It’s Not About Miley.

“Did you see what Miley Cyrus did on the VMA’s?” I was asked this by a coworker; it seemed it was all anyone was talking about at work that day.

I normally do not comment on the popular entertainment of the world but I thought I would weigh in on this one. I did not watch the VMA’s, but from the one image I saw on the news, it does appear that, in the words of my coworker, “Miley Cyrus effectively flushed any  good girl image down the toilet.”  

What really caught my attention from the news clip I saw was not how Miley Cyrus was behaving like most of the other people in secular music but when the anchor alluded to the song propagating a rape culture… and the fact that this song by Robin Thicke, entitled “Blurred Lines,” is #1 on the top 40.

Now, I used to listen to popular music when I was a teenager. My mom would read the lyrics of every CD I brought home and either give it back to me or confiscate it based on the lyrics…I hated it at the time, but now I am glad she did.  I also know that  many teens in the church listen to popular music. Most of the songs nowadays are purchased digitally and uploaded directly to Ipods, Iphones or other MP3 players. Parents do not get the chance to read liner jackets anymore and rarely hear the lyrics as the songs are played with ear buds in. So I decided to look up the lyrics of this #1 hit song, which ms. Miley Cyrus was… uh…”dancing”…too.

I won’t post the lyrics on this blog because they are offensive, but I will say this: If your kids listen to popular music, do you know what your kids are listening too?  Do you realize the utter garbage that this song is? No I am not picking on Robin Thicke – I am sure I despise most of the top 40 equally – this just happens to be the song I looked up.

As a child of God, we must not be filling our heads with this trash about date rape, lust, sex, objectifying women and so on.  Phillippians 4:8 says,

“Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.”

Ultimately, it’s not about how Miley behaved on stage.  It is not really even about the song. These things are just symptoms of a deeper issue. Everywhere we look we see these symptoms, from TV sitcoms like “Big Bang Theory” and “Two and Half Men,” to the extremes of the pornography industry. We live in a culture of Godlessness.  A culture that seeks to fill the void with entertainment.  The preacher Leonard Ravenhill once stated, “Entertainment is the Devil’s substitute for joy.”  For us as Christians we should be careful about the content of what we fill our minds with. Are our teenagers, are we, filling our ears and our minds and our eyes with the entertainment of the world? We should take a moment to consider what things we are thinking on.

It’s not about Miley.

It’s about God.

I will sing of steadfast love and justice;

    to you, O Lord, I will make music.
I will ponder the way that is blameless.
    Oh when will you come to me?
I will walk with integrity of heart
    within my house;
I will not set before my eyes
    anything that is worthless.
I hate the work of those who fall away;
    it shall not cling to me.
A perverse heart shall be far from me;
    I will know nothing of evil. ~Psalm 101:1-4

Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice.  Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand;  do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.  And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.  What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me—practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.