I’m a hopelessly boring housewife to most, I admit. I feel as though I teeter on the line of being a complete neanderthal when it comes to my participation in the latest fashions of dress and apparel or the latest pop-culture disasters. The prime motivation for my lack of concern comes from a very strong desire to keep myself un-spotted from the world. Que lots of Scripture verses about how this world is not our home, etc. Sadly, no... that’s not why. To be honest, I just don’t care- most likely to a fault.
The recent Lady GaGa production, “Judas” is something I just can’t get away from. Everyone seems to be having a conniption, stomping their Facebook feet, and lighting up the blogs about how GaGa has “gone too far”. Since I do at least try to teeter on that line of remaining somwhat culturally relevant, I forced myself to see what everyone was shouting about. (I also recently forced myself all the way through Rebecca Black’s “Friday” video but that’s another story). Here’s a sample:
In the most Biblical sense,
I am beyond repentance
Fame hooker, prostitute wench, vomits her mind
But in the cultural sense
I just speak in future tense
Judas kiss me if offensed,
Or wear ear condom next time
I wanna love you,
But something's pulling me away from you
Jesus is my virtue,
Judas is the demon I cling to
So now I am left to ask the questions: Why is everyone so upset? What is everyone so upset about? Perhaps it boils down to this one thing: In our minds, in our reactions, in the very way we relate to the world around us, we too frequently and easily deny what God tells us directly:
(Eph 4:17) “This I say, therefore, and testify in the Lord, that you should no longer walk as the rest of the Gentiles walk, in the futility of their mind, having their understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God, because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindess of their heart; who being past feeling, have given themselves over to lewdness, to work all uncleanness with greediness. “ Sometimes we live as though we forget that everyone who is not walking with Christ in the Gospel walks in the futility of their mind. Sure, this song rightly warrants outrage and “I am outraged!”
To get a little deeper though, I have to ask where my outrage is coming from. Incidentally, this song skillfully and clearly articulates the depraved condition- a condition of separation from God! I don’t believe Lady GaGa went “too far”- she spelled it out perfectly. I wonder if a certain amount of indignation and outrage at times subconsciously comes from deceiving ourselves on some level: the notion that a lot of things might be kind of “bad” but in reality we can safely process it as somewhat neutral. Then, when it gets “really bad”, we are outraged and don’t want to have anything to do with it! Perhaps I am the only one who suffers from this perspective at times.
In the end, I’m reminded by this latest cultural outrage that nothing, not even something that seems somewhat innocuous is neutral. It’s funny how many times we choose to make war on something only when it crosses the level of becoming obvious to the masses! I’m also reminded of God’s grace in the Christian life and the amazing work he has done for us. In a way, a song like “Judas” is humbling. John Owen says:" The spiritual life which I have is not my own. I did not induce it, and I cannot maintain it. It is only and solely the work of Christ. It is not I who live, but Christ lives in me. My whole life is His alone." We’d be lovin’ on Judas too if Christ hadn’t first loved us.
The recent Lady GaGa production, “Judas” is something I just can’t get away from. Everyone seems to be having a conniption, stomping their Facebook feet, and lighting up the blogs about how GaGa has “gone too far”. Since I do at least try to teeter on that line of remaining somwhat culturally relevant, I forced myself to see what everyone was shouting about. (I also recently forced myself all the way through Rebecca Black’s “Friday” video but that’s another story). Here’s a sample:
In the most Biblical sense,
I am beyond repentance
Fame hooker, prostitute wench, vomits her mind
But in the cultural sense
I just speak in future tense
Judas kiss me if offensed,
Or wear ear condom next time
I wanna love you,
But something's pulling me away from you
Jesus is my virtue,
Judas is the demon I cling to
So now I am left to ask the questions: Why is everyone so upset? What is everyone so upset about? Perhaps it boils down to this one thing: In our minds, in our reactions, in the very way we relate to the world around us, we too frequently and easily deny what God tells us directly:
(Eph 4:17) “This I say, therefore, and testify in the Lord, that you should no longer walk as the rest of the Gentiles walk, in the futility of their mind, having their understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God, because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindess of their heart; who being past feeling, have given themselves over to lewdness, to work all uncleanness with greediness. “ Sometimes we live as though we forget that everyone who is not walking with Christ in the Gospel walks in the futility of their mind. Sure, this song rightly warrants outrage and “I am outraged!”
To get a little deeper though, I have to ask where my outrage is coming from. Incidentally, this song skillfully and clearly articulates the depraved condition- a condition of separation from God! I don’t believe Lady GaGa went “too far”- she spelled it out perfectly. I wonder if a certain amount of indignation and outrage at times subconsciously comes from deceiving ourselves on some level: the notion that a lot of things might be kind of “bad” but in reality we can safely process it as somewhat neutral. Then, when it gets “really bad”, we are outraged and don’t want to have anything to do with it! Perhaps I am the only one who suffers from this perspective at times.
In the end, I’m reminded by this latest cultural outrage that nothing, not even something that seems somewhat innocuous is neutral. It’s funny how many times we choose to make war on something only when it crosses the level of becoming obvious to the masses! I’m also reminded of God’s grace in the Christian life and the amazing work he has done for us. In a way, a song like “Judas” is humbling. John Owen says:" The spiritual life which I have is not my own. I did not induce it, and I cannot maintain it. It is only and solely the work of Christ. It is not I who live, but Christ lives in me. My whole life is His alone." We’d be lovin’ on Judas too if Christ hadn’t first loved us.
