New Law
I finally bought the new(ish) Derek Webb CD last week. It's been out for months, but I am still enjoying "She Must and Shall Go Free" so much that I didn't feel a pressing need to buy "Mockingbird."
I put it in the CD player today (no, I don't have an iPod) and was struck again by the penetrating lyrics of the song "A New Law" (best enjoyed when paired with meditation on the book of Galatians).
don’t teach me about politics and government
just tell me who to vote for
don’t teach me about truth and beauty
just label my music
don’t teach me how to live like a free man
just give me a new law
i don’t wanna know if the answers aren’t easy
so just bring it down from the mountain to me
i want a new law
don’t teach me about moderation and liberty
i prefer a shot of grape juice
don’t teach me about loving my enemies...
don’t teach me how to listen to the Spirit
just give me a new law
Of course, DWebb will get critiqued by some for being too harsh - "after all, we're not trying to impose a new law, we're just trying to live wisely in a sinful culture." What's your read? Do you see in Christianity a tendency to find comfort in rules when the questions are complex? Or by and large, would you say we're really living in the (dangerous) freedom and grace of the gospel?
I put it in the CD player today (no, I don't have an iPod) and was struck again by the penetrating lyrics of the song "A New Law" (best enjoyed when paired with meditation on the book of Galatians).
don’t teach me about politics and government
just tell me who to vote for
don’t teach me about truth and beauty
just label my music
don’t teach me how to live like a free man
just give me a new law
i don’t wanna know if the answers aren’t easy
so just bring it down from the mountain to me
i want a new law
don’t teach me about moderation and liberty
i prefer a shot of grape juice
don’t teach me about loving my enemies...
don’t teach me how to listen to the Spirit
just give me a new law
Of course, DWebb will get critiqued by some for being too harsh - "after all, we're not trying to impose a new law, we're just trying to live wisely in a sinful culture." What's your read? Do you see in Christianity a tendency to find comfort in rules when the questions are complex? Or by and large, would you say we're really living in the (dangerous) freedom and grace of the gospel?
posted by Bob | 9:20 PM
9 Comments:
Engaging culture is not about being at war with the culture as much as it is about forming culture, showing people what the kingdom of God is like ... niether salt or light are any good in isolation.
So merely being able to do some of the things that the culture does is not kingdom life. Nor is merely abstaining from some of the things that the culture does. It is not "us vs. them". It is God's kingdom coming, His will being done, on earth as it is in heaven.
What does that look like? Well, I think it looks like the perfect law of God accomplished in us and through us by the power that raised Jesus from the dead.
"The law is never the source of righteousness, but it is always the course of righteousness" -- Dallas Willard
I love DWebb's song because he is calling for a faith interactive with God, for Christians to quit settling for franchised faith (to borrow Don Miller's phrase), which amounts to wanting someone to tell you what to do to in order to keep up appearances. Again, freedom in the gospel is not about getting to dabble in the world, or about separating ourselves from the world. The gospel is a radical vision of redemption for the world.
Will... nicely put.
Evan, I am waiting for you to work Will over on some of his prepositions.
Will, Evan thinks you and I enjoy working the prepositional phrases a little too much. He's already taken me to task, so now it's your turn. Dang writers, always have a better way to put stuff.
I'm going to have to plead ignorance. I don't even know what a preposition is.
Yeah, prepositions are those things that your English teachers always told you WITH which not to end a sentence. But English is sorta a mut language (Dutch, French, German) so the rules don't always work, ie, from Churchhill: “This is the sort of English up with which I cannot put.”
I was sharing my dorky observation with Bob that Christians are obsessed with the preposition. It isn't just you guys: from Paul- "IN the world but not OF the world." From Willard or Piper (I can't remember)- "Christ's grace FOR us and THROUGH us." From some guy named Berger- "AGAINST the world FOR the world."
And a big etcetera.
I suppose this comes as no surprise. Prepositions indicate the relationship between one noun and another (or verbs, or adjectives). As the world's idea of order is contrary to the Biblical idea of it, (as in "you're either for us or against us" vs. "we're against the world for the world") an inverted preposition is the quickest way to express an inverted reality. Thus my latest saying, that "Christ came to repostion your prepostion."
I've noticed this with verbs and nouns, too. Kudos, Will, on the "source and course" Willard quote. I laughed at that. - though your thoughts were appropriate. There really is no contest if the world is fighting a war against God.
Anyway, my nerdliness is secure now. Thank a lot, Bob.
Evan
Is it a sin to buy jeans that make your butt look good?
It is more difficult to honestly and consistently evaluate the heart in the midst of daily lives than it is to follow a set of laws. Our lives are more shades of gray than black and white. The decisions we must make are ultimately right or wrong on the basis of our hearts, and more specifically whether we are glorifying God or something else in a given action. And while for some choices that distinction is obvious, for many others it is not. The same external action can be a sin or not, depending on why I did it.
