A matter of Perspective.

Our perspective of God: We are chess pieces in a sick and twisted game.

God’s perspective: I’m training an entire world of people. To judge angels.

Our perspective: Hell? That’s just cruelty.

God’s perspective: So, you have two choices. Life with me and life without. But to live with me, you have to love me before you love others, and you have to love others as you love yourself. Sound simple? Great. If you don’t want to do that, and you’d rather hell, then hell it is.

It’s up to you.

Our perspective: Yeah, I accepted Jesus into my heart. God’s pretty far away though. In heaven somewhere.

God’s perspective: Jesus and I are one. I am inside of you. My name is the Holy Spirit.

Our perspective: Why would I say yes to you? You won’t tell me what you’re doing!

God’s perspective: I wish you’d just say yes. You’re dying. I’m trying to save you. And if you’d just listen to me and stop trying to fix everything, you’d know exactly what I’m doing. And, you’d stop dying!

Our perspective: We got kicked out of Eden… For one person’s sin?

God’s perspective: I made mankind, planning to teach them how to love. But they chose to love themselves. They won’t listen if I keep them here in Eden, if I overlook their selfishness. But look, for one person’s death I’ll save all of them. Fair? Thought so too. Glad we agree.

Our perspective: So we just have to repent and be forgiven? Sounds too easy. I bet God stays mad at us for a week. And we have to do penance. And be extra good.

God’s perspective: … I forgave you. Why are you avoiding me? That’s nice that you’re being extra good but… I like talking to you. Why won’t you respond? I thought we were friends?

Our perspective: I have to change. That way I can get closer to God. He won’t see me unless I fix myself.

God’s perspective: So.. Here I am, living inside of you….. Closer to you than I am to the angels… But you’ve locked me in the guest room so you can clean your house. Except you’ve got mud all over your feet and you’re just knocking things over and making it worse. If you’d let me, you know, I’m God… All powerful, all knowing, and I am Love… I could… Help you.. Fix you….

I didn’t make you to change yourself you know. I made you to lean on me. I made it so we’d work together on this.

Our perspective: We have to pray and change God’s mind!!!!

God’s perspective: I love it when you pray, when you agree with my heart. I love that you’re partnering with me on this! This is what I want to do! Thanks for asking! I love you. I love when you agree with me.

Wait, what? Change my mind? …. But.. I don’t… change o.O

Our perspective: I have a guardian angel. He keeps me safe. So God can go do other stuff.

God’s perspective: I feel like I’ve said this before. Oh wait. I have. I’m living in your heart.

Btw I’m omnipresent. I am everywhere. I can do everything at once. Or did you forget?

Our perspective: I’m a terrible person. And I’m ugly And worthless.

God’s perspective: So once upon a time I had this thought. This thought was you. And you were perfect in my head. And then I made you. Know what? You’re even better now! Cuz everything I make is perfect. I make no mistakes. And I don’t make ugly worthless things.

And you especially? You were made in my image.

Our perspective: God loves us, but that’s as far as he cares.

God’s perspective: Love is everything. I love you. I want to give you everything and make you happy and alive and you know what? I enjoy you. And talking to you. I care about you more than anything else I’ve created.

Our perspective: Love is just a feeling.

God’s perspective: Love is everything.

It’s the reason you breath.

It is all I am.

It is the reason for pain, it is the reason for joy.

It is the reason for anger. it is the reason for fear.

Love is the reason for death.

It is the reason you are in this world.

There is nothing that isn’t rooted in love.

We really don’t know the God we worship. And even if we know it so often we don’t

really believe it. There is so much more depth and reality to what we think but we spend so much time being afraid of getting close, believing lies even if we know better.

We are so, so weak. It’s time we wake up to this and let Him fix us.

Amen?

~Silver

What is your music calling you to?

I’ve neglected to take a stand on music. It’s always been a hard subject for me. That’s part of the reason I never finished my purity series. I knew I’d have to write about music and what is good and what is bad, and I didn’t want to have to do that.

