Deep Music

"If a man shuts his ears to the cry of the poor, he too will cry out and not be answered." [Proverbs 21:13]

 I love heavy metal music and I listen to it rather often. Sure I might go on a rock binge for a while, but I always end up back with the heavy stuff. When I was a kid, finding my place in the music scene, I listened to the "Classic Rock" bands of the Christian scene. Mostly it was Petra for me. One of my favorite albums they had was Sleeping Giant, which I felt was one of their heavier rock albums. The songs that were heavier I listened to more, until a band called Project 86 rocked onto the scene back in the late 90's. 1998 I bought their debut release and self titled album and found myself for the first time in the heavy metal scene.

Eventually I found myself with harder and harder music, bands like Zao, Living Sacrifice, Demon Hunter, and Haste the Day, all bands that I still can fall back to when I want some good music. But this probably seems like a weird thing to talk about when I started off with a Proverbs quote, I'll tie it in in a few seconds.

Thanks to Amazon and their rather heavy behind the scenes "You might like..." algorithm I came across a band who is now a go to for me, For Today. When I first bought their album, Fight the Silence, I thought it was an okay metal album, one that I would listen to a bit and then move on. What I was not expecting was the deep and hard truths they covered.

Songs like the title song Fight the Silence goes on about human trafficking and the fact that slavery is still a big thing in the world today. I found I was guilty myself, of turning a deaf ear and a blind eye to what is going on outside of this country. Not that I was not aware of these things, nor was I not listening to the news of the going on of the world, but I was stuck in the way of thought that "It doesn't concern me." I was just like many others in the country.

Truth is, it concerns me, you and the old lady at church in the back row, just as much as it concerns the family of the girl who was taken to be a prostitute to some rich horror of a man. Why does it concern us? Because we are followers of Christ. If we turn a deaf ear to their cries, where is our love? What good is a love for only "good and decent" people, or people who are like us, or people who have money? What good is that love if you can't love the poor, the homeless, the starving? What good is it to say I am Christian when you stop showing love for the sinners out there? I suppose you can love them I do not know your heart, but I kind of think it worse that you say you can love them, yet do nothing for them.

Too afraid to be made to suffer, we stay safe in our luxury,

While broken people kill each other.

Desperate men do desperate things.

You want to stop the violence? Put an end to poverty!*

I think this is where our dreams of freedom have led us. To a point where we stop thinking about others to secure our needs and wants first. Christians continue in a trend that keeps us farther away from the people. Sure we have free meals for less fortunate people, but that is a band-aid to the problem that we have less fortunate people to begin with.

I think it has to do with greed. Greed runs this country with a might hand. Greed is the god of America. I know I place a rather large value to having money even to the point where I am not willing to take the chance God would have me take. I am greedy, selfish, and so wish I wasn't. I am afraid to go farther. Take His Word to the people out there.

Dying in the streets, they are fighting to see peace.

This is a call to arms against the greed of our nation.

This is a call to arms, we are the seed of salvation.

Call, call to arms; preying on the helpless for far too long.

Call to arms; it's time to cross the lines we've drawn.*

I have friends who have gone out and done missions in countries I forget are even there. Others go into the worst parts of the cities in our own country to help those who need help. I find myself jealous of them and angry at myself. I am too afraid to go and do those things myself. I do not want to leave my comforts things like my internet, my phone, my car, my bed. I am at war with myself to combat my own greed, cross lines that could hurt me. Sadly I know the sin in me keeps winning and I hate it.

This blog could probably have been split into three different ones, one about human trafficking, one about not doing missions, and one about greed. And each would have been a good blog on their own with some expanding. But I think all three are closely tied together. Each has to do with putting yourself before others, each has to do with not loving enough especially the way Christ loved us. So I put them together because that is how it came, but maybe we need to look at each of these more deeply. Let me know, but for now, let's start a change.

