The hypocrisy of your praise
The hypocrisy of your festivals
I hate all your show
Away with your noisy worship
Away with your noisy hymns
I stop up my ears when you're singing 'em
I hate all your show
Instead let there be a flood of justice
An endless procession of righteous living, living
Instead let there be a flood of justice
Instead of a show
Your eyes are closed when you're praying
You sing right along with the band
You shine up your shoes for services
There's blood on your hands
You turned your back on the homeless
And the ones that don't fit in your plan
Quit playing religion games
There's blood on your hands
Instead let there be a flood of justice
An endless procession of righteous living, living
Instead let there be a flood of justice
Instead of a show
I hate all your show
Let's argue this out
If your sins are blood red
Let's argue this out
You'll be one of the clouds
Let's argue this out
Quit fooling around
Give love to the ones who can't love at all
Give hope to the ones who got no hope at all
Stand up for the ones who can't stand at all, all
I hate all your show
I hate all your show
I hate all your show
I hate all your show
Instead let there be a flood of justice
An endless procession of righteous living, living
Instead let there be a flood of justice
Instead of a show
I hate all your show
-Jon Foreman
I've been thinking a lot about liberty and justice lately. and not in the patriotic or political sense, but in a social and spiritual sense. I long for liberty for the "invisible children" of Northeast Africa and justice for their oppressors. I desire liberty for the sex slaves of Asia and justice for their pimps. I wish for liberty for the poor and homeless from their poverty and despair and justice for those who turn a blind eye. I want liberty for both my Chilean and American friends from this endless and unsatisfying cycle of partying and justice for whoever told them it was good. I crave liberty for myself from materialism and pride and also justice for myself because i believe the very lies i try to combat with scripture. i deserve justice because i forget the invisible children, the abused women, the orphans and the widows, and the millions enslaved to false gods of all kinds, be it krishna, money, beauty, allah, or the worst of all the god of self.
i sat on the beach today, spent some time alone with god for the first time in a while. and i realized, yet again, that my idea of liberty and justice are not the same as his. as much as i want to just wrap up every child soldier in loving arms and throw the men who abuse them into a pit forever, god's liberty is better. more complete. his liberty is true. and i also have to remind myself that before he condemns, he offers mercy first. the mercy that he grants me every time i believe a lie or put something as my idol above him or am ashamed of his mark on me is the same mercy he offers to the warlords, druglords, and medialords. after the mercy is offered and rejected, he judges and brings them what it owed. and his justice and his wrath will be intense. but he loves them first.
so basically i want to have hope that god can and will make even the most evil of things right and remember that it won't always look like we want it to. and i want to stop being just like those that i criticize and actually act. love the poor and the widows and the orphans and i want to to what luke 6:27-36 says:
27 “But I say to you who hear, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, 28 bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you. 29 To one who strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also, and from one who takes away your cloak do not withhold your tunic either. 30 Give to everyone who begs from you, and from one who takes away your goods do not demand them back. 31 And as you wish that others would do to you, do so to them.32 “If you love those who love you, what benefit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. 33 And if you do good to those who do good to you, what benefit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. 34 And if you lend to those from whom you expect to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, to get back the same amount. 35 But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return, and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, for he is kind to the ungrateful and the evil. 36 Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful.
and i want these convictions to be actions. to yield fruit. i'm afraid my fruit doesn't match all the things i say a believe. i'm afraid i might be all show. but god is good. he is merciful and strong and he likes to teach me. so i'm going to let him...if you havent already(and even if you have) go here :
5 comments:
I had a hard time swallowing this in regards to the guys that mugged me. I wanted then to go to some terrible Cameroonian jail or for the guy with the mercedes to run them over. But we're really not that different. Like you say, the same mercy he offers to me for my screwups is offered to them.
Beautiful post, Molly.
we talked about this in church on sunday... the story about the guy whose debts were forgiven and then he went and tortured someone who owed him money and couldnt pay him back....
agreed -- its beautiful.
and so are you.
what a compassionate sister I have.
I love you, friend.
So, I've been catching up on yours and Catie's blog posts. It's awesome to hear about your experiences, and thanks so much for sharing this in particular! That was a reminder that I think we all need. :)
man isn't taht a hard one? Its so easy to say that everyone is loved and offered mercy but when we put faces and actions to everyone that we find to be "bad". personally I think it is important to remember that all the things we think are always trapped by our human ideas- our very human brains. Somehow I think what actually happens is purer (is that a word) than anything we could imagine- cause it is not confined to us- but instead is limitless through god.
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