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“…You must be holy because I, the Lord your God, am holy.”  Leviticus 19:2b (NLT)

I love Spotify! I love the convenience, the variety and the fact that we can share lists. It is such a great tool for so many reasons. Music truly can change your mood on a dime. Who does not feel like you can climb a mountain when listening to the Rocky theme song or like you can really dance when The Cupid Shuffle begins?!

The other day, I was looking through my lists and they were like a snapshot of my life. They show my moods, the season I was going through, or a collection of what someone else thought  might encourage me. It was like walking down memory lane to think about what each of these meant to me at a particular time and how they changed me.

I realized that each of these playlists had affected me and the way I thought. It made me stop and think-what is on my playlist now? Not just in my music, but the playlist of my life.

What about you? What is on your playlist? Maybe you have a Spotify list or maybe not, but what are we allowing to shape and influence us? When we look back at this season in a year, will we be better for it or worse for it? Not the circumstances we are living in, but the person we are becoming.

These are some hard and heavy questions. I have been sitting in them for a bit now, and I really do not care for it. The battle to live carefree and maybe a little reckless is always at odds with the understanding that this life and how we live it matters. It matters a lot. It not only matters to us, but to those we have the opportunity to influence. I am not talking about not having fun. Jesus drew the crowds to Himself. I imagine He had the best sense of humor, and He was so welcoming. I am referring to the things we allow to change us or reshape us.

As we pause and think about what is on our playlists in life,  it is important to pay attention to our emotions as well as our thoughts. Are we allowing the things we focus on to bring us closer to Jesus and His purposes for us or are they moving our focus off course, away from Him?

The great thing about Spotify is that you press one little button and it can delete any song from your list. We all know life changes take a bit more effort than that. It is a place to start, though. Sometimes we need to reevaluate choices we have made, people we have allowed into our lives, commitments we have chosen, and habits we have allowed to form us.  We do this by praying to God for wisdom and asking Him to show us clearly where we may be struggling in our walk with Him. If we want our playlists to honor Him, we may need to add, delete, or rearrange.

Let’s not ruin the vibe of His amazing playlist for us by allowing anything below His standards to influence us.

“Father, help us to take a step toward You today and be mindful of what is on our playlist. Give us the courage to take off anything that is not bringing us closer to You.”

For His Glory

Terrie Tollerson (Follow me @TerrieTollerson on Instagram)
TRBC Women’s Life