Confessions of a Blog

What’s a confession? I’m not talking about a Catholic sitting down with his priest and telling him all he’s done wrong. Confession is anything we say with our mouth, right? Well, what God has been telling me lately has me rethinking this. And, honestly, for a long time I’ve known in part what He’s saying; I just didn’t admit it, or maybe I overlooked this aspect of it. The question God asked me is, what’s your blog saying for you?

Many years ago, the Lord started talking to me about the music I had been listening to and the movies I was watching; He showed me how they were affecting my spirit, and He pointed out examples in my behavior. I had just come out of living for the World, and most of my music was comprised of crossover bands: the ones that sound just like worldly music but have a positive spin on it.

One such band was wildly popular at the time, even going on tour with some secular bands. And they were really changing the paradigm of what “Christian” music sounded like. I went straightaway and bought their latest album; the cover art was so cool! Plopping down in my bedroom, I popped in the disc and spun up track one. Man, these guys know how to groove! Plus, they’re talking about God, so this is a double positive.

Around track eight or so, my mom walked in my room and remarked about how messy it was and said that I needed to clean it up. I exploded on her. “Sheesh! I can’t even listen to some new music I just bought?! All you want me to do is work, work, work, work.” Then I cought myself; what was I doing?

I quickly apologized to my mom and said that I didn’t know where that came from. And she replied that she didn’t, either, but I had better find out quick and straighten it out. So I turned my music off and quietly asked God what was going on. You know what He told me? Yeah; it was that music. I was under the impression, as you probably are or have been, that, hey, these guys are Christians, and their music has a Christian-esque message to it … sure, it’s Christian music. But what really defines true Christian music?

Years later I found out something about that band that startled me. They have a song from an earlier album about the lead singer’s mother, and in it you can hear his anger at her. That’s where the problem was. Even on this album, which doesn’t have that song, his rage was coming through the music. And that got on me, and that’s why I acted so crazy when my mom told me to do something very reasonable.

That’s when God started teaching me about three ways music affects us. First of all, music is as efficient at transferring spirits and spiritual things as the laying on of hands—if not more so. This is why it’s so easy for a sinner to come to God at the altar if someone is at the organ or piano playing a hymn of repentance. Music acts like a spiritual highway, making the transfer that much easier and smoother. This was the case with the Christian band I was just talking about; their music created a highway for his junk to get in me.

Secondly, the words of the music (or movie or whatever) are being spoken in your midst. You are actually allowing this band to make confessions around you, and those things will happen. He has just breathed those words to life as you played the CD, and every time you play it. So we see right away that confessions don’t just have to be from our mouth.

And the third way music affects us is those words which the band speaks get in our mind, and we go about our day singing that song in our head. You are, in effect, meditating on those lyrics, whatever they may be. And as for the lie that you don’t listen to the words, you just like the beat? If you’re honest with yourself, as I had to be, you could probably sing every one of them on command.

So what about all this? Well, I’m beginning to see that it doesn’t have to be you saying things out of your mouth for it to be considered confession. Legally, those words still have merit because someone said them. The Bible says we are created in God’s image. That doesn’t mean we look like Him; if it did, which one of us is the true image of God?

No, what it means is we are made like Him. He is a triune being, three parts making one whole. Just as the Godhead is made up of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, we are made up of a spirit, a soul, and a body. Just as God can speak and with His words create life, so we can speak and with our words create our future. A couple of scriptures to prove my point, and then I’ll get back to my story.

Proverbs 6:2 (AMP)
2 You are snared with the words of your lips, you are caught by the speech of your mouth.

Mark 11:23–24 (NIV)
23 “I tell you the truth, if anyone says to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart but believes that what he says will happen, it will be done for him. 24 Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.

The other day I found myself once again reminiscing about my trip to Brazil; that seems to be a more serious problem that I once thought. It’s recurring more frequently, and I’ve even noticed myself preferring to return to Brazil rather than Thailand. I knew the problem was with me, because God has called me to Asia, not South America. So I went to God and asked Him what the trouble was.

He told me (I don’t mean I heard an audible voice; I heard this in my spirit) that the problem was with my blog. I had posted articles confessing that I miss Brazil, and oh how great that trip was, and, boy, would I like to return. Even though I never vocalized those words, they were still released by me. I allowed them to create. I gave them my permission to be creative.

I never realized how dangerous typing can be! Everything you have on your site is speaking for you, creating a future for you. Needless to say, I had some editing to do. I’ve removed the offending phrases, and now those articles just state the point that I was there. No “emotional ties,” no “longing;” none of it.

I even had text in the coding used to display some images which needed to be changed. And this whole time, the entire time this site has been up (since September 2004), I’ve had this problem. But no more. I’m done confessing the wrong thing. I’m done missing Brazil. It was fun, but it was for a season.

And that leads me to a good point. This confession thing doesn’t just work one way. Can we also make good confessions on our blogs (or with our mouths, or in the music we listen to) and the result be those good things being birthed? You betcha. In fact, I’ve already done so in this post: “I’m done missing Brazil. It was fun, but it was for a season.” See?

It’s time to start posting with reason, and not just blurting out the first phrases that come to our minds. It’s time to be responsible with our words, because those words have authority when we release them. It’s time to type deliberately. Since I made those changes to my site, I haven’t once longed for Brazil.

~Jonathan

August 4th, 2007 · Back to Top · Tagged: Articles, Blog, Brazil, Missions, Thailand

Zeal

A story about my life as a missionary in Thailand.

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