Ok, so maybe that was more than part of the reason. That was the reason. (Well, and I’m lazy. But you know.)

So, I apologize for that. Here’s a post on music. This is probably one of the most important things I’ll ever write.

(You: So here’s the part where you say music is bad, yeah?)

Well. Sort of. I’m not going to up and say, all music is bad. I will personally think a lot of music is bad for the heart, but I’d rather let you come to that conclusion yourself. 

Instead, I’m going to simply talk about music.

What do we know about music? We know a lot, right? (You: No. I’m tone deaf.) That’s not what I mean. I mean, what do we know about music as a force in society and how it affects us. (You: Yeah, I’m still drawing a blank)

Well think about it. If you’re depressed what are you going to listen to? Depressing music, right? And if you’re mad you’re probably going to listen to someone else just as angry. It makes you feel better, because you feel like you have power. Classic example being a depressed chick listening to Three Days Grace, and an angry arrogant white kid listening to Eminem.

Yes, I did just stereotype people by their music. Get over it. Stereotypes exist for a reason.

(Actually what I did was stereotype music by who’s listening. But you were gonna be too mad to catch that.)

I hear a lot from Christians that, it’s ok to listen to music as long as it has a good message.

This is one of the most singularly stupid statements I have ever heard. It’s like saying “It’s ok to listen to Hitler as long as you forget the holocaust.”

No. No, no, absolutely not. Music comes from the heart. We listen to music that calls to our hearts. If it matches how we feel, then we listen to it. Thing is, by doing this you’re supporting how you feel. You want to know why, even though life is great and you have a good job and a good family and you’ve never been molested used or abused in your life, you feel like killing yourself? It’s cause you’re busy listening to artists sing about their break ups and the people that have cheated on them. You’re listening to society justify itself, and all its anger, and all its emptiness.

Struggling with porn? Stop listening to Brittney Spears and Ke$ha.

Struggling with anger outbursts? Sick Puppies and Linkin Park are not for you.

Country music is not good for anyone.

The majority of music celebrates the strength of man. And Christian music isn’t counted out. You think Thousand Foot Krutch is good and Christian? I listen to them singing about how broke humanity is and I wonder, why is the focus on how much we Don’t see God?

Shouldn’t our focus be on Seeing God?

Christian music is based on the problems. It’s based on God saving us. It’s based on us being weak.

I don’t want to play your games, cuz lonely was a safer place. But you changed me when you called my name.

That worships God, right?

It’s not based on the places in the Bible where David’s singing about how even in his weakness God is strong. How even as man we can reach God because God loves us. Instead I hear Superchick singing about how we should stand our ground and be pure.

 Ok, so maybe I am a little over the top. But you have No Idea how much my heart burns on this subject.

Now, I’m not straight up condemning TFK and Superchick, or Relient K, or anyone else. I’m just using them as examples. I’m sure that, even if all their songs aren’t really worshipping who God is or calling Christianity to a higher standard of Holiness, their still good people.

That’s the problem though. They don’t call us to a higher level of holiness. It’s music about how God meets us in a place where we are, in our brokenness.

Saying nothing about how we’re falling to our faces out of respect.

It’s simply… So… Lazy. So self-loving.

I can’t stand it any more. I want music that tells me who God is, why I’m worshipping Him, and why I’m falling on my knees in worship. I want music that, instead of saying how it’s ok that I’m broken cuz God will save me, says God is my strength and I can look to Him. That I don’t have to be broken. That I am not of this world.

I want music that, instead of bringing God to this world, rather brings me to His world.

Wouldn’t that be wonderful?

Next week, or sometime next anyways, I’ll post about secular music. And I'll probably read this over and post again so I have something more.. Concise. Better said. Right now I’ll just sit back and watch people comment about my biased, unabashed music bashing. (Cuz those comments are wonderful. They give me something to write about. They let me refine what I say till it has no mistakes. So please do flame this post. Kthxbai)

There really is no way to summarize and end this post.

~ Silver