JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (BNC) by Tim Hall — The music industry is highly competitive. To have one’s song appear on the charts is an accomplishment; to have it reach #44 in sales on iTunes is significant. But the song that recently hit that mark is absolutely unique, one-of-a-kind.
The “song” is named “A a a a a Very Good Song”, and is the brainchild of Samir Mezrahi. It’s ten minutes long, which is far longer than most tunes on the market. The thing that makes it truly different, however, is that there is no sound in this song. That’s the way it was designed — to be ten minutes of silence. All for just 99 cents. (Really.)
Why did this happen? Here’s what the Associated Press reported yesterday:
“When people plug smartphones into a car, usually the first song alphabetically plays by default. ‘A a a a a Very Good Song’ offers users several minutes of respite.” One review posted on iTunes called it “a modern masterpiece”.
What does this anomaly say about the people who purchase it? That they’re too lazy to set up different songs on their smartphone’s playlist? That listening to loud music has caused them to lose their hearing? Or that people are searching for peace and quiet?
There’s certainly nothing wrong with seeking peace and quiet. God actually commanded such a thing in the fourth commandment:
“Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God. In it you shall do no work … For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day” (Exodus 20:9-11).
A mandatory day of rest? Who would protest such an idea? God knew that people need downtime, time to rest and to reflect on what is most important in life. It’s a principle that man has never outgrown, though we continue to act as if it isn’t so.
What would happen if we took time to sit out in the backyard at night and gaze up at the starry sky? We might begin to think like David:
“When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, the moon and the stars, which You have ordained, What is man that You are mindful of him, and the son of man that You visit him?” (Psalm 8:3,4).
Let’s be honest, though: Most of us don’t take that time to be reflective. Is that why God later issued this command: “Be still, and know that I am God” (Psalm 46:10)?
In the New Testament this command is given: “So then, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath; for the wrath of man does not produce the righteousness of God” (James 1:19,20).
After further thought, maybe 99 cents isn’t a bad price for ten minutes of silence.
Tim Hall works as an evangelist with the Central congregation in Johnson City, Tenn. He writes a weekly LightGrams devotional, from which this article was taken, with permission.
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