Anything is Possible ~ Lyrical Sincerity

On March 10th, 2023, JUDAH. (Previously of Judah and the Lions) released a new single titled "Anything is Possible" where he lays his heart out for all to see, showing the deep pain he has been experiencing as of late. I have recently been falling more and more in love with the lyrical sincerity of several Christians artists and JUDAH. is one of them. Several of the lyrics from this song resonated with me, but one in particular brought The State of Contemporary Worship Lyrics, an essay by Joshua Leventhal for the Ecstatic by Ekstasis newsletter, to mind.

"Some of the songs are okay

Why does Christian music all sound the same?

Why do I feel so lame?

Hearing the same three songs and it feels like I'm going insane

Am I the only one that feels so broken?

I wish most of us were more open

Rip me apart, see the unspoken

Are we free or not?"

This third verse in JUDAH.'s song resonates with an idea I have been dwelling on for several months. Christian music is arguably better for our consumption than what secular artists offer, however, JUDAH. and Leventhal are both pointing out the same truth. We turn to the aesthetic sound and underlying beat of secular music more so than the story or words they present because what many Christian artists offer is bland, boring, and frankly all sounds the same. At least it does on the surface. With that in mind, it means that Christian artists have to work twice as hard; in originality in both the musical and lyrical realm. Leventhal writes, "A song introduces a phrase about battles, and that phrase becomes canonical in subsequent songs for the following five years. Exact statements are plucked from one and placed in another with greater abandon than the allusions in hip-hop, which often serve as an art form itself. However, the modern worship song uses plagiarism as shorthand. It has become self-referential beyond measure: signifiers and phrases that are plugged straight into The Formula." He goes on to further explain what this "Formula" is more in depth. I highly recommend the essay to all as it is thought provoking and honest. I was mesmerized by his words and his ability to so accurately put what I have been feeling about Christian music into words. The issue at hand is that many of us grew up on artists like Steve Camp, Selah, and The Gaither Vocal Band, depending on your parents music of choice. Most of the pre-2000's musicians presented music that was lyrically rich in theology, scripture, and was at its heart, original.

To further the point of lyrical greatness as a necessity in Christian music, I was raised in a conservative church that sang (and still sings) acapella with a hymnal full of stunningly beautiful hymns. The authors in this hymn book are those such as Frances Havergal, Philip P. Bliss, and Fanny Crosby. The words found within this hymnal are not that which can be compared to modern day worship music with its frequently repeated phrases and simple hooks. When looking at the lyricality of gospel hymns, this is taken even further. When the gospel can be told in completeness due to the biblical soundness of a hymn, the author was doing it right. I am grateful to attend the church I do and to be surrounded by hymns and not worship songs. The difference is vast, in my opinion, and one that Leventhal brings up as well.

So why harp on the lyrics so much when we are so aptly able to ignore the words of secular songs in favor of the beat? Because the words are what is sticking with you, whether you realize it or not. When that one song comes on from your school days and you can sing every word, is that not proof enough that lyrics stick? How many times have I asked myself, "If only this were a song, than I would really remember it!"

The thing that started it all for me was a book; an unsurprising fact if you know me well. David Gibson's book Radically Whole hit home heavily with its break down of James's letter and the importance of understanding Jesus's words in Mark 7. Jesus speaks to the Pharisees in this section on how what we ingest is not what defiles us, but that which is in our heart - the evil of sin - which resides within us already and therefore what comes out of us is what defiles us. I struggled with this section for a long time and used it in an incorrect manner; that is to say, I used it as an argument that what I ingest (whether music, books, or movies) didn't truly matter, because I already have sin within me. However, Gibson's take on it spoke volumes. He addresses this fact, that yes sin is inherently in us, and yet we do not have to give it more power over us by feeding it what it desires. We should be striving to push sin away from us and seeking what is good, just, noble, righteous, and holy, (Philippians 4:8.) The undertone of Romans reflects this truth as well. The Pharisees and religious Jews believed that their physical lineage of Abraham's line is what was saving them, they believed solidly and stubbornly in the Mosaic Law and were hindered from the truth of Jesus's fulfilling work because of this. Romans 10:5-10 cements the truth of righteously having faith in God, not holding to the law. "The word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart..." (10:8) The life of a changed person, a new creation in Christ, is not one who uses Jesus's words in Mark 7 to support corrupting their new heart. The life of a new creature in Christ is that of Romans 10, the one who has God's word in their mouth and their heart.

Ezekiel 36:26-27 states, "I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws." God has done an incredible work in us, the least we can do is honor that. What we ingest is what we are promoting to our hearts. God has changed us, this is true. But the Devil never stops fighting with us, constantly endeavoring to tear us away from God. We must fight the good fight, and equip ourselves to fight it well. All this is to say that I implore you to closely consider what you are ingesting and how it is effecting your heart. What is coming out of you? Is it God-honoring? Has your heart of stone been truly transformed? If the answer is yes, then prove it.

My argument is this; it is more beneficial for us to search out music that is in line with our tastes both lyrically and musically. I went on a hunt for Christian music beginning in last December that I actually enjoy listening to. It took awhile. It took a lot of songs that I didn't love in one way or another. But after a while my music taste has changed and my Spotify has begun suggesting more Christian music than non-Christian. My love for punk rock music remains, so does my love for a really good, mournful, ballad. I still listen to secular music on a weekly basis but it isn't in the same amount as I used to. "All things in moderation" is truly a good saying to live by. But I'm not moderating for more secular than Christian anymore, the balance has shifted and it has effected the other areas of my life as well. My taste in movies, books, and media in general has shifted. I can feel my conscience working harder than it has in awhile and I can feel the callouses falling away. My intention is not to be self-righteous about this topic, but to implore you to think deeply about what you are ingesting and how it is effecting your heart. Look around and find what you are calloused against. Has your conscience been seared unknowingly in favor of sin? The Devil is working overtime in our lives, striving to pull us away from God all of the time, so why do we hand him the ammunition he needs to take us down?

Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.

Philippians 4:8