Let's start a new trend in our own thoughts. Let's start to think of the people out there, the raped, the abandoned, the stolen, the broken, and the beaten. Let's start our thoughts on how each of us can fight back against the inhumanity of the human race. Let's find a new way, let Jesus lead us, stand up even if we are the only ones who do. Let's be the start of a new wave of love and show the world that the followers of Christ are filled with love for the world.



Additional reading you might find interesting.
A21 Campaign




*Lyrics are from the song Call to Arms, which is what got me thinking first about our closed eyes to the poverty all around us, which started this blog.

Opinions are like...

As someone who likes to write about his opinion, I rather hate to hear people's opinions. Not that I have a problem with you having one, we all do and the world would suck if we didn't, but I hate that when people feel the need to put down someone else's opinion or feelings or anything else because they view it differently. 

This is not good for people. Especially when it is Christians who are doing the bashing. When you feel the need to bash someone, or tell them what they believe is wrong, or as the post that got me thinking this said they believe someone is wasting their money supporting a Christian company because they use less than natural food like substances in their cheese puffs, it comes across as rude and combative even if you do not mean it.

The said post was on an annoying but popular social media website. My friend had shared a picture someone else took of the back of a bag of cheese puffs. On the bottom right corner has Romans 10: 9-10 which if you do not know it, reads: (I used a different translation.)

If you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 One believes with the heart, resulting in righteousness, and one confesses with the mouth, resulting in salvation.

This is a great verse to put on the back of a bag of stuff people are going to buy. And the comment-er also agreed with it. But then they have to go on and start complaining about MSGs, artificial dyes and flavors. Which isn't too bad. Something simple like, "Too bad they use so many artificial stuff in their foods, but still good for them for giving a witness on the bag." would have been a great response, but then having to bring in "And when you purchase things like that you are encouraging major corporations to continue to make these chemicals which are causing all types of health issues and cancer..." which may or may not be true, is still okay, but now on the edge of being rude to the poster who supports companies who are willing to take a brave stance on what they believe.

I am not denying that that crap in the foods isn't bad for you, I actually agree, but it was the last comment "So that = your money supporting the wrong things!!!!" I do have a problem with. It is never bad to support smaller companies like this one who are still willing to be Christians even though everything would be easier for them if they were not. Even if they use things that might not be good for you, Hello! it is called  junk food for a reason, you should still support them.

With out looking up the company and doing research, how do you know how they spend their money. Maybe 50% or more of their profits go to getting fresh food and water to less fortunate people. Doing amazing missions and reaching people your angry words about MSG will never reach. Maybe they are non profit all together and all of it goes for stuff like that. Or maybe not, maybe nothing goes for that and they just talk a good talk. You don't know, and neither do I.

I did take a quick look at their site.. Here's a quick thing I read:

Mission Statement
• Working in harmony in a God honoring, God fearing atmosphere.
• Manufacturing and distributing snack foods that are superior in quality and value to consumers.
• Striving to help our distributors and customers attain their financial goals.  “Brim’s Snacks becoming Number 1 in the Memphis Market.”
• Providing customer service to all customers in a professional and courteous manner.
May our actions and words honor God.

That seems pretty darn good to me. Maybe a little less use of the less natural stuff would be better, but they are doing their stuff right. Right on the top of the site is a page just for talking about Everlasting Life through Christ.  They set aside part of their annual budget just for donations and giving. Which is better than some people ever do.

I do not want people to stop giving their opinions, but to stop and think about other people's as well. In the same vein, people need to stop judging what other people say, do, think, write, and maybe just be a little nicer, a little more loving themselves. Sometimes with how many opinions are thrown around these days, it might be good to stop, think, and maybe less can be more.

I do agree with the comment that the comment-er made, we do need less crap in our diets and more delicious stuff, like big juicy tender steaks without the growth hormones and stuff. But if they did this, we would be paying way more than we could afford.  But hey what do I know, I am just an opinionated guy with a blog.