Andy Rooney is one of my heroes. He used to close the show “60 minutes” with a story that I always learned from. He was a correspondent during WWII… In short, he lived a full life, and gained a lot of wisdom in the process. He almost always started his “60 Minutes” segment with the question, “Do you ever wonder why”? So, in homage to him, I will ask you, “You ever wonder why you hear a song and it has a totally different meaning to you later in life?” The same goes for Bible verses. “You ever wonder why you learn something new from a Bible verse you have read hundreds of times?” The reason? Songs, especially those tied to poetry, and the Bible, are living entities. As our knowledge increases – and turns into wisdom – they literally change with us. John Moreland has a song “Blacklist” with a line, “We read all the right books. We sang songs we misunderstood.” and, “You know the older I get, you know truth it gets harder to find.” That is powerful.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FETNBYsfdsQ
A tweet of mine from 2016 reads, “My life is full of magic when great music plays.”
Consider the magic and power of music in the following examples…
https://bigthink.com/robby-berman/does-regular-concert-going-increase-your-lifespan
https://www.health.harvard.edu/mind-and-mood/how-music-can-help-you-heal
https://greatergood.berkeley.edu/article/item/how_music_helps_us_be_more_creative
I know that is a lot to work through, read, ponder, and somehow try to fully grasp. There are many, many more examples I could have posted. But, what I hope you will do is stop, thank God for the gift of music, and never quit learning from it. Right now, in a country so fractured, broken, and lost, we could really use music to help heal, create unity, and help put us back on the right road… I am gonna end with a Rascal Flatts song that means a lot to me. They didn’t write it; Marcus Hummon, Jeff Hannah, and Bobby Boyd did. When I ponder on great songwriting, I can’t help but think of King David in the Bible. I also ponder on what God thinks of what we have done with the gift of music he gave us. I think this song ties it all together beautifully.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8-vZlrBYLSU