|
Day 3
One Song at a Time
By Al Menconi
Here’s
a simple illustration of how we gradually
learn to accept the false philosophies
of this world—it
comes to us in small bites. Each of these
songs went a long way to break down the
barriers of what society considered acceptable
romantic behavior.
1967 – Rolling
Stones sang, "Let’s
Spend the Night Together"
Only a few years before, the Everly
Brothers were worried their
reputation would be “shot” if
anyone found out they’d been
out too late (“Wake Up, Little
Suzie!”). Now the Stones were
coming right out and asking to spend
the night. Sex was only implied, but
the song was so suggestive for its
time, Ed Sullivan made them sing: "Let’s
spend some time together" in
order to perform it on his TV show.
From this point on, songs became more
suggestive and openly sexual.
1976 – Rod
Stewart sang, "Tonight’s
The Night"
Stewart didn’t want any "used" girl
for sex. He wanted a virgin to go upstairs
with him and let her "inhibitions
run wild." Giving up your virginity
seemed more acceptable because it came
with a good beat and we thought he was
sexy.
1981 – Olivia
Newton-John sang, "Let’s
Get Physical"
Olivia left no doubt just how physical
she wanted to get when she invited her
partner to show "love" by getting
horizontal. She may have looked like
the "girl next door," but she
was being just as suggestive as any guy!
If it’s okay for "that sweet
girl," it must be okay for any girl.
1987 – George
Michael sang, "I
Want Your Sex!"
George Michael dropped all pretence
at being subtle with this song. No romance,
just sex! At that time, many Christian
young people tried to justify this song
as being acceptable because he advocated
monogamy. They had become so desensitized
to sin, that they didn’t understand
the difference between monogamy (having
one sex partner at a time) and morality
(waiting for marriage for sexual relations!)
1991 – Color
Me Badd sang, "I
Wanna Sex You Up!"
By this time, this song was considered
romantic! It demonstrated the completely
confused belief that offering crude,
sexual talk as a prelude to having sex
was how a proper romance was conducted
now!
1994 – Nine
Inch Nails sang, "I
Wanna F*** You Like an Animal!"
With so much misinformation about love
and sex becoming socially acceptable,
it was a short step to this aggressive,
rape-suggesting song. Trent Reznor,
the leader of Nine Inch Nails,
was hailed as a genius for this and other
thought provoking songs.
1998 – Janet
Jackson sang, "Tonight’s
The Night!"
How can this cover of this 22 year-old Rod
Stewart’s hit by a relatively
sweet girl be so bad? Compared to what
is popular, it should be pretty tame.
Really? Read the lyrics. This was the
first popular song about lesbian sex. "Come
on little girl, let your inhibitions
run wild!"
2000 – Eminem rap/sings
throughout The Marshall Mathers LP about
killing his mother, gang raping his sister
and choking his wife to death. You’d
think there wouldn’t be much of
an audience for such violent perversion,
but this album sold more than 2 million
in the first week. It remains one of
the biggest selling albums of all time.
2003 – Missy Elliott’s video
of the year, “Working It” was
the most graphic portrayal of oral sex
heard up to that time. Instead of offending
the public, it won honors as MTV video
of 2003. This “opened the door” for
more of the same.
From this point on – I
don’t know what’s next! Nearly
every popular song today suggests graphic
sexual scenes and situations that leave
nothing to the imagination. While preparing
for a seminar in 2004, I found that 36
of the top 40 songs had some form of
graphic sexual scenes and/or violent
perversion. It seems that now any song
and video about any form of perversion
is considered acceptable. How did this
happen? One song at a time.
We've come a long way, haven’t
we? Just when I think it can’t
get any worse, it does. Can you imagine
what the next few years will bring? Neither
can I, but I’m certain it will
make Janet’s “wardrobe malfunction” at
the Super Bowl seem like a walk in the
park.
Reflection: Does
this process of a gradual declining progression
make sense to you? Are there areas of
your life where you can see that you
have compromised your morals over time
through a gradual progression? Are you
ready to re-capture God’s values
in your life?
Response: Survey
your current music collection. Are there
any that are openly against biblical
values? Are you ready to replace them
with Christian music? If not, why not?
If so, why not start this week?
Verse of the Day: Matthew 5:18
"I tell you that anyone who
looks at a woman lustfully has already
committed adultery with her in his
heart." (NIV)
Speaking of lustful desires, here is
a verse that illustrates how our focus
or mindset can lead us into sin. Now
I can’t speak for women (at no
time in my life have I actually been
a woman!), but I believe I can speak
for the normal healthy man. When we allow
our minds to dwell on scenes (television,
movies, songs, and music videos) that
contain sexual activities or sexually
provocative attitudes, it causes our
minds to have lustful thoughts.
According to this verse, that mindset
is a kind of adultery. We don’t
like to think that we are committing
adultery, but what about our thought
life? Are you struggling with lust? If
you are, evaluate your entertainment.
As my mother used to say, “You
may not be able to keep a bird from landing
on your head, but you surely can keep
him from building a nest on it.” Are
you submitting your mind to images that
are “building a nest” in
your soul? Do you need to make some changes?
[Home]
[Previous]
[Table of Articles]
[Next]
[About FTMC]
[Contact Us]
|
