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Day 21
If We had Listened to Hitler
By Al Menconi
It
was a question and answer sessions after
my seminar and as usual, some young man
was trying to justify his rock music
choices. Every time I answered one of
his excuses, he would find another. We
went ‘round and ‘round a
few times, until at last he fired his
final shot. "Well, you can’t
tell me your music sounds as good as
mine!" As he was speaking, he pulled
back his flannel shirt, which revealed
a T-shirt with the logo of one of the
top secular rock bands at the time.
After all was said and done, this was
his final argument for listening to ungodly
music? It sounded better? This was an
excellent teaching opportunity! Hundreds
of young people were waiting for my response.
I wasn’t sure what to say, but
I knew I couldn’t hesitate or I’d
give them the impression he was right.
Under my breath, I quickly asked God
for wisdom as I responded.
"First of all, I don’t believe
your music sounds better than Christian
music. The production of Christian music
today is as good as that of secular music." I
didn’t really have a second point.
I just kept talking. Looking back, I
realized the Holy Spirit gave me what
I said next.
"But even if your music does sound
better, it’s still not a good enough
reason to listen to it. It’s like
a decision your grandparents had to make
back in the 1940’s. The world was
at war. There were two major philosophies
battling for control of the minds and
hearts of all of mankind. One was Fascism,
with Adolph Hitler as its chief spokesman.
The other was Democracy, with Franklin
Roosevelt as its spokesman. These two
philosophies were engaged in a fight
to the death, and nearly every nation
in the world was forced to choose sides.
"Fortunately, our relatives listened
to Roosevelt and chose Democracy. If
they’d used your argument, they
would have chosen Fascism! After all,
Hitler was a better speaker than Roosevelt
. They could have chosen him because
he sounded better, but they chose not
to listen to his teachings of hate and
false superiority. They evaluated each
spokesman and chose the philosophy that
would give them the most freedom and
life, regardless of how talented the
speaker was."
Today we have a similar decision to
make. There are two major philosophies
engaged in a fight to the death, and
everyone must choose between them. The
Satanic Bible teaches that we should "Live
for selfish pleasure and deny biblical
values." The Holy Bible teaches
the opposite—to deny ourselves
and live for Jesus (Matthew 16:24 ).
Today’s entertainment is simply
the spokesman for these philosophies.
We need to do what our grandparents
did. We need to evaluate what philosophy
we believe in and then listen to the
best spokesman for that philosophy. We
need to ask ourselves, ‘What is
the philosophy of this song, TV program,
movie, or video game? Does it look at
life from man’s point of view or
from God’s? Does it offer freedom
and eternal life, or only selfish, sensual
pleasure?’
Colossians 2:8 warns us not
let anyone spoil our faith in Jesus or
the joy of our salvation with the empty
philosophies based on man’s thoughts
and ideas that are against what Christ
taught. How is your faith in Jesus Christ?
How is the Joy of your salvation? If
they are not everything they should be,
you might need to stop entertaining yourself
with the empty philosophies of this world,
no matter how good they sound.
Reflection: Are you
still entertaining yourself with a philosophy
that you know is against biblical values
because you like they way it looks or
sounds? After this 3 rd week of The
Full Tilt Media Challenge, are you
more aware of the impact that even the
most enjoyable entertainment can have
on your spirituality and the way you
look at life in this world?
Response: Did you
ever wonder what happened to the good
old movies? Many of them are available
on DVD now. Why not watch a classic movie
tonight such as “African Queen” or “Mr.
Smith Goes To Washington” with
your family? And then discuss the values
presented in them.
Verse of the Day: Proverbs 8:13a
"If anyone
respects and fears God, he will hate
evil." (Living
Bible)
At a recent seminar, a young man told
me, "I know some popular rock groups
have bad lyrics, but I don't let them
bother me." He was a Christian who
wanted to live for Jesus, but he really
didn’t believe his entertainment
had any influence on him. When I shared
this verse with him, the Holy Spirit
convicted him immediately about what
he said. I didn’t have to say anything
else. He told me that he never thought
about it like that. He was able to see
that his entertainment showed that he
didn’t respect and fear God as
he should.
He wrote me later that his life had
begun to change for the glory of God
as his entertainment began to change.
How about you? I really believe that
this verse can help you understand your
relationship to Jesus Christ. If you
are able to identify something as evil
(openly against biblical values), but
you are able to entertain yourself with
it shows you don't respect and fear God
as you should. Do you love and fear God?
Do you hate evil? This verse tells us
to hate evil, not entertain ourselves
with it.
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