Thoughts on Christmas Music
People have widely varying opinions about Christmas music.
Some of you started tuning in to the Holiday station before Halloween.
Others prefer to hold off until after Thanksgiving.
Still others would prefer to avoid hearing Jingle Bells altogether if you could manage it.
I generally enjoy Christmas music and don’t begrudge hearing it any time of the year.
However, lately I’ve had a couple thoughts that I wanted to share on this topic.
Seek out the Christ-centered songs sometimes.
I love Frosty, Rudolph and Santa and singing about jingly-silver bells and chestnuts and all of that. But with all the commercializing of Christmas, it seems that you can walk through a lot of stores and spend a lot of time listening to the radio and not hear a song about Jesus.
I don’t think this is a good thing.
I’ve thought about this especially with my kids.
I don’t mind them singing 12-days of Christmas, but I also want them to know Silent Night, O Come All Ye Faithful, Away in a Manger, and O Holy Night.
And there are a lot of other contemporary Christmas songs that have powerful Christ-centered messages, too.
So, every now and then pay attention and make sure you are still listening to some music that turns your heart to Jesus.
Don’t Torture Yourself
The holidays are some of the happiest and hardest for folks. Emotions are intensified – whether it is love and joy or sadness and loneliness. The music you listen to can make things worse.
Let me give you an example.
I’ve had a lot of somewhat lonely Christmases in my life. Of course, I had my parents and siblings, but most of my friends were married with kids and I was still single. I had a deep loneliness that came out this time of year as I longed for a family of my own.
For some reason, it seemed like a good idea to torture myself with Christmas love ballads from Celine Dion, Boyz 2 Men, or Mariah Carey. Did I really need to be listening to All I want for Christmas is You, What Are You Doing New Year’s Eve?, or Blue Christmas?
I really didn’t notice it at the time. But now I look back and think, “what was I doing?!” I guess I thought it would make me more sentimental and romantic.
Or maybe it’s just the same mechanism in all of us that draws us toward things that we know aren’t good for us.
Either way, it definitely didn’t pull me out of my funk. To the contrary, it made it worse!
So, especially if you are feeling vulnerable this year, don’t do what I did. Pay attention to the songs you listen to and to what you allow your heart to dwell on.
Make sure to stay focused on the joy and hope of this season that came to us through a little baby named Jesus.
After all, He is the Savior who brings “great joy to all the people,” no matter who we are or what we’re going through.
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