Music is one of the most spiritually formative influences in our lives. What we listen to shapes our thoughts, emotions, and ultimately our worldview. This guide rates popular music artists through the Godly Score.
Why Music Discernment Matters More Than Most Christians Think
Music is unique among art forms in its ability to bypass rational defenses and plant ideas, emotions, and values directly into the soul.
Colossians 3:16 instructs believers to "let the word of Christ dwell in you richly... singing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God." This verse implies that what we sing shapes what we believe and feel — music is formative, not merely entertaining.
The average American listens to over four hours of music per day. That is four hours of ongoing spiritual formation — either toward godliness or away from it. Most Christians give far less thought to their music diet than to their food diet, despite music's arguably greater power to shape the heart.
A Framework for Evaluating Music Biblically
The Godly Score evaluates music artists across four primary dimensions: lyrical content (profanity, sexual themes, drug glorification, spiritual darkness), visual and performance content (music videos, live show imagery, promotional materials), the artist's public persona and stated worldview, and the presence of redemptive or virtuous themes.
A common mistake is evaluating only lyrics while ignoring visuals. Several artists score well on lyrical content alone but have music videos or live performance imagery that is deeply spiritually problematic. Lady Gaga, Lil Nas X, and Sam Smith have all produced performance art that is explicitly Satanic in imagery, regardless of what any individual lyric says. Matthew 7:16 — "by their fruits you shall know them" — applies to the full body of an artist's work, not just their most defensible singles.
Practical Guidance for Christian Listeners
For music with no explicit spiritual content either way — much mainstream pop and country falls here — the primary questions are: Does it glorify sin? Does it promote a worldview hostile to Christian values? Does repeated listening move my heart toward or away from Christ? A Taylor Swift love song is different from a Cardi B track glorifying sexual immorality, even though both are technically "secular music."
1 Thessalonians 5:21-22 says "test everything; hold fast what is good; abstain from every form of evil." The Christian music discernment calling is not to retreat from all secular music but to test it honestly and make informed choices.
Building a Healthier Music Diet
Start by auditing your current playlist through the Godly Score lens. Identify what you're regularly feeding your soul. Replace the most spiritually harmful content first. Intentionally incorporate more explicitly Christian music — the worship and hip-hop genres have never been richer than they are today. Artists like Lecrae, NF, Andy Mineo, Maverick City Music, and Hillsong offer content that is both genuinely excellent musically and spiritually nourishing.