A Passion for Purity

In Psalm 101, we read the psalmist's response to the mercies of God:(1) I will sing of mercy and justice; To You, O Lord, I will sing praises. 2 I will behave wisely in a perfect way. Oh, when will You come to me? I will walk within my house with a perfect heart. 3 I will set nothing wicked before my eyes; I hate the work of those who fall away; It shall not cling to me. 4 A perverse heart shall depart from me; I will not know wickedness. 
Because we have been saved, in response to the love of God, we have the desire to please Him.   We allow the Spirit of God to govern what comes into our spirit through our mind and we make the choice to walk before God with a clean heart.   What we allow into our consciousness will either support or contradict the indwelling nature of the Spirit of Christ within us, so it's important that we choose to walk in purity.

Ephesians 5 reminds us of the importance of raising a standard for purity in thought and action:
8 For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light 9 (for the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness, righteousness, and truth), 10 finding out what is acceptable to the Lord. 11 And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather expose them.


Congratulations to the winners in the Christian music category of the Billboard Music Awards last night - Casting Crowns, who won the Artist award, as well as the Album award for "Come to the Well".  And, Laura Story added another accolade for her song, "Blessings", which also has won Grammy and Dove Awards.   These and so many other Christian artists see music as a powerful way to communicate truth, to encourage, and to influence culture.

And, when you look at so many of the other nominees, there is a desire to make good music, and a profit motive, sure, but there is also the capability to influence culture, and not necessarily for good.   While I don't endorse the music or the person of Adele, the big winner of the night, she does stand in contrast to the persona and the sensual image of artists such as Katy Perry or...Lady Gaga.   And, I would encourage you to pray for some of these artists, whose musical lyrics and concert performances reflect values that are not consistent with Biblical truth.

Lady Gaga was not at the awards last night - she is on a tour of Southeast Asia, where in some places, she has not been exactly welcomed with open arms.   In the nation of Indonesia, her concert there was cancelled because her highly sexualized performance and lyrical content offended the predominantly Muslim authorities - there were even the threats of violence there. In the Philippines, a heavily Catholic country, religious officials protested her performing there, and while officials are letting her shows go on, security is being beefed up.  In South Korea, those below the ages of 18 were prevented from viewing her concert.  In light of these responses in other countries, so of whom I cannot endorse, it is interesting that in America, the land of the free, Lady Gaga and other objectionable performers travel from town to town and you don't hear of any civic opposition to her shows...I am not aware of any ratings for concerts - that's why parents are so important in monitoring and regulating the content of music and other forms of entertainment that their children and teens are consuming.

I do believe that the exhortation of Jesus to be salt and light includes acting as a preservative for the culture.   And, it starts in each of our hearts - are we regulating our consumption of media and discarding images and sounds that do not please God?   And, we as adults are the gatekeepers of our home - are we promoting a lifestyle of purity in our young people and discussing their entertainment choices, including musical selections, with them?   And, in the spheres of influence in which we interface, are we holding up a standard of purity, goodness, and wholesomeness - so that we're known not necessarily by the things we're against, but because of the light that we uphold?    And, there may be a time when we are called to speak out against performers and events that are not consistent with our values - spreading a sense of common grace and recognizing that some cultural influences can be destructive - to individual lives, to family units, to the stability of our society.