This fall I have been working on an assignment that has allowed me to trade in my keyboard and the written word for a few hours and replace them with a microphone and my voice. Two colleagues and I have been producing a “young adult-themed” podcast for the Adventist Review, which we hope will be available soon at www.old1.adventistreview.org.
One of the tasks involved selecting bumper music, which refers to short music clips used to buffer changes between programming elements. Listening to clips (an enjoyable endeavor for a music lover), I very quickly had definite favorites. Some sounded like harsh crashing, some were slow and sleepy, and some were uplifting, melodic, and inspiring. It amazed me how every tune I heard lived up to its description: romantic, jangly, motivational, dark, soaring, calm, driving, quirky, introspective, rousing . . . a mere seven seconds conveyed emotions and message clearly.
Music being such a powerful medium, it’s no surprise that references to it are generously sprinkled throughout the Bible. In fact, music can be so potent that Ellen White warns: “A bedlam of noise shocks the senses and perverts that which if conducted aright might be a blessing” (Last Day Events, p. 159).
White also writes: “Music should have beauty, pathos, and power. Let the voices be lifted in songs of praise and devotion” (Evangelism, p. 505).
I wonder, as I’m bombarded with a myriad of musical styles (in stores, gas stations, friends’ homes, church, television shows, advertisements, and on the radio), what choices can I make? When it’s my call, am I listening to musical mayhem that diverts my thoughts away from God, or am I receiving a “precious gift of God, designed to uplift the thoughts to high and noble themes, to inspire and elevate the soul” (Education, p. 167)?
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Kimberly Luste Maran is assistant editor of the Adventist Review.