Judith and I were talking about this on the way home the other day. Gavin’s message, while coming from the right perspective, I think, contained quite a few “doing x is a sin” statements that I don’t think are universally true. For example, I think there is a difference between appreciating the work God did in creating you, or others, and worshipping your own flesh (or lusting after another’s). But the external action could be the same! Exercise might be taking care of what God gave you or just enjoying the physicality of this existence. Or it might be worshipping your own flesh. Again, can I admire a woman’s beauty without wanting to possess her? Sure it’s a fine line, but the line is there. If you can’t accept that and own the responsibility for honoring God in what you focus on, you might as well move to Saudi Arabia.
We default to laws because it is easy to determine whether or not they are being observed. We set up this framework of conduct, and as long as you stay within its bounds, you’re doing okay. Never mind if you are a mess on the inside, as long as you can keep it in check. And we get what we deserve- self-righteousness, hypocrisy, and every furtive act of disobedience that we can get away with.
Examining the heart requires painful honesty. It is humbling, because you have to admit your failures and own your flaws. It requires openness with others, because oftentimes you can’t even discern what is going on in your own heart, and need some help fleshing it out, if you’ll pardon the pun. The vulnerability is terrifying to our hardened hearts, but it is life to them too. It is how we were made. To be honest about who we are, and rely on the grace of God to change us, is the light burden Jesus spoke of, and the better choice by far than trying to bear the duplicity of a spirit that wants to do evil in a body that is supposed to do good. This death is the endgame of the Law, while the endgame of the Spirit is life, if the spirit in you is Christ’s. Choosing the law seems like the easy choice up front, but in reality it is choosing the hard path to failure rather than the hard path to success. And as Webb sings, we are all to ready in our shortsightedness to choose it.
Lane,
Yes, it is a sin to buy jeans that make your butt look good.
Is that a rule? Am I saying, "You should never buy jeans that make your butt look good?" No. I hope your jeans make your whole body look just fabulous. If you have a good butt, it will probably look good in multiple pairs of jeans.
But IF your grid for whether to buy or not buy a pair of jeans is: "do these jeans make my butt look good?" that is body worship, and that is a sin.
The line between rules and wisdom is gossamer, as you point out. But so is the line between biblical ethics and subjectivism. If avoiding legalism means one's grid for ethics is: "You can't tell me that x is wrong, because that's making a rule," then we've gone beyond Scripture.
Not saying you're there. Am saying you ain't getting off the hook that easily. :)
Okay, so what if I NEED jeans, and one pair is- just kidding. It was a baited question, and if you’re not going to play along and just deconstruct everything instead, I guess I’ll just have to write fairly.
When Paul says, “’Everything is permissible for me’—but not everything is beneficial” in Corinthians, he is speaking to a group of Christians who took the freedom from the Law as a license to do whatever they wanted to, and if I read you correctly, it is this kind of attitude you are criticizing. And I agree. The truth is, someone who is walking with Christ and experiencing sanctification is going to look an awful lot like someone who is obeying God’s Law, but not because he is trying to follow it- rather, because he is in tune with the Spirit and doing what Christ wants because he wants to!
Just looking at the letter of the Law, rather than considering the spirit behind it, leads to the kind of unthinking compliance Derek Webb criticizes in that song, as well as other silly behavior like criticizing someone for healing on a day of rest.
I just saw a documentary at the Wellington Film Festival about young girls being forced to work 20 hour days (no exaggeration), making the jeans that are fashion staples in Western Culture. They make very little and have their meals deducted from their pay, so they end up always on the verge of debt. They see their families once every two years and have their first three months pay withheld as a 'deposit' which they will never see. Overtime is essentially unpaid and somewhat voluntary, except they are fined if they don't work overtime. And this was one of the better factories in the country. The film was only able to be made because the factory owner was proud of the relatively good conditions. It kind of made me feel like we should never buy denim again. Admittedly, this would be an extreme reaction, and I do not actually think we should altogether stop buying denim. I did, however, leave the festival feeling really ashamed. It was one of those feelings, where you feel like your wretchedness has utterly permeated through your pores, and you almost feel so physically gross that you need to take a shower. Why do girls need to lead miserable lives, so that I can have 6 pairs of jeans when I only ever wear one pair? Why should I buy jeans that I don't need at all? I mean, I feel like a lot of people are buying jeans with holes already worn into them, so I would really fit right in with ragged jeans look anyway. I guess, I am just really starting to see how my daily decisions actually affect people on the other side of the world. If nothing else, I guess I should at take some ownership of my actions and stop playing the herder in the "tragedy of the unrestricted commons", lest our 'overgrazing' should lead to the complete decimation of potentially fulfilling lives of thousands of girls.
You know, I really did intend this as a continuation of the cheery banter. Man, was I wrong. Sorry it turned into a mood killer.
p.s. bob and leigh: when are you getting that baby?
I am rereading "Searching for God Knows What" by Dob Miller (in my opinion, his best book yet). He has some really good things to say on morality. I will let him say them because I suck at writing, but check out the chapter called "Morality: Why I am better than you."
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