My uncle and I were talking this past Christmas about the differences between Christian and secular music, and how little artistry there seems to be on both sides of the industry these days. In Christian music in particular, the trend for the most part is away from honesty and poetry rather than toward it. A few exceptions on either side of the fence still hold on to musical integrity... Cold Play, Dave Matthews Band, Caedmon's Call and Casting Crowns to name a few. But he and I both discovered that, without intending to, we had stopped listening to Christian music. In fact, very nearly had stopped listening to the radio at all. I got so tired of hearing the "positive, upbeat and encouraging" garbage that I went into a sort of musical hiatus... a sad thing for someone who earned their degree in it. 

  The more I study Scripture, the more I am impressed by the poetry and artistry inherent in the Word of God. The Old Testament poems in Psalms and many of the prophetic books in particular are rife with raw emotion, embracing the full range of human experience, from the heights of pleasure to the hell of despair.  David writes about being forsaken by God, surrounded by enemies, and bereft of all hope. Isaiah calls out the nation of Israel for being prostitutes to other gods, in no uncertain terms. As Christians, we have a biblical need to embrace the varying emotions of our nature, and use them to express ourselves to God.  Some of the most moving hymns of our faith speak of immense loss, a recognition of sin so profound that, if not for grace, would produce unconquerable despair. The more we ignore these states in our own lives, the further we will push the outside world away. Our music, and our lives, need to reflect both the brokenness of acknowledged sin, the joy of accepted grace, and every step in between. We simply cannot pretend that our lives are exempt from difficulty. We may deceive ourselves, but not those who observe us. And we ignore their need for a faith that answers the depth of human experience.  

  A God who created a universe as vast, complex, and diverse as our own, with all the beauty, mystery, and heartache visible to us, deserves so much more than weak words and hackneyed chord progressions. Are our songs written to reflect the true state of our lives with Christ, in all the gore and glory that entails, or do we write music to please an audience, or bring a paycheck? Christian artists have to be willing to express themselves with the kind of realism that the world and our Church needs, but perhaps more importantly, Christian congregations need to be willing to see the results and acknowledge them as an appropriate response to the myriad promptings of the Spirit of God.