A King and a Kingdom
There are two great lies that I’ve heard
The day you eat of the fruit of that tree you will not surely die
And that Jesus Christ was white, middle class, republican
And if you wanna be saved you have to learn to be like him
So I’ve been listening to Derek Webb’s new album, Mockingbird – and while there is a lot of controversy surrounding this album, even among some of his most loyal fans, I really like most of this album! There are lots of very convicting songs (which is what Derek does best!), and in particular, the song quoted above ‘A King and a Kingdom’ is really great – not that I completely agree with all of the sentiments expressed, but I love that he’s pointing out that there are other options for being a thoughtful, intelligent Christian without necessarily subscribing to every Republican idea and living in the suburbs – now there are plenty of people living that life who are living wonderful examples of the Christian life, ministering to those in need around them. But pointing out that that doesn’t have to be the ‘only’ way to be a Christian is really important.
And this is from another song on the album, ‘Rich Young Ruler’:
Cuz what you do to the least of these
My brothers you have done it to me
Cuz I want the things you just can’t give me
I want the things you just can’t give me
Now the song talks about selling your SUV and your house and giving the money to the poor (following the Rich Young Ruler story in Mark), but I believe Derek is using these as examples of the things that our culture holds dear, and therefore what God requires us to give up in order to follow him – so not that I necessarily need to sell my car, etc… but that I’m going to have to give up what’s difficult for me to give up, which might not be my SUV (I don’t have one) or my house (also don’t have one), but it might mean me giving up some of my time to do something that might put me outside my comfort zone, etc… It’s only the things that are difficult to give up that will mean anything, as those are the things that we risk putting above God in our lives.
Anyway, you should check out the new album – it’s pretty good, but quite different musically from his previous albums.