“If Loving God Was a Crime, I’d Be an Outlaw” is God’s favorite song, says Ross, age 11.

It’s definitely a catchy title, but I can’t say I’ve ever heard it.

Now we come to the controversy. In one corner, we have Andrew, 12, who says: “God has no favorite song. He doesn’t care about music. If you create the greatest song in the world, he don’t care.”

And in the other corner, we have Michael, 12, who says: “God doesn’t like any particular song. He loves them ALL!”

James, 11, knocks out Andrew’s assertion that God doesn’t like music when he says God prefers “David’s songs because God gave him inspiration.”

King David was known as the “sweet psalmist of Israel.” The Psalms are a collection of songs. Many of them contain musical instructions such as those preceding Psalm 6: “To the Chief Musician. With stringed instruments. On an eight-stringed harp. A Psalm of David.” The Book of Psalms is the songbook of the Bible.

Amanda, 11, takes on Michael’s idea that God doesn’t discriminate among songs: “God likes every song that praises him.”

Others agree, but for slightly different reasons. God likes all songs that are “respectful to him,” “lift up his name in a good way” and “glorify him,” say Meredith, 6, Allison, 12, and Matthew, 12.

Martha, 8, chose a song that Amanda and friends have probably sung many times, “Jesus Loves the Little Children.” She likes the lyrics, “Red and yellow, black and white, they are precious in his sight.” Katy, 8, also nominated this song because “it is the truth.”

I looked at a hymnal published by Convention Press to see who wrote this classic, only to discover that its lyricist, C.H. Woolston, later changed the words to “Every color, every race, all are covered by His grace.” Although I prefer the original lyrics, I like the revised version as well because it also proclaims the truth.

Rachel, 10, chose a song that caused me to wonder if the composer wasn’t transported to heaven where he heard an angelic choir singing before God’s throne: “God’s favorite song is the ‘Hallelujah Chorus’ because hallelujah means praise to God.” Marissa, 11, says this famous chorus in Handel’s “Messiah” is God’s first choice “because it’s spiritual.”

On Aug. 22, 1741, George Frederic Handel started composing “Messiah.” For three weeks, he never left his little house on Brook Street in London. I asked my friend Dr. Patrick Kavanaugh, author of “The Spiritual Lives of Great Composers,” about the composition of this inspiring music: “At one point, a servant came into Handel’s room with a tray of food, but was stunned to see the wild expression in his employer’s eyes. The startled composer, tears streaming down his face, turns to his servant and cries out, ‘I did think I did see all Heaven before me, and the great God Himself.’ Handel had just finished writing a movement which would take its place in history as the ‘Hallelujah Chorus.’

“Following the first London performance of ‘Messiah,’ Lord Kennel congratulated Handel on the excellent ‘entertainment.’ Handel replied, ‘My lord, I should be sorry if I only entertain them; I wish to make them better.’” Think about this: God enjoys music that praises him.

Memorize this truth: “Praise the Lord! For it is good to sing praises to our God; For it is pleasant, and praise is beautiful” (Psalm 147:1).

Ask this question: Does the music to which you listen glorify God and inspire you to greater holiness?

— Kids Talk About God is designed for families to study the Bible together. Research shows that parents who study the Bible with their children give their character, faith and spiritual life a powerful boost. To receive Kids Talk About God three times a week in a free email subscription, visit www.KidsTalkAboutGod. org/email. © 2024 Carey Kinsolving