Go-to Music

You probably know how much I love music.  I love lots of kinds of music.  I love the old hymns and I also enjoy much of contemporary Christian music.  I enjoy the big band music that my parents love.  I enjoy some of the classic country music that Wanda likes so much.  I even enjoy some of the newer country and some of the current pop music.  I enjoy cowboy music and folk music.  There’s just so much music that I enjoy.

But my go-to music, the music that I love the most, is the music of the ‘70s, the music I grew up with.  I’m not talking about disco--that’s more late ‘70s to early ‘80s.  I’m talking about Fleetwood Mac and Chicago.  I’m talking about ELO and Crosby, Stills and Nash.  I’m talking about Jim Croce and Gordon Lightfoot.  I’m talking about Gerry Rafferty and Al Stewart.  And as you’ve probably guessed by now, I could go on and on and list a whole lot more individuals and groups from that time.

The thing is, though, I’m not sure why I love that music so much.  I mean, I could say, “Because it’s great music”, and of course I think it is.  But that’s not really an explanation.  After all, “great music” is in the ear of the beholder.  What I may think is great music you may think is lousy, and vice versa.  It’s not like there’s some universally recognized standard of what makes great music.  “Great music” is whatever you happen think it is.

I could say it’s because listening to the music I grew up with takes me back to that time.  It makes me think of my high school days and takes me back to a happier time.  The problem with that, though, is that I was not really all that happy in high school.  I was actually pretty lonely most of the time.  I wanted nothing more from high school than to leave it, to be able to go out into a bigger world where, I hoped, I would find some people who would accept me and like me for who I was.  Which I did, and I don’t mean to get off on a tangent whining about my high school days.  The point is, though, that listening to ‘70s music does not take me back to a happier time.  I’m much happier now than I was then.

But perhaps it doesn’t really matter anyway.  Maybe it doesn’t really matter why something makes you happy, as long as it does.  I mean, if something that’s hurtful to you or someone else makes you happy, that’s a problem.  But if something makes you happy and it doesn’t hurt anyone else, then maybe you don’t worry about why.  Maybe the thing to do is just go with it and be happy.

I’m not saying that our own personal happiness should be our only goal in life.  I think God wants us to be happy, but God also wants us to love our neighbor.  God also wants us to go and make disciples.  God also wants us to love God and to serve God in whatever way we can.  The process of doing that will make us happy in a much deeper way than just listening to music ever will.

But music, and art, and sports, and lots of other things, can bring some happiness in our lives, too.  And in proper proportion, there’s nothing wrong with that.  So I’m going to keep listening to my ‘70s music.  And I hope this week, you’ll spend some time doing something that makes you happy, too.