The eyes, the ears, the sense of smell, the taste, and the sense of touch are the gateways to the mind and soul of man. The devil has temptations prepared for all five of these senses and uses most effectively the eyes and the ears. It is our responsibility to guard the things we allow ourselves to see and hear.
What are you looking at? On Saturday, May 19, 1764, John Wesley wrote the following in his journal: “We rode by a great house I had frequently heard of. The front is truly noble. In the house I saw nothing remarkable but what was remarkably bad: such pictures as an honest heathen would be ashamed to receive under his roof, unless he designed his wife and daughters to be common prostitutes. And this is the high fashion!” (See Psalm 101:3.)
The ear is a particular target to bring people into sin. I recommend several good books that describe how Satan uses sound, especially music, to capture a man’s soul: What God Says about Music by Eurydice V. Osterman; The Crisis in Church Music by Dr. Jack Wheaton; or Drums, Rock and Worship: Modern Music in Today’s Church by Karl Tsatalbasidis.
Even apparently good high class music is often objectionable because of certain unfortunate components found in it. And many godly musicians seem oblivious of these things and young people are turned off by the objectionable matter which is part of the high class music.
Interestingly, John Wesley noticed this, too, and he was outspoken enough and direct enough about it to give this subject a paragraph in his journal on Wednesday, February 19, 1764: “I heard Judith an oratorio performed at the Lock. Some parts of it were exceeding fine, but there are two things in all modern pieces of music which I could never reconcile to common sense. One is singing the same words ten times over; the other, singing different words by different persons at one and the same time. And this, in the most solemn addresses to God, whether by way of prayer or of thanksgiving. This can never be defended by all the musicians in Europe till reason is quite out of date.”
“My son, give attention to My words; incline your ear to My sayings. Do not let them depart from your eyes; Keep them in the midst of your heart.” Proverbs 4:20, 21