Music for fun vs. music for religion

In my youth I exhibited an acumen for music and was told by my parents that I was to do it all “to the glory of God” (1 Cor. 10:31). Though I studied classical music I was sort of sending energy to the Most High while I played it. My favorite composer was Bach, who was actually a church musician, and most of his works were actually meant to be performed as part of a Lutheran worship service.

The music I played in my 20s and 30s was even more explicitly “to the glory of God.” In college I started playing in worship bands. Recorded a multi-platinum record with one of them. Later on I helped plant a “Reformed” church and delved into the rich history of hymnody, finding a gravitas that was missing from modern worship music. I arranged the SATB voices for fingerstyle guitar because we didn’t have a choir and the congregation didn’t know how to read the harmonies.

Then I became an atheist.

Then a wildfire burned down my town, along with all of my instruments.

It took almost four years before I was able to replace the 1925 German violin I had lost, thanks to the settlement we received from the utility company that started the fire. The replacement instrument isn’t 100 years old, and it isn’t German, but it’ll do for the time being.

Now I play with several “old-timers” in a session every Friday night, at a bar. We play traditional Irish music. Not Bach. But it has that rich history and tradition like the hymns. Public domain stuff. But it’s decidedly secular (as evidenced by the flowing pints). I’m playing for the fun of it. When I close my eyes and get in the zone, there aren’t any spiritual vibes I’m exuding. The passion is a passion for music in and of itself, rather than for a higher power.