I don’t listen to secular radio. I haven’t listened to secular radio on purpose since I was saved and tossed thousands of dollars of secular CDs in the garbage.
As dark as secular music was back then, mainstream music has taken on a whole new level of demonic influence, as popular radio songs work to get our youth to confess they are demon-inspired, if not demon possessed.
This revelation came as I was driving across the state of Florida with my teenaged daughter recently and decided to take a listen to what type of music today’s youth finds appealing. I heard the typical Miley Cyrus and Katy Perry hits that were hardly wholesome but not especially wicked. But I also heard tunes from “artists” like Eminem, Rihanna and Imagine Dragons that shocked me.
Consider the hook in Eminem’s “The Monster,” which features Rihanna: “I’m friends with the monster that’s under my bed/Get along with the voices inside of my head/You’re trying to save me, stop holding your breath/And you think I’m crazy, yeah, you think I’m crazy.”
Then there’s Imagine Dragons, with its “Demons” hit that talks about the “beast inside” and proclaims, “No matter what we breed/We still are made of greed/This is my kingdom come/This is my kingdom come,” and then goes on to declare, “When you feel my heat/Look into my eyes/It’s where my demons hide/It’s where my demons hide/Don’t get too close/It’s dark inside/It’s where my demons hide/It’s where my demons hide.”
And this is what much of today’s youth are listening to—rock stars confessing and glorifying their struggles with voices in their heads and demons in their souls. Even church kids are listening to this demon-inspired drivel, singing right along with Rihanna and Imagine Dragons, agreeing they have voices in their heads and demons in their souls when they should be agreeing with the voice of God and the Holy Spirit about who He is.
You might say to me, “Jennifer, this is nothing new.” Maybe not. But the beats and lyrics of modern secular music are growing darker. We’ve moved from “Amazing grace, how sweet the sound” to Electric Hellfire Club with songs like “Kiss the Goat.” I know there’s plenty of satanic underground heavy metal music that never makes it onto the radio, but clearly Satan, who once led worship in heaven, or his demons are dropping lyrics in the minds of pop stars who have a mainstream radio platform. The key word is mainstream. This isn’t some dark underground music I’m talking about. These are top hits.
What’s the danger? According to an Illinois State University study, male undergraduates behaved with more hostility toward women and were more likely to view aggressive behavior positively after viewing music videos that featured violent acts. And an Emory University study reveals black girls between 14 and 18 who viewed hardcore rap videos for 14 hours a week or more were 3 times more likely to hit a teacher, 2.5 times more likely to get arrested and 1.5 times more likely to get a sexually transmitted disease, use drugs or drink alcohol.
Of course, there’s no particular study about what happens to teens who confess there are voices inside their heads and demons hiding inside them. But a spiritually minded person can connect the dots, and the final picture is disturbing. The power of death and life are in the tongue (Prov. 18:21). A generation of youth is confessing insanity and demon-possession over their lives.
Again, you’re probably saying, “Jennifer, this is nothing new.” Maybe not. And maybe there’s nothing we can do to stop today’s youth from confessing they have voices inside of their head and demons inside while they are riding in the car with their friends or even sitting in their rooms with an iPod and headphones, blaring the demonic messages in their ears.
But that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t be vigilant. That doesn’t mean we shouldn’t teach our youth the spiritual implications of singing along with their favorite heathen rapper. That doesn’t mean we should allow it in our homes and cars. That doesn’t mean we should bury our heads in the sand while a generation of youth is confessing demon possession and insanity, does it?
Jennifer LeClaire is news editor at Charisma. She is also the author of several books, including The Making of a Prophet. You can email Jennifer at jennifer.leclaire@
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