Thursday, September 1, 2011

Secular?

Non-secular:

I will seek You in the morning
And I will learn to walk in Your ways
And step by step You'll lead me
And I will follow You all of my days

Very militaristic. You can almost hear the "left-right-left" of army boots marching as it's chanted out. Disturbing is the 'learn to walk in your ways', which feels very cult-ish, an eerie sort of conformity.

Secular:

But I don't care what they say
I'm in love with you
They try to pull me away
But they don't know the truth
My heart's crippled by the vein
That I keep on closing
You cut me open and I
Keep bleeding
Keep, keep bleeding love

Graphic, real. Heart surgery where a person is forever changed. It almost seems inescapable...more than a choice, a completely new kind of love. A heart attack from brokenness...a healing for freedom.

Non-secular

Crucified
Laid behind a stone
You lived to die
Rejected and alone
Like a rose
Trampled on the ground
You took the fall
And thought of me
Above all

The baffling part about this song is the theme of "me-ness". He thought of ME above ANYONE ELSE. And, who wants to worship a rose trampled on the ground? I guess my point here is...where's the focus? Take Him down from the cross, already. Sure, there needs to be meditation on the sacrifice, but the celebration comes in the "He is risen!"

Secular:

And time goes quicker
Between the two of us
Oh, my love, don't forsake me
Take what the water gave me

Lay me down
Let the only sound
Be the overflow
Pockets full of stones

Florence + the Machine's new song is a poignant example of offering. "Take what the water gave me" is a devastatingly beautiful line, because it is a giving up of something naturally beautiful. This song, to me, is a recognition that even though nature is glorious, it cannot compare to love (AKA God).
Obviously, I'm taking it out of context, and Flo most likely wrote this to a guy (girl?) who was contemplating leaving her. The worshipful resignation of "lay me down, let the only sound be the overflow", although in her context, sexual, paints a beautiful picture of how we should strive to allow God's hand in our own lives.
So raw and powerful, "I only need this sound to survive". I also love the "pockets full of stones", which reminds me of the "my burden is light" verse. I love this song. It's much easier to feel unworthy than to become fired up for giving up...but Flo's song inspires me to NOT take the easy way out.

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