Bite Your Tongue and Clean Your House

"Are you the one that's come to set me free?

'Cause if you knew who I am, would you really want to die for me?

They say you are the cursed man, the one who hangs from this tree

I know this is the one and only son of God but tell me, who the fuck is he?

So tell me!"

These lyrics had you.  You were invested.  You knew the singer was talking to someone about Christ hanging on the cross.  But then you read that one word.  That single word will forever trip you up.  And any band using that kind of word certainly isn't a band you need to listen to.  Any, "good christian," won't listen to music with that word in it.

"I throw caution to the wind and suck your sweet poison,

Your body's everything, your body's everything.

As I trip on my desire I dive into your fire,

Your body's everything, your body's everything."

Then there's this song.  It seems like a pretty suggestive song.  I mean, what kind of band would sing such a sexually charged song?  No way any, "good christian," should listen to this song!  Obviously this singer is having an affair.

"What have I become, now that I've betrayed
Everyone I've ever loved, I pushed them all away
And I have been a slave to the Judas in my mind
Is there something left for me to save
In the wreckage of my life, my life..."

There it is!!!  A biblical reference without cursing or suggestive lyrics.  This band has it down, biblical reference, clean lyrics and admitting they have failed, questioning if they can be saved.  Finally, I gave you lyrics that any, "good christian," band should have.

So tell me, which of those three bands would you listen to?  You and your desire for perfection in lyrics and messages in the lyrics, what band of the three above would you support and listen to?  Choose wisely, you never know what you are claiming to support if you don't consider everything.  Also, no cheating by typing in lyrics for Google to help you.

Decide yet?  Here, let me give you a couple clues.  Two of the songs were on albums banned by christian bookstores because of the perceived offenses of the songs.  One of the songs never made it to a christian bookstore because the band isn't a christian band.  Two of the bands have toured the world and played some of the largest venues and arenas in Russia, Germany, Mexico and the US.  The other band plays bars, houses, churches or anywhere they can get work.  Now, which of these songs is the best song to determine which band is the, "good christian band?"

Exactly!!!  You can't tell just off the lyrics.  The first song is from P.O.D. and is called, "I Am."  Yes, the very P.O.D. whose lead singer helped found the Whosoever movement.  The very band that isn't afraid to share their faith with people.  The second song is "Everything" from The Classic Crime.  They are a band with a collection of believers and non believers.  They just play music.  But, their lead singer writes from his christian world view.  The song was written as a love song to his wife.  Two great songs, both songs that christian retailers were afraid to put on shelves because they felt the songs would offend people. 

That last song is from Fozzy and is appropriately named "Judas."  Never heard of Fozzy?  Yeah, not a christian band.  Their lead singer is the popular wrestler, Chris Jericho. 

What's my point here?  I don't know.  Actually, I'm not certain I can fully explain my point.  At least not without offending the masses.  Sure, I know the bible talks about the tongue and how it can spark a flame, cause a wild fire or is a restless evil filled with poison (James 3:1-12).  Also, I know that Psalm has many verses about the tongue and the mouth uttering wisdom (Psalm 37:29-31) or David's plea to keep his tongue from sin (Psalm 39:1-3).  BUT!!!  I just can't find where the Bible says, "Don't swear."  I'm also a firm believer that ones language is up to the person.  If you don't have a problem with language, speak as you desire.  It's between you and God.  And, I'm also a believer that if my language causes someone to struggle, then I probably shouldn't talk a certain way around them when it is offending them.  Finally, if you get offended at someone who speaks a way you don't condone, then maybe you should avoid the things they do, lessons they provide, etc.  Just remember, you can't hold everyone up (or anyone up) to your standards when they may not believe like you do.

Basically, what I'm saying is, if you demand your, "christian music," to be clean, free of foul language, not sexually suggestive or other, and only provides uplifting lyrics, then you might be sorely disappointed to learn that Steven Curtis Chapman wrote a full album of love songs to his wife; you might be disappointed when you realize Skillet talks about suicide frequently; your perception that TFK keeps things simple is wrong considering they wrote a song about divorce.  See, when parts of the Bible are graphic enough to receive "R" or "NC-17" ratings in a movie theater, then you should expect bands and christians to get the same ratings when they sing or talk. 

