The Absurdity of Divinity
God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. 1 Cor 1:27
Part stray thoughts & part devotional, The Absurdity of Divinity is my attempt at sharing how God speaks to me through popular music. Why?
I believe the Creator created all things (Col 1:16). (That’s why we use the name “Creator”). If God created everything, then perhaps there is a piece of divinity in all things. For example, sometimes arrogance is attractive (as described in Beyonce & Kanye’s Ego). That’s because arrogance, in its purest form, is confidence. And confidence is the continual act of accepting God’s perspective of us—that we are made in the image of eternal, wonderful things. Now, arrogance in its impure form is extreme self-importance. But there could be no perversion of confidence if it hadn’t been created by God. In southern churches, the preachers often make this point: There are no counterfeit $3 bills. The implication is that, if you are going to counterfeit something, you are making a “fake-me-out” version of something real. Addiction is counterfeit happiness. I’m sure you have examples…
Music is beautiful & catchy even when it has a misguided message. And music is powerful. God is beautiful and powerful. So why can’t God speak through song? Please note that I’m not saying that everyone who has a song on the radio is spiritual. Or that they are not. I don’t know any of them. But if God can speak to Balaam through his donkey (Num 22:21), then He could speak through Souljaboy.
I’m going to spare you the obvious. (I mean, Indie Arie’s There’s Hope & Kanye’s Walk With Me have overt eternal themes.) If you know music, maybe you’ll see something new in the scriptures. If you know the scriptures, maybe you’ll gain an appreciation of the music of this generation. God chose the foolish things of this world to open our eyes to eternal wisdom. What’s more absurd than popular music? And what is wiser than God? Enjoy!
*As an aside, I am deeply disappointed in the words used for women in pop, R&B and hip-hop. It breaks my heart that there is so little discussion about relationships without name-calling. But if we knew better we’d probably do better.
i'm soo on board with this. i was admittedly bothered by the song Ego because it seemed to promote giving in to 'naafs', a concept in Islam that refers to the lower self. being led by naafs to me is tantamount to being led by Ego. when you put yourself at the center of everything boundaries, limits and ethics get blurred and you lose sight of the bigger picture--the Creator.
ReplyDeletebut i digress. your point was well made, there is a morsel of truth in all things. i think i've heard that said somewhere before in more eloquent terms. LOL!
ps-
my favorite nugget-o-truthy-goodness: "Addiction is counterfeit happiness" love it!
Hi There! I'm a friend of your brother's. This is beautiful. There's some secular songs that God has spoken to me through- "I'm the one who wants to be with you" by Mr. Big; "Let's Take a Ride" by JT, there's more... Anywhoo, I look forward to following your thoughts. Interesting concept.
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