Secular music today is much worse than it was when most of us were growing up. So much of a young person's identity comes from the kind of music they listen to. It reflects the kind of friends a young person hangs out with, mostly those who listen to that same style of music.

Young people are drawn into a whole subculture according to the kind of music they listen to.

Some listen to it only occasionally. Others are obsessed, constantly having their headphones on, walking around in "another world," and watching MTV. Their philosophy of life and method of interaction with other people is dictated by the music they are listening to.

Musicians have been called "modern-day philosophers." If they sing songs about rebellion or that nothing but having fun and getting high really matters, then that becomes the philosophy of the day. Musicians have the power to shape society and the thought patterns of young people.

What do you do if your young person has been sucked into this?

Don't come right out and say, "We are never having that music again in our house!" Your young person may not listen to it in the house, but they may still be listening to it outside the home.

Remember, your teens are young adults—they are not children anymore. The wise thing is to create a dialogue with them that will make them want to put their foot down and not just stop listening to it because you say so.

However, there is some music that is so vile and so incredibly satanic, such as Marilyn Manson, that you have to put your foot down, whether they understand your reason for doing so or not.

Find out more about the musical groups they are interested in. Do some research and find interviews with these groups so you can know more about what they stand for and represent. You can start with Rolling Stone or Spin magazines.

Show them to your teenager. Study the lyrics together. Read the interviews together. "Let's look at these and see what these bands are really like. What have they done with their lives? What kind of lifestyles do they lead? Are these people who you really want influencing your life?"

In doing so you will be teaching them how to make a wise decision for themselves, rather than just saying, "Do not listen to it because I say so." At the very least, show your teen you are informed and interested, that your recommendation not to listen is for legitimate, logical reasons, not that you simply don't like it.

Show them you care enough about what they are doing to be involved with them. Psalm 101:3 says, I will set before my eyes no vile thing. That is, "I do not want to be near anything that could possibly take me away from God or put garbage into my life, because I know it could wreck me."

So many young people say, "I don't listen to the words, I just listen to the music. It won't influence me because I don't listen to the words. I am a coherent human being. I know not to go out and do the things they are talking about. They are just a popular group."

On the contrary, the lyrics do influence their minds and the way they think, whether they believe it or not.

The spiritual implications of listening to secular music are incredible. The majority of secular musicians do not have high standards or ethics in their lives. Most of them drink and are involved in drug abuse.

Often these bands, trying to be creative, write their music after getting drunk or high on drugs. Because they have given the control of their mind over to a drug, they have opened themselves to demonic influence. They have opened themselves to evil spirits, spirits of depression, spirits of oppression, and every kind of confusion imaginable.

The group comes up with lyrics, sings the song, and puts it on a CD. Now your good, church-going young person, who loves the Lord but likes listening to secular music, hears it.

They never had any desire to do drugs, drink, or be involved with the devil, but because they are pumping this music into their brain, they are hearing someone who has been influenced by the demonic world.

The music may be blatantly rebellious as they "sing about the devil," or it may have more subtle lyrics—but it feeds your teen total depression.

The spirit of the musician is infused into the spirit and the heart of the young person listening to that musician. Young people can get the same demonic oppression without being on drugs or alcohol, because they are getting it directly from the person who created and produced these songs—inspired by the enemy of our souls.

Source: Rescue Manual For Parents by Ron Luce.
Excerpt permission granted by Albury Publishing