In the song, The Truth, Megan Woods points to the problem we humans have. The heart is deceitful (Jer 17:9). Specifically, in this case, we tell ourselves lies ... about ourselves.
Satan helps. Scripture calls him "the accuser of the brethren" (Rev 12:10), and he accuses us. He reminds of sins that God refuses to remember. He tells us of our failures, our shortcomings, our unfulfilled wishes. Oh ... he's good at it. He really is. But, in truth, natural man is "of your father, the devil" (John 8:44), so we've picked it up. We're pretty good at it. Whether we're lying about how good we are (and actually aren't) or lying about how awful we are (and actually aren't), we are not good at telling ourselves the truth about ourselves.
Megan Woods makes a critical error, however, in her song about "truth." (Ironic, isn't it?) She repeats a line. "He looks at me and wouldn't change a thing." Nice thought ... but ... false. The truth is, God's purpose in our lives is to conform us to the image of His Son (Rom 8:28-29). He is changing us. He loves us as we are ... and that's astounding ... but He wants something else for us ... something better. So don't buy that "feel good" stuff about "He wouldn't change a thing" ... because He is. And that's the truth.
It seems odd to believe that God “wouldn’t change a thing” about us. If we were fine as we are--fumbling bumblers at best, murderous fiends at worst--then why would we need the new birth and a new heart? Why would we need a Savior to rescue us from our lost and pitiful state? Clearly God has something better in mind for His creative climax than what we humans have become; of course He has a plan to restore us to that initial vision of His. As the popular saying goes, “God loves me just as I am [yes, “astounding,” as you say] but too much to leave me there” [thank goodness!].
ReplyDeleteThe only way I can round that square for her is if she's talking about the idea that when God looks at His children, He sees Christ instead. But I agree, that isn't a good thing to be teaching people about what God wants from us.
ReplyDeleteI think it's a merge of biblical theology with modern psychology, where "tolerance" means "I like it" and the ultimate "good" is self-esteem. "You do you." "If He loves us, He must like everything about us."
ReplyDeleteI'm sure it is, but I'm trying out a little optimism.
Delete"He looks at me and wouldn't change a thing."
ReplyDeleteIf He "looks at us" and sees Christ and we're covered by Him this makes some more sense, as has been noted.
As you've noted elsewhere, YHWH only has a "plan A" and if our actions are part of that plan then what could be changed?
I see your point, and don't disagree with it, but wonder of she's simply expressing her thoughts poorly. Clearly there are myriads of things that we should change to conform with YHWH, but we can't without His power, and (as you've noted elsewhere) the separation of our sin from us "as far as the east is from the west" might indicate that YHWH doesn't look at us as see what we should have done.
I would concur that the statement Stan quoted needs a bit of clarification to truly know how the singer meant them (as those words are definitely open to some interpretation), so I read over the song lyrics for assistance that way. The lyrics are very light in the “theology” department and contain more personal reflections than strong biblical truth--certainly not a thoughtful examination of the biblical themes of salvation and sanctification that we all have in mind.
ReplyDeleteLorna, I agree that song lyrics often take liberties with theological concepts for the sake of art. With mixed results. I personally don't have a problem with a songwriter writing lyrics that are about their struggles, or personal reflections from the perspective of their faith. That seems like an appropriate endeavor. Where I see a problem is when those types of songs are used in corporate worship, of which this might be one. At that point, I'd place the blame on those who chose the song for corporate worship as opposed to the songwriter.
DeleteIn any case, getting theology from pop songs is probably not a great idea. Using this song as a springboard to deeper study, seems like a pretty good idea.