Sirens are female creatures from Greek mythology whose singing lured men to their destruction. All these sailors had to hear was the sound of the sirens’ voices and they would sail to their deaths.
Trust in the LORD forever, for the LORD GOD is an everlasting rock (Isaiah 26:4 ESV).
Let us come before him with thanksgiving and extol him with music and song (Psalm 95:2 NIV).
Whenever I listen to modern Christian music, I can’t help but compare it to the hymns of past generations. Even though the music is drastically different, the messages are always the same. The important thing to do, while listening to “new” music, is to really listen to the words. The song may have a great beat, yet the words may land flat. Or, in the case of some old hymns, the beat may be outdated, yet the words speak to you in a wonderful way. I always try to make out the words, and if I cannot understand them (which I find in a lot of today’s music), I look up the songs online and read the lyrics. Too many young people today (and some old) are too wrapped up in singing a song without really knowing what they are actually singing about.
My children love to sing, and they have beautiful voices. I’ve told them on several occasions that when they sing a Christian song, make sure they are singing to the Lord and not just singing to hear themselves sing.
Rock of Ages, cleft for me,
let me hide myself in thee;
let the water and the blood,
from thy wounded side which flowed,
be of sin the double cure;
save from wrath and make me pure.
No matter what age we are living in, God has not changed. He is and always shall be our Rock of Ages. No matter how old we become, I pray we never forget that. Whether we listen to new age Christian music, gospel or old hymns, we need to listen to the words, not just to the music. Some songs may carry the label “Christian,” but it’s the lyrics that tell the truth.
In the Greek mythology of the sirens, if the sailors had actually listened to the words of the sirens’ songs, they would have realized it was a trap, and their lives would have been saved.
Debbie Mitchell