Why Music?

Why Music?

Music seems to be a part of everyone’s life. Whether you listen to music on your iPod while working out, turn on the radio in your car, or just hear music in the elevator (unfortunately that’s where most of the world seems to hear classical music), I think it’s a fair assumption that you listen to music. But have you ever stopped to ask yourself: Why music? Why do we listen to it? Why do we enjoy it? And as a Christian, what does music have to do with my walk with Christ?

Most people in society have probably never asked these questions, but I think they can help point us to Christ when we think about music.

For most people, music is entertainment. Not that entertainment’s inherently bad, but I can’t believe that’s all there is to music. As a Christian, one way I experience music that’s beyond simple entertainment is corporate worship in church. Think about it: where else do people convene in large groups and sing together, unrehearsed? (Singing at a rock concert doesn’t count because the focus is on the performance of those on stage). Besides perhaps the National Anthem, this only really seems to happen in church. Also, no one who has grown up going to church can imagine a church service without music. There has to be something spiritual about music itself.

Another way I think music can bring us closer to God is it helps us express things that cannot be put into words. Romans 8:26 says “Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words.” I recognize this in my own life. At times something doesn’t feel right in my spirit, but I can’t quite pin down what’s wrong. When I listen to music, such as a Mahler symphony, I often feel emotions I didn’t even know I had. I think it’s even more than just emotions. It’s something spiritual. I cried while watching Les Misérables, not just because of the story, I think, but because the story was told through song.

Lastly, I wonder how someone who has a purely atheistic worldview would answer the question “Why music?” I can’t think of any biologically necessary reason for music. I can think of no other reason as to why we have music other than it was God’s good pleasure to give it to us to enjoy, and in fact to enjoy God through our music! Just like appreciating a beautiful sunset or a view of the Grand Canyon, I am in awe of our Creator when listening to a Beethoven symphony or a chamber work by Brahms. I think our simple appreciation of beauty points to something beyond the natural world.

Music has always been a passion of mine, as has been my faith. But it’s been exciting to start seeing how these areas of my life fit together. Please feel free to add your own thoughts as a comment. Soli Deo Gloria.