Rap Music

Dear Victorious,

We have teen-age children and they seem to be listening more and more to rap music. Besides the fact that I find some of it annoying (and hardly worthy of being called music), I wonder about the impact it could be having. I've heard that some of it is satanic, and I wonder about the lyrics. Should we be letting our kids listen to this kind of music? And if not, how do we get them to stop listening to it?

Corrine L. - Portland, OR

Dear Corrine,

I commend you for paying attention to what your kids are listening to. Whether or not it's annoying or whether or not it's really art (music) might make for an interesting debate. The the fact that you don't particularly care for it - or that you actively dislike it - doesn't make it wrong for your teen-agers to listen to.

Seeing your letter was a bit of deja vu for me ... because my own parents used to say the same things about rock music and heavy metal (i.e., "... the impact it's having ... some of it is satanic ... the lyrics"). They called it garbage. Of course their opinion had zero impact on my desire to listen to it.

The thing is that art of any kind is simply an expression of human emotion and passion. So the form of the art isn't as important as what it is expressing. Rock, rap, country or other forms of music aren't, as styles, morally right or wrong. But what they are expressing could be quite virtuous --- or quite evil.

I've heard of Christian rap, Christian rock and Christian country. There is Christian hip-hop. And I believe those are largely appropriate for Christians. They are art expressing love for Christ, godly living, and other forms of righteousness. At the same time, there is ungodly hip-hop, rap, rock and country music. The same forms of expression could very well be espousing heinous things, heresy and other forms of evil or rebellion against God.

So what's the difference? How do you tell? Quite simply you have to listen to the music. Take the time to get to know the lyrics to the songs your kids are listening to. Look at the artists your kids are favoring. And if you find something that doesn't line up with Scripture, that seems to violate Philippians 4:8 (i.e., "focus your minds on things that are excellent and worthy of praise) --- then you have a responsibility to educate and redirect your kids to something more appropriate.

You probably can't control what your kids listen to. This is especially true as they get older. But I remember when one of my daughters was a teen-ager and purchased a Ouija board with her babysitting money. Of course we had no problem with board games in general. But when this one came in the house, I saw that it didn't align with Philippians 4:8 and actually violated scripture. So I explained this all to my daughter, bought the game from her - and asked her to help me destroy it and put the remains in the trash bin.

You could consider similar approaches to music that you find is unfit for your kids. Treat them with respect. Don't generalize or trivialize. Justify your conclusion with Scripture ... show your kids where the music violates Scripture. Read Philippians 4:8 with your kids and discuss with them what kinds of music would be appropriate. And finally, pray for your kids. Ask God to give them wisdom and discernment to notice when evil is creeping into their lives. Ask God to remove ungodly desires from your kids.

And relax. You'll get through this.