A Stone’s Throw

I don’t even know why we need to have this conversation. Although I didn’t say that thought out loud, my eyebrows slanted halfway toward my nose and my arms wrapped tightly around my chest declared exactly what I was thinking.

Why in the world we had to have a discussion about what music we listened to in youth group, my sophomore self couldn’t figure out. I had shunned anything under a secular label and only listened to TobyMac if I felt edgy that day. Hadn’t I already checked off the box for listening to God-honoring music? So, why did I have to endure this talk?

A girl with curly hair hugged her knees. “To be honest, I really struggle with this. A lot of the music I listen to swears left and right, and I have just become numb to it. I’m not even thinking about what the words mean.â€

Another boy in a hoodie seconded a reply. “If I really think about it, the way some singers talk about women in the music I listen to…†He shook his head, ears a slight scarlet. “Let’s just say, my mom’s not in my room when my Spotify’s up.â€

Three others spoke about their struggles with music that glorified everything from drug overdoses to all manner of things that happen behind closed doors.

Oh.

I unraveled my arms and let my shoulders relax. Why was I being judgmental about this when I struggled with my own kind of music? Sure, it may not have come from a Spotify playlist, but I, on a regular basis, listened to plenty of tunes called Jealousy, Pride, Anger Problems, and the occasional Gossip. And to be honest, I didn’t want my mom in my room when I played that playlist.

Why did I want to throw stones, when we all played the same music of sin?

• What are some ways you find yourself throwing stones at others?
• What are some types of “music†you struggle with?

But when they continued asking him [Jesus], he looked up and said to them, “He who is without sin among you, let him throw the first stone at her.†John 8:7 (WEB)

Read Verses:

John 8:1-11