• I Corinthians 5:6 “Your glorying is not good. Know ye not that a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump?” 
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Syncopation is the displacement of beats or accents in music or rhythm where strong beats become weak and vice versa.  As we have seen concerning God’s structure of music, God’s order places an emphasis on the 1st beat (and 3rd beat of a 4/4 measure). Satan’s disorder turns God’s music upside-down and does the opposite. The world’s music, which CCM and entertainment Southern Gospel incorporates, makes the 1st (and 3rd beat of a 4/4 measure) weak and emphasizes the 2nd (and the 4th in 4/4). As we have seen in “Music’s Effect”, this latter method is opposite the way God made our own bodies’ natural rhythm and the rhythm of the entire universe. (See note at end of article for more.)

Throughout musical history, syncopation has been used minimally as a temporary disturbance, displacement or interruption of the regular flow of rhythm. Syncopation would be used with specific purpose. In one instance, brief syncopation might give a jolt or shock. In another instance, it might be used to stress an important phrase of music or lyrics.  Syncopation should be brief and used minimally.  Classical Christian artists, Bach, Haydn, Mozart, and Beethoven, correctly used syncopation to add variety and to emphasize an instrument, section, or message in their music.  One example is the “Hornpipe”  from Handel’s “Water Music” which has similarities to “Every Valley Shall Be Exalted”  in Handel’s more famous “Messiah”.

Note: Some might point to a song such as “How Great Thou Art” and rightly state that it begins on a non-stressed beat.  In this case, the words are arranged so that the strong beat of 1 falls at the strong lyric of “God.”  That requires the lead-up words to be placed on the lead-up beats.  The proper order of lyrics and rhythm match and complement each other.

In modern Christianity, many view syncopation similar to salt or sugar in food: to them, it makes everything taste better so they use it on everything liberally. So, instead of a temporary disruption of the natural rhythm (accent on 1st beat), these musicians use syncopation without reserve and unfettered.  Yet, if we follow the conclusion of such a philosophy, these compromised believers are in reality teaching that the Bible, the gospel, Jesus, etc… are impalatable and unsatisfactory.  And as far as the flesh is concerned, this is true…, and it will always be true of the flesh.  The flesh will never accept God, His ways, and His truth.

• Ro 8:7 “Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.”
• I Cor. 2:14 “But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.”
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However, this whole view assumes #1 – that full-blown use of syncopation is good when it isn’t (our text; Gal. 5:9; See also “Music’s Effect”) and #2 – that the message of Christ, the gospel, and truth are to be palatable to the flesh when it never can be.  Only God’s Holy Spirit can understand and “searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God.” (I Cor. 2:10)  This is why “God hath revealed” His eternal truths “unto us by his Spirit” (vs. 10) because “the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God.” (I Cor. 2:11)  Backslidden churches are using this world’s music to reach the lost even though “we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God.” (I Cor. 2:12) True believers do not use the methods of the lost, the message of man (“Which things also we speak, not in the words which man’s wisdom teacheth…” vs. 13), nor the world’s music. Unvetted syncopation speaks to and empowers an unruly flesh.  Yet Christ exhorts His people to teach that “which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual.” (vs. 13)

Today, nearly every song you sing and/or hear is leavened with unfettered syncopation. Today, nearly every new “Christian” song written, produced, and/or sung is leavened with full-blown syncopation. Modern “Christian” music is like America’s modern food industry where every food produced has unhealthy amounts of salt and sugar. This “leaven” has been a major factor in the poor health of modern society. The same has happened to our modern “Christian” music where dangerous levels of syncopation have resulted in spiritual decline, carnality (I Cor. 3:3), permanent infant believers (I Cor. 3:1),  and spiritual death (Rom. 6:23).

Like our text declares, “your glorying” in the use of syncopation “is not good”. What started as “a little leaven” of syncopation has “leavened the whole lump” of our music, our churches, our families, and our lives. As we have pointed out previously, melody appeals to your soul. Rhythm excites your flesh. Distorted syncopated rhythm, therefore, bombards your flesh. This leavening of your flesh “is not good” (Rom 8:5 “For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh…”). Instead of viewing syncopation as salt or sugar, believers need to view it as “arsenic”. Sure, trace amounts of arsenic are found in our food and water, but that doesn’t mean it “is good” to “glory” in our consumption of it! And sure, trace amounts of syncopation can be found scattered throughout good “Christian” music throughout history, but that doesn’t mean it is good to glory in our modern full-blown infatuation and consumption of it! “Just a little bit” of arsenic will kill you, and “just a little bit” of your flesh unfettered by unvetted syncopation will kill you (Rom. 8:6 “For to be carnally minded is death…”)! 

Christians need to get far away from the leaven of syncopation. Most believers are playing with a fire that is burning us! We need to get back to God’s pure, unadulterated method of music and rhythm that has existed since the beginning of time.

Note: In the 1st paragraph, I mentioned natural rhythm for our bodies and all of creation. God’s Word reveals how all of God’s creation is created musical. The stars in Job 38:7 indicate celestial bodies while Ps. 66:4 adds that “all the earth” sings to the Lord.  This includes trees singing in I Chron. 16:33 and “every creature” as revealed in Rev. 5:9 and 13.  As presented by Creation Moments on February 5, 2025, “One California geneticist was studying the structure of DNA, it struck him that the pattern of bases out of which DNA is built followed a pattern similar to a melody. So he assigned notes to each of the four bases: cytosine for do, adenine for re and me, guanine for fa and sol, thymine for la and te, and cytosine again for do. Upon playing different gene structures according to this orchestration the geneticist found that rather than endless repetition and wandering melodies, each gene has its own musical style and interesting melody. One collagen gene sounds like Bach. Genes which code for cell adhesion molecules sound like Debussy. And a mouse gene for RNA sounds very much like Chopin.” The more we learn about God’s creation, the more we learn how musical it is.  And how fascinating the constant connection in God’s creation to classical music and to traditional hymns! It is imperative for a healthy Christian life that God’s people avoid Satan’s destructive music which disguises itself as “Christian”.

(This article is from the “Music” series.)