lord with raising their hands, even clapping, with an ensemble of instrumentalists leading the music.  My thinking on this subject will continue to be molded and changed, I know.  For now the conclusion at which I have arrived is that the style of music is not essential and does not matter that much.  It's the content of the songs/hymns that carries the weight.  Like Tozer said, is it all "I am"?  Or is it centered on the triune God, "Thou art?"  Are we singing of God's attributes and praises to Him?  Or are we exalting ourselves and our emotions with the words?  I have to admit that I still have some disdain for some CCM songs because of their man-centeredness and emotionalism.  But praise the Lord!  There has been a wave of musicians who have brought back the God-centeredness and Scripture-filled content into the churches (Keith and Kristyn Getty, Bob Kauflin and Sovereign Grace Ministries, Indelible Grace, Red Mountain Music, just to name a few).  It's very exciting to see how God will continue to teach His people to sing praises to Him.  In the meantime, let's keep on singing to the Lord!

Confession. I watch "Gilmore Girls" regularly. In fact, I have been watching the re-runs almost everyday while eating dinner. It's very tempting to just plop myself into the couch in front of the TV after a long day and veg out for an hour. And apparently I give in to that temptation almost everyday...

But I have been wondering if I should continue in this pattern. For one, this simply is not the best use of my time. Those hours spent on watching the show could have been used for many other things (reading, cleaning, exercising...) that are much more beneficial. The unproductive use of the hour alone should have stopped me from watching it.

Another reason is that I realized that underneath the innocent, warm and sweet guise of the show is the blatant manifestation of immorality, falsehood, sin. If you have not been following the show, here's a very brief synopsis. Lorelai, a young, witty, attractive single mom, lives with her daughter, Rory, in a small town. Lorelai had Rory out of wedlock when she was only 16. They share an unconventional mother-daughter relationship, as they are each other's best friend. Basically the show revolves around these two characters, their work, school, friends, townspeople, Lorelai's parents, and most of all, their relationships with men.

What kind of message is the show really displaying? For one, it's exalting extremely flawed parenting. Lorelai hardly ever disciplines Rory, because, as she openly admitted once, she's afraid that Rory might get mad and their "friendship" would be damaged. So Rory gets an "aw...it's gonna be okay" after she had sex with Dean, an ex-boyfriend who was married to someone else at the time. Fornication is portrayed as the norm (and it sadly is this day and age). The show paints a self-righteous, ridiculous picture of Christians and God. And yes, you can count on the show to promote feminism. Both Lorelai and Rory initiate relationships with men. Neither of them are domestic (Lorelai doesn't know how to operate most kitchen gadgets for that matter). Oh, and Lorelai proposes marriage to her boyfriend, Luke. The female characters in general are portrayed as strong, independent, assertive, while the men in general as whimpy, clueless and passive.

All those things I mentioned and more, however, are quirks that attract and appeal to its viewers. A fellow seminarian, Owen Strachan , has written a few posts on the weak manhood represented in Hollywood. I agree with his take on that completely. As for the ladies, Hollywood has also painted an obscured picture of womanhood. Without exception (at least, I can't think of one right now) all the leading female characters on TV resemble Lorelai and Rory in many ways. Hollywood "celebrates" women's freedom in choosing their own boyfriends or sexual partners. Lack of homemaking skills is a sign of one's sophistication and an asset towards career success, which is on top of the priority list for most. Marriage and family take a backseat to social life and career pursuit. Sure, those women, like Lorelai and Rory, are feminine. But the femininity they represent is almost the complete opposite of the womanhood that is taught in Scriptures (Owen, by the way, has also written about women's role as homemakers. Check it out.)

Owen asked this question in his post, Men looking stupid--and society rewarding them, "Hollywood has had its say about men. Have you noticed their whispering? Or did you, like me, soak it all in without even noticing?" I want to ask the ladies the same. Have you, like me, soaked it all in without even noticing the immoral, feminist and blasphemous teaching disguised in the shows you watch?  Beware.  Pray for discernment.  "Be sober-minded; be watchful.  Your adversasry the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour."