This past week felt heavy for those involved in the arts and the mission of Kingdom building.
To the angel of the church in Pergamum write:
These are the words of him who has the sharp, double-edged sword. I know where you live—where Satan has his throne. - Revelation 2:12
I learned this week where Satan has his throne. It’s at the Grammys.
Music has been bad for a long time. Long enough that I wasn’t even particularly surprised or shocked by Sam Smith’s satanic, black mass styled, performance at the Grammys. Long enough that I was more ashamed of the desensitization of culture than the performance itself. After all, you can’t be surprised when the devil is the devil, but our apathy…well, that’s shameful.
When I saw the clips my spirit ached. Hope sank to my toes, and a quick, apocalyptic image flitted through my mind: I saw my children, in a moment of desolation, surrounded by pillars of salt.
Since I was young, my mother has said, “Music is a spiritual discipline.” She was, of course, explaining why we are commanded to “sing!” And “play!” in the scriptures.
She would say, “Our praise creates a throne for God in our culture.”
This week, the whole world witnessed how that works both ways: We create a throne for God, or for Satan.
God has no throne at the Grammys.
Why? Well, I’d have to write a book and not an email.
Long before Sam Smith decided to dress up like the devil and perform a song called Unholy, he was a child and he had a gift. I don’t know his story, but I know that the people of God didn’t win in guiding his soul or his singing: The devil did.
Be sober and vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion is walking about, seeking whom he may devour. 1 Peter 5:8
Sobering words indeed. Because the devil does devour, and not everything turns out alright in the end. It's not a game. It's not just the Grammys, or just a song on the radio, or just teenagers being crazy.
I know people will say "there's still time!" and sometimes that is true, but it misses the point. Do you think the next Sam Smith will be led to heaven by the public school choir or the glee club?
How can we build a throne of praise for Jesus if all the tools are in Satan's tool box?
In the next month we will be in the studio working on a new project with music that we plan to premiere in concert at the Kennedy Center in the AMB’s 20th Anniversary Concert this October. Our goal is to build a throne of praise for Him. A throne worthy of the Originator of beauty. It is a heavy task.
May God help us fight back the darkness.