Transcription
So, David was leading Bible studies, posting scripture, talking about Jesus, and he still ended up doing something unthinkable. Tonight, the singer known as David pleading not guilty for the murder of 14-year-old Celestre Davis Hernandez. So, the question is, how does that even happen?
First, we have to set something straight. You are not immune to what you expose yourself to, even as a Christian. If you care about your relationship with God, you have to care about what's shaping your mind. Because this man was raised Christian. He shared his faith publicly, and even started posting Bible content consistently. But at the same time, his music was telling a very different story.
And I'm not going to go into all of the details here. If you want the full breakdown on what happened with David Anthony Burke, watch What do you Means' video on it. I will link it below. But this video is not about David specifically. It's about a principle that applies to all of us. So, in this video, I'm going to show you how the music you listen to shapes you more than you think, how the Bible already warned us about this, and how to actually guard your heart in a fallen world.
And if you don't know who I am, hi, I'm Josiah, and I have first-hand seen how music shapes you. I used to think I was unaffected by what I listened to, until I cut off secular music and saw it just how much it was forming me, my thoughts, my emotions, and what felt normal to me. So, with that, let's begin.
Here's what most people don't realize. Your brain is constantly being trained by what you repeat. The more you think or say something, the easier it becomes for your brain to go there again. This is called neuroplasticity, and this is why music hits differently from everything else. Because songs aren't just words you hear, they are words you memorize, and eventually words you declare. Music trains your mind, whether you realize it or not, and the Bible has warned us about this all along. It tells us to take every thought captive and to be transformed by the renewing of your mind instead of conforming to the world.
So, when we listen to music, it's not just about choosing what sounds good to us. It's about choosing what you'll be training your mind to return to subconsciously and automatically because it is so easy for music to be stuck in our heads. How awful would it be if an ungodly mindset would be stuck in our head and eventually produce bad fruit. Like, think about it. If all I listen to were lustful songs, what will that produce in me? Lust. And if all that I listen to were vengeful songs, what would that produce in me? Bitterness and a seeking for revenge.
And I'm not just saying this as an example. I'm saying this because I lived this out. But, what if all I listened to instead was glorifying to God? What does that produce in me? A love and an awe for him. When I cut off secular music, this is what I realized. It has so much power to produce fruit in you. Music can be subconscious, but it will eventually show in your actions, how you choose to think about things, and what you choose to dwell on.
But, if that's what's happening in our mind, the next question becomes, what is actually forming your heart? This is where it gets deeper because the Bible doesn't just talk about your thoughts. It talks about your heart because what you repeatedly think eventually becomes your desire. This is what Jesus said. Whoever looks with lust has already committed adultery in his heart. Whoever hates his brother is a murderer. And you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him. Notice that he already went straight to what was happening internally rather than only when the action happens outwardly.
This is why Paul also says, "Take every thought captive." Because if you don't capture it early, it doesn't just stay as a thought. And that's what makes the case of David so disturbing. He wasn't just hearing violent ideas. He was rehearsing them over and over in his own music, his lyrics and his imagination. In one of his songs called Romantic Homicide, he says, "In the back of my mind, I killed you and I didn't even regret it." So, over time, what was once shocking became normal.
So, when Philippians says, "Whatever is true, pure, lovely, think about these things." It's not a suggestion. It's protection. Because what you dwell on doesn't just pass through your mind. It settles into your heart. And if this is something you realize is happening in your own life, the way music influences you and how you want to be more intentional with what you listen to, please subscribe because this is a community where we encourage each other to stay in that commitment for God, to being more intentional with what we choose to allow into our lives, especially through music.
Because this is the part that most Christians don't want to hear. You don't become immune just because you believe. Because David was reading scripture. He was leading Bible studies and talking about God. And yet, he was still being shaped in the opposite direction. And you know what? I used to think the same way that you're probably thinking right now. I'm a Christian. I know what's right and I won't be affected. But when I actually paid proper attention to my thoughts, I realized I was becoming comfortable with things I didn't even agree with. Certain lyrics didn't feel wrong anymore. Convictions were diminished and waved away and it was my normal.
