Music is a huge part of who I am. That fact has already been pretty well established. Music has a way of connecting with me that many other things just don't have.
The lyrics are really a secondary thing. I can agree with the words with all my heart, but it's when I can lose myself in the melody and rhythm that it really begins to have an impact. When I lose myself in the song as a whole, the lyrics come with that, and I somehow internalize them better than when I just think about the lyrics by themselves.
Because of that impact, I'm starting something today that I will probably do every so often for the rest of the life of the blog. It won't be the only thing I'll do by any means, but now and then I'll analyze what a song is saying, and how it could/should affect me, and sometimes how the music itself plays into the impact of the song. So to start off, I'll be looking at Colton Dixon's “Limitless.”
I wasn't really paying attention the first time this song came on, and so the first verse passed me by without registering. The chorus caught my attention, though:
We are limitless, limitless
Limitless, limitless
The power of love
Alive in us
Is limitless, limitless
Unstoppable and nothing less
No nothing can hold us down
We are limitless.
Instantly, my guard went up. This sounds suspiciously like a prosperity gospel song. Why is everyone suddenly heading the prosperity gospel direction instead of sticking to the actual gospel? And why is a Christian radio station playing prosperity gospel songs? That was my thinking the next few times I heard it. It made me frustrated; set me on edge.
And then one day I was paying attention, and I caught the words of the first verse, and everything snapped into focus:
Too young, too old
Too shy, too bold
Too average
To make a difference
The world's too big
And you're too small
If you try to fly
You're gonna fall
They're shouting
But we won't listen…
It's not really talking about a general, Philippians 4:13-out-of-context sort of limitless (although to my disappointment, he did pull out that verse when introducing the song in concert). It's talking very specifically about not being afraid to step out into the world and make a difference. It's talking about hearing the call of God, and following him where he leads. Following him even when we don't know exactly where he's taking us, or why, or all the steps on the road. Following him when people are telling us that there is no way that this will work, or even actively opposing us.
Now, there are some things that we may want to do that really are not what we want to do. Sometimes people tell us that something won't work because they are smarter than we are, and they know that it really will not work. Where is the line? I'm not sure. I don't know that there is any one arbitrary line for all people (although I do have some thoughts that I may share next week). But I do know that it is important to make the distinction. And once we have the distinction made, we should fearlessly pursue it, because with God behind us, we really are limitless.
The lyrics are really a secondary thing. I can agree with the words with all my heart, but it's when I can lose myself in the melody and rhythm that it really begins to have an impact. When I lose myself in the song as a whole, the lyrics come with that, and I somehow internalize them better than when I just think about the lyrics by themselves.
Because of that impact, I'm starting something today that I will probably do every so often for the rest of the life of the blog. It won't be the only thing I'll do by any means, but now and then I'll analyze what a song is saying, and how it could/should affect me, and sometimes how the music itself plays into the impact of the song. So to start off, I'll be looking at Colton Dixon's “Limitless.”
I wasn't really paying attention the first time this song came on, and so the first verse passed me by without registering. The chorus caught my attention, though:
We are limitless, limitless
Limitless, limitless
The power of love
Alive in us
Is limitless, limitless
Unstoppable and nothing less
No nothing can hold us down
We are limitless.
Instantly, my guard went up. This sounds suspiciously like a prosperity gospel song. Why is everyone suddenly heading the prosperity gospel direction instead of sticking to the actual gospel? And why is a Christian radio station playing prosperity gospel songs? That was my thinking the next few times I heard it. It made me frustrated; set me on edge.
And then one day I was paying attention, and I caught the words of the first verse, and everything snapped into focus:
Too young, too old
Too shy, too bold
Too average
To make a difference
The world's too big
And you're too small
If you try to fly
You're gonna fall
They're shouting
But we won't listen…
It's not really talking about a general, Philippians 4:13-out-of-context sort of limitless (although to my disappointment, he did pull out that verse when introducing the song in concert). It's talking very specifically about not being afraid to step out into the world and make a difference. It's talking about hearing the call of God, and following him where he leads. Following him even when we don't know exactly where he's taking us, or why, or all the steps on the road. Following him when people are telling us that there is no way that this will work, or even actively opposing us.
Now, there are some things that we may want to do that really are not what we want to do. Sometimes people tell us that something won't work because they are smarter than we are, and they know that it really will not work. Where is the line? I'm not sure. I don't know that there is any one arbitrary line for all people (although I do have some thoughts that I may share next week). But I do know that it is important to make the distinction. And once we have the distinction made, we should fearlessly pursue it, because with God behind us, we really are limitless.