Interpret as you wish

Music is an art. It is also a gift from God. It is a way in which people can express themselves. Schultze makes a statement "limiting its use to just one function or one style greatly inhibits the ways music can be used to glorify the Creator." God calls us to use the gifts He gives us. Some people may chose to use their gifts to directly praise God. Some people, on the other hand, sing about issues that everyday people can relate to. This is no crime! A true artist can make you think. Take the group Coldplay for instance. They are not labeled as Christians, but a number of their songs could be interpreted as such. "Fix You" has often been interpreted from the point of view of Christ, and it doesn't even talk about God! As I said, music is an art and needs to be interpreted as such, just as a painting can have many interpretations. People can be influenced by the smallest things in their lives. Whether it be a morally positive song amidst an array of promiscuous lyrics, or a song that really digs deeper into some life meanings than the frivolous lyrics of the latest reality popstar group, God can be found in the slightest things. I admit, I do enjoy a lot of the mainstream music that is out there today, but I have a wide variety in my musical tastes. People who are not under the Christian label tend to be more open and straight forward with their emotions and what is going on in their lives. I think this is something that Christian label artists can learn from. Singing about God is great, but we are humans with lives that we are living and we can relate to one another through song; through the emotions splayed out with such vulnerability. I may be completely off the mark here since I have not been into the whole Christian genre much since I was a kid because of my frustrations with the limitedness of it, but that is just a momentary thought of mine.

P.S. I heard a story on the radio of a girl that was about to commit suicide until she heard the song "Stop and Stare" by a secular musical group OneRepublic where she decided against it. I think that is testimony to God moving in music deemed secular that no one can deny.