Only when I cut off secular music did I realize that my faith doesn't cancel out my input. These different influences in my life were fighting with each other because they are working at the same time. So, if you're feeding your mind with one thing, but trying to follow God in another aspect of your life, there is going to be tension. And eventually, something will end up shaping you more than the other. Don't forget that there is a war between heaven and hell for your soul, and the devil prowls around like a roaring lion seeking to devour you. Do not even give him a foothold. So, be of sober mind. Be watchful, not complacent. Automate yourself to think about the things of God rather than to defer to the easy thing, which is the things of the world.
And yes, that can mean removing certain songs from your playlist. But speaking from experience, that's not the end of the story. Because if you don't find a replacement, you're going to feel like you were just thrown into the deep without a life raft to cling to and without even knowing how to swim. And that's why I create the videos I do on this channel and the resources like playlists help you find a Christian artist that actually fit your taste. But this takes a lot of time and research to do, which is why I need your help.
Before we continue, I just want to say a quick thank you to everyone supporting this channel on Patreon. If you've been finding these videos helpful, or if you've used some of the song recommendations in your playlist now, please consider supporting this channel. These videos take many hours of research to make, listening to the music, sourcing them, compiling them, and producing the videos as well. I recently hired an editor to streamline the process and get the videos to you guys faster, but that costs money. I'm also newly married and stepping into a new season of life, so being able to support my husband while continuing this work means a lot to me. Your support genuinely makes it possible for me to keep making these videos and continue this mission of helping Christians cut off secular music in a way that's actually sustainable. And if you aren't able to support us in this way, liking, subscribing, and sharing this video already means so much. Now, back to the video.
So, let's make this personal for a second because culture has made this habit feel very normal. Listening to music based on what's trending and how we feel. If If feel sad, we listen to emotional songs. When we're angry, we listen to revenge songs. When we're heartbroken or devastated, we listen to heartbreak songs. And that's not necessarily always wrong, but what we don't realize is this. We're not just expressing emotions, we're reinforcing them. If you keep replaying songs about revenge and unforgiveness, you're practicing thinking that way. If it's about lust, we practicing people that way. If it's about pride, self-focus, or validation, you practice building your identity around that. And after a while, it doesn't feel wrong anymore. It just feels normal because it's practiced.
So, here's what you need to start practically asking yourself. What am I repeatedly listening to? What emotions or sin am I rehearsing because of it? And what thing now feels normal to me that isn't in God's eyes? Because once you see this clearly, you can't just go back to listening to music the same way.
So, when you put all of this together, that your thoughts are being shaped, your heart is being formed, and that what you repeat becomes normal, even if you're a Christian, you realize that music takes on a more active role than you think. You are what you eat, in this case consume, as they say. And the scary part is that because music is so engraved into our everyday, we really need to be more aware of what it does to us. We need to ask ourselves, what is this training me to think, feel, and even become?
And for me, this is exactly why I replaced music with worship music a year and a half ago, so that I could protect myself from being shaped by the world instead of being shaped by God. And yes, that sounds drastic if you picture that the only kind of worship music I listen to is maybe Hillsong or only hymns. But you see, I actually replaced it with worship that sounds sonically identical to the music I already loved. So, I didn't feel like I lost my favorite music, like Taylor Swift or Sabrina Carpenter, but rather traded them for other artists with the same production and same vocals, but with lyrics that were truly feeding my soul.
And you're probably wondering, how on earth did you do that? Well, good news, you don't have to work as hard for it as I did by researching them one by one because I actually have them all compiled for you in one place. I created for you something I like to call the Christian music vault, a growing database of Christian artists you will love filtered by the artist you're trying to replace or the genres you enjoy, and playlists and YouTube videos to help you make the switch. I also have a free Patreon group chat where you can ask questions and ask for recommendations there. So, if you want help in making that transition of cutting off secular music sustainably, you can find those free resources in the description below.
So, at the start of this video, maybe you thought music was harmless, but now you see it goes much deeper than that because with music, you're not just listening, you're being shaped by it internally, often more than you know. But now you know exactly how to recognize what your music is actually doing to you. So, instead of just being blissfully unaware, you can start choosing what shapes your mind intentionally.
And again, if you want the full story on David, please watch What Do You Meme's video. He explains it way more thoroughly than I can. Now, if you'd like daily reminders to set your minds on things above and not on earthly things because sometimes it's hard to remember that, I also design Christian art which you can find on my Etsy shop. Now, until then, stay rooted in Christ and God bless.