Parents Do Little as Their Children Waste Their Lives (Ecclesiastes 12:1)

The Associated Press has a story about how often young people listen to music:

Ryan Cusick says he spends more time listening to his iPod than he is awake.

That’s because he goes to sleep listening to music.

Within minutes of waking up, Cusick, 18, clutches his iPod, pops in his earphones and plays some fast-paced music to get his day rocking. Something with strong drum beats — maybe Metallica, said the University of Colorado freshman.

He falls asleep listening to slower, alternative rock, and he usually wakes up in the middle of the night to pull the plug on the music. By then, songs are stuck in his head and play in his dreams....

“You walk around campus, and it’s like every third person has the white earplugs in,” Cusick said. “You’ll see a group of friends, and none of them are talking. It’s like they are off in space.”

To get some idea of what they're listening to, visit songlyrics.com, and read some of the lyrics to the latest popular music. These are the messages that are filling young people's hearts, not only in America, but also in many other parts of the world.

Of course, the fact that these songs are "stuck in their head and play in their dreams", as the Associated Press puts it, doesn't mean that this music influences them much. No, it's just entertainment. It's not of much significance. In fact, how much is there in life that does have a lot of significance? Just spend your time, hour after hour, listening to music, playing video games, talking about trivial things on the phone, furthering your career, planning for retirement, etc. Don't have much concern for eternity. Don't have a sense of urgency.

I'd prefer that young people's hearts be filled with something like this:

Lord, in the fullness of my might,
I would for Thee be strong:
While runneth o’er each dear delight,
To Thee should soar my song.

I would not give the world my heart,
And then profess Thy love;
I would not feel my strength depart,
And then Thy service prove.

I would not with swift wingèd zeal
On the world’s errands go,
And labor up the heavenly hill
With weary feet and slow.

O not for Thee my weak desires,
My poorer, baser part!
O not for Thee my fading fires,
The ashes of my heart!

O choose me in my golden time:
In my dear joys have part!
For Thee the glory of my prime,
The fullness of my heart!
(Thomas Gill, "Lord, In the Fulness of My Might")