If you want to reach the lost, you gotta go to where the lost is you need to go where the lost is.  You need to talk their language and sometimes, that means getting dirty.  And when christians struggle and are willing to admit it, then let's get dirty with them; let's struggle with them.  Condemning only hurts.  Let's heal.  Let's restore.  Let's love.

Be still and Know

The last couple of days I have reflected on many a things that life brought my way over the last three years.  Life, friendships, heartache, cancer, divorce, new beginnings, vacation and the list goes on.  It also brought me writing.  Not something one contemplates over, but something that I learned to do as a therapy for the times I needed comfort during treatment.  Yes, writing indeed brought new insight to the trials of cancer, the treatment and the path it took me.  Tonight, I return to write once again for some therapy.  And, if any of you read my Caring Bridge blog when it was active, you might recognize the concept.

As with any normal family, my life tends to go at break neck speeds.  One kid needs to get to this place, the other across town.  I'm at work and have to get the first one when done while my wife picks up the other one.  I have tomorrow off, but gotta do something with both kids after school, and if I'm lucky, I'll get to pick up lunch and take it to my wife.  Then, after the kids are dropped off at home, I have a quick meeting via phone call that might take 20 minutes or so.  Before I know it, I'm going to bed at 11pm or later on consecutive nights.

Anybody get tired reading that like I just did?  Ha! Ha!  The above example is when there is just one kid in sports and not during baseball season.  I won't even think about trying to write down a normal day during baseball season when the son has a home game and the daughter has a track meet or swim meet.  Thankfully, the boy is gonna have his license here in a few weeks, so running him all over the place isn't going to be occurring to often.

Anyway, the frenetic pace isn't really what this blog is about.  It is just the set up.  The set up for a potential disaster.  The disaster of not taking in the beauty of life.  The gift that life brings.  The beauty of watching my kids grow into great young adults.  The joy of watching my wife pursue her passions.  The dog be the crazy (and mostly lazy) dog she is.  And, I also might miss the beauty of quite.  I might miss hearing that every once in a while.

Wait, what?  Miss the quiet?  I really did just type that.  Of course I'm gonna miss the quiet when life moves so fast.  But the sound of quiet isn't the longing for that I miss.  It is the opportunity to soak it in when I have it around me.  Sure, there might be noise emanating from various directions, but there very well could be quiet I'm not enjoying.

Do yourself a favor: sit back, lay down, prop your feet up in a recliner, so somehow just relax.  Now, close your eyes, take a deep breath in and listen for a couple minutes.  Repeat the process again and focus on what you hear.  What was it you heard?  Kids screaming?  Music?  Spouse typing on the computer?  Maybe your cell phone notifying you of another Facebook post about your move in Words with Friends.  Whatever it was, did you really hear it.

During treatment, I had ample time to hear everything.  One hour a day, I heard the laser preparing to zap me with protons.  The radio station in the back ground, the techs changing out molds the laser goes through.  I got to hear the room move (yes, the room - Gantry - rotated around me).  I even heard the laser not just get ready to zap me, I heard the laser start and end the zapping process.  But, there was one more thing I heard.

So, when you listened, what did you hear?  Psalm 46:10 says to, "Be still and know that I am God, I will be exalted."  Every day on that treatment table, I was blessed to be still.  I got to experience first hand that through my hardship he was indeed God and he was being exalted.  I was able to gain insight into what I needed to learn through the many lessons cancer was teaching me.  Though surrounded by noise, that noise became static (and helped me keep track of how long I had left on the table) and what I really heard was God being exalted.  Sometimes it was through the music being played during treatment.  Other times, it was just simply hearing the silence.  No matter though, I got the assurance that God was in control.

Answer the question.  What did you hear.  Was it the kids?  Take joy in that knowing that God is in control despite their screaming or fighting.  Take joy in the fact that one day your kids will love each other and not be afraid to show it.  If it was that annoying band your husband listens to, rest assured that he is taking joy in hearing an art that calms him down (or his helping him get amped up for his workout in the basement).  Whatever it is you heard, I pray you enjoy it.

Repeat this process again tomorrow at some point in time.