I don’t know about you, but I’m a big fan of playlists. I have several of them in my Apple Music library. They are organized and based on different genre’s, artists, moods I’m in, etc. I like that I can create playlists. It allows me to listen to the songs I want to listen to, as well as not listen to what I don’t necessarily want to.

As a father of 6, I have a rule in my car. When I’m driving any of my children, whoever is in the front passenger seat is the one who gets to choose the music that is played.

It’s a dangerous rule, I know. And whenever one of my daughters is sitting in front, that invariably means I get to listen to some music that may not be my first choice haha. But, it’s my rule…I’m just trying to be a nice dad when they are in the car with me.

But as soon as they are out of the car and it’s just me again, or when one of my son’s are in the car with me (because they have the same taste as I do), I go right back to my playlists. The good stuff! And I get to enjoy what I’m wanting to listen to.

My Playlist

The idea of a playlist is pretty simple, however it’s also quite profound when you think of it in terms of our lives.

There are a lot of different voices in this world. TV, Movies, Social Media, News, Politics, People around us…there are voices all around us. Giving us their thoughts and opinions, telling us what we need to think, how we need to dress, what we should care about, how we should live, what our value is, the way we should spend our money, etc. It is endless. And in today’s world, there is no shortage of opinions or platforms where people try to influence us.

With all of that around us every day, it’s very easy to become confused, feel overwhelmed, and even get anxious. Because we are allowing so many different competing voices into our head.

Your Playlist

Like a music playlist…or you could even compare it to a streaming service where you can add movies and shows into your likes/queue, we need to learn how to focus and narrow down what we listen to. To begin to choose what we will put in our playlist, and what we will keep out of it.

  • We need to put in our playlist what we know is true, and keep out what is false.
  • We need to put in our playlist what is uplifting and encouraging, and keep out what will bring us down.
  • We need to put in our playlist reminders of our true value and worth, and keep out what tells us that we aren’t good enough.
  • We need to put in our playlist messages that point to hope, and keep out messages that don’t.

The truth is, we will never be able to fully silence all the voices around us. Not unless we give up all media and live in a cave alone. We will hear different voices and messages around us. But we can minimize that, and maximize what we need to hear and want to hear. We just have to learn to create our playlist.

Anxiety in a man’s heart weighs him down, but a good word makes him glad. Proverbs 12:25

A joyful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones. Proverbs 17:22

Playlist

How do we do this?

The simple truth is, we will hear what we surround ourselves with. Again, there’s no way to completely avoid all the different voices. And we do have to learn how to hear things and ignore them because we know they aren’t what we need to listen to. But, we can also choose what we surround ourselves with.

  • What kind of friends and people are we regularly choosing to hang out with and surround our self with? Are they people who encourage us, build us up, and even point us to God?
  • What are we regularly watching on TV? Is it giving us a lot of messages that are opposite of what the Bible tells us is right?
  • What are we consistently looking at as we scroll on Social Media? Is it influencing us in a positive way, or a negative way?
  • What are we listening to on the radio? Is there a lot of lies and immoral messages in the lyrics of songs we hear?

Whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. Philippians 4:8

I will say it again. We cannot completely avoid hearing all the differing messages and voices around us. But that’s not a reason to not try to minimize them. To be healthy, both emotionally and spiritually, we need to learn to focus on God and what is good and encouraging and truthful above everything else.

Because the truth is, whether we like it or not, we are influenced by what we hear and listen to. And what we allow to influence us will begin to impact how we think and speak and act.

The good person out of the good treasure of his heart produces good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure produces evil, for out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks. Luke 6:45

As followers of Christ, may we be diligent in seeking to create playlists in our hearts and minds that help us to focus on God and his truth more than any other messages. May we know God’s Word, so that we can recognize what is not truth. May we seek to think about and listen to and surround ourselves with what is good and uplifting and godly. And may we even become voices in others lives that encourage them and point them to God.

Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life. Put away from you crooked speech, and put devious talk far from you. Let your eyes look directly forward, and your gaze be straight before you. Ponder the path of your feet; then all your ways will be sure. Do not swerve to the right or to the left; turn your foot away from evil. Proverbs 4:23-27