I recently read a thought provoking blog post titled Why Country Music is So Popular (and What the Church Can Learn From it) which I really enjoyed. Here is a part of it:
People listen to music for a variety of reasons. My mood and temperament may be the catalyst that helps me decide between listening to U2 or Eric Church. But when it comes down to it, I am really comforted by the stories, especially the ones that have a God/sin contradiction. It is as if I finally have found a place where people are like me. Now, I don’t have problems with bars, alcohol, or being in love with someone other than my wife, but I do have problems that are just as serious to me. I live the same contradiction that country musicians are not afraid to write about.
Why do I struggle? Why do you struggle? Why do we, who have put our trust in Jesus for our sins, struggle to talk about the contradiction that we live? It is because of our own expectations or the expectations of others? Or is it because of the voices that we listen to. Do we really understand the gospel and the grace of God that is ours in Jesus? Do we really know deep in our hearts who we are now because of Jesus? Do we listen to His voice?
We should learn from country music how to be real and confess our struggles. We are messy and hypocrites, there is no use denying it. But thankfully that is not the end of the song. Because of Jesus and the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives we have hope. We have hope of becoming more like Jesus with each passing day and we have the hope that when we see Him face-to-face we will be just like Him. Not because of wishful thinking but because the Bible tells us so. See 2 Corinthians 3:18 and 1 John 3:2-3.
So let's be real and confess our sins to one another but let's also be hopeful and offer words of hope and encouragement to one another as we learn to open up and admit our weaknesses and struggles. Let's write our own country music songs but let's end them by always pointing to Jesus and the hope we have in Him.
We should learn from country music how to be real and confess our struggles. We are messy and hypocrites, there is no use denying it. But thankfully that is not the end of the song. Because of Jesus and the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives we have hope. We have hope of becoming more like Jesus with each passing day and we have the hope that when we see Him face-to-face we will be just like Him. Not because of wishful thinking but because the Bible tells us so. See 2 Corinthians 3:18 and 1 John 3:2-3.
So let's be real and confess our sins to one another but let's also be hopeful and offer words of hope and encouragement to one another as we learn to open up and admit our weaknesses and struggles. Let's write our own country music songs but let's end them by always pointing to Jesus and the hope we have in Him.
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