Should Christians Listen to Explicit Secular Music

I was listening to a song recently when I remembered that a few months back—during the super bowl halftime show with Shakira and JLo—many people, including conservative Christians, complained that it was too sexual. I also recalled that someone here asked if it was okay to watch erotic videos, and the answers given varied a lot. I imagine there is controversy over explicit music and dance videos as well.

Now there’s the popular rap song by Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion. To be honest, I really liked the song, and I think if it leads you to have sex with your wife/husband or masturbate alone, it could be a good thing. Having said that, even my 12-year-old niece loves that song and dances to it.

I know this topic has been talked about so much, but I wanted to know what MHers think about it. Is it okay for Christians to listen to music and watch music videos with sexual content? And why or why not, biblically speaking?

Click on a heart to thank the author of this story!

Average rating / 5. Vote count:

No votes so far! Be the first to rate this post.

We are sorry that this post was not one of your favorites!

Help us understand why.

4 replies
  1. StillLikeNewlyweds says:

    Excellent question, and like many, not really a simple answer. It is so very important for us to remember Paul’s statement in these kinds of matters: “All things are lawful for me, but not all things are profitable.” (1 Cor. 6.12) And we must also always remember that what may not be right or “profitable” for one person may not be a problem for another. We are not all at the same growth, we are not all tempted by the same things. So with that foundation, I will share my personal thoughts as they pertain to myself and my beloved.
    My wife and I have recently been making more use of selected music for our playtime. And we have found it fun to pick songs with lyrics from suggestive to downright blatant and even a little dirty. I wouldn’t play this music in public, I wouldn’t allow my kids to listen to most of it. But we find it exciting and stimulating, both in the choosing process and the making use of the choices. I realize there is a little bit of an issue with me in that I am supporting the furtherance of more music like this, of which the majority of people listening are being negatively influenced. That being said, I don’t support it by buying the music, we generally make YouTube playlists, and yes I know that they earn advertising money off that, and they monitor number of plays to see what is popular, but that is the least impact I can have and remain legal.
    I will say that using YouTube raises another issue, and that is the music video. Usually when I choose a song for the playlist I’ll choose an audio version, so we don’t get the distraction of the video (which can often be more visual impact than I feel I should be seeing) playing on our screen. And yet sometimes even that has its benefits. (I had a whole bunch more written here and realized this was already way long, so I deleted it) I’ll just say that my wife has learned some awesome moves from some of the videos.
    Bottom line is that I think we each have to listen to the combined conscience of the husband and wife to decide what is best for ourselves, or your own conscience for the singles.

  2. O-man says:

    A little leaven leavens the whole lump.

    Keep your heart with all diligence, for out of it are the issues of life.

    Evil communication corrupts good manners.

    Iron sharpens iron.

    These said, what enters a man does not defile him, but what comes out of a man.

    All things are lawful but not all things are profitable, and we are no longer under the law.

    It is possible to find pleasure in evil, or to find pleasure in what is pure.

    The devil is subtle and will more often sow his seed quietly, little by little.

    Who we give our minds to gets to programme us as it pleases them. It is wise to be diligent with choice.

    Best to reach self to find pleasure to enjoy in less dangerous places.

    There are tasteful erotic and sensual songs healthy for couples and that will not throw them off the righteous path, available to be enjoyed at lower risk.

  3. LovingMan says:

    We have a playlist of romantic songs and some are quite racy. But for us, if we can think of the lyrics as being about our married relationship then we see no problem. Some sexy songs are easily able to be thought of that way. Here are a few examples. Maybe they are tame compared to some songs… “Rock Me Gently”. . . “Go All The Way” . . . “The Language Of Love”. . . “Afternoon Delight. . . . “Voulez-Vous” . . . “For Your Eyes Only” . . . “Tonight, I Celebrate My Love” . . . “Endless Summer Nights” . . . “Making Love Out Of Nothing At All” . . . “Always” . . . “Live For Loving You” . . .
    “Gimmee! Gimmee! Gimmee! A Man After Midnight” . . . & . . . “It’s All Coming Back To Me Now.” These are a just a few of our songs and if they seem tame you haven’t listened to the lyrics. And of course they are all oldies I suppose, but we were born several decades ago. We still sometimes discover new sexy pop songs that we like too. Again, if the song can be thought of as about married sex we have no problem with it. In fact these songs are on our Lovemaking Playlist.

  4. King Arthur says:

    Good Question. I think that since it is not a salvation issue, as long as it doesn't cause someone to stumble, each person/couple's conscience should be their guide; along with prayer/guidance from the Holy Spirit.

Leave a Reply

Want to join the discussion?
Feel free to contribute!

Leave a Reply