Parable of a Parody - "Ho Hey"
Previously, we looked at Pink’s “Try”, and discussed how trying can only take us so far - how trying should lead to doing because of our being (i.e. 3D Principle meets 3B Principle). But while we may know and believe this fact, often times, it’s the application – the real-life troubleshooting that provides our toughest challenges.
This week, we’re focusing on “Hey Ho” by the Lumineers, and as we listen to the song, note some of the repeated words and themes laced throughout the lyrics.
Upon further review, it’s no secret the Lumineers capitalize on strong emotional conditions, especially the desire to belong and be loved. And as the case with many songs streaming through the airwaves of pop culture, the Lumineers hit this popular tune in pulsating fashion.
Let’s face it: some of us don't know where we belong. We don't know what true relationship looks like. We’ve heard hundreds of sermons on what makes a good person, yet we haven’t learned how to sustain them over the course of a meaningful relationship. Perhaps this is due to the lack of role modeling, a lie we’ve chosen to believe or circumstances bottling us in loneliness. Whatever the case, there are many who are breathing, but are spiritually asleep. And some of us have wound up asleep because we placed our sense of belonging over the fact we already belong.
It’s no surprise we were made to be passionate (“All the blood that I will bleed…”). In Matthew 22:37, Jesus says, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart.” So we know a passionate God created us with a need to be wholehearted. Yet, God didn’t create passion to stand alone, but rather to be “the meat” between knowing God’s heart AND walking it out.
Without the “meat”, the line between love and passion can become blurred. Why? Because the world is saturated with the tall tale that says: We need love now (“So show me family…”). It inundates us with the idea we’re not complete until we fit in somewhere; however, when we turn to the Word, we find a polar-opposite reality.
Evidence: In 1 Corinthians 13, Paul trumpets the supremacy of love. Note the first attribute he assigns love: “Love is patient…”. Talk about an immediate contradiction to culture!
However, look at how Paul segues into this in v. 1-3: “If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.”
So why is Paul’s introduction so important? Because it testifies the truth that we were formed with love in order to love. We are not born into the world as “nothing”, waiting to become “something”. God created us with love, so everyone has an identity rooted in Him. Again, we live how we are, not the other way around.
Yes, the world says you got to blaze your own trail to find love and find it fast (sees second stanza), but what it doesn’t say is we already have love! Thus, it makes no sense to think we have to carve out our own path to what we think we want, when God already has a path for us based on what He wants for us. The fact we’re empowered by God to receive and give love back to Him, allowing us to overflow with love to others, speaks volume on the nature of God.
Application: Since we were made with love to love, it’s no wonder why sexual sin is arguably the biggest problem facing our generation. Unbridled passion to be loved and to give love can lead to big problems when one is living for the self. When we become our own gods, our hope is no longer anchored to anything. For how can hope be anchored to anything when our hope is in ourselves? When we call the shots, we give ourselves permission to lose control. We give ourselves consent to pave our trail, but which only leads to death. Why? Because we take perfect and stick the I’m in front of it (i.e. “IM-perfection).
The world is skilled in painting a deceptively enticing picture of how we feel in the immediate aftermath of giving into what we want. Yet, it completely ignores 99.9% of what we experience once that feeling is gone. It doesn’t care about your future, because it waters down the necessity of wisdom (Prov. 24:14). It doesn’t value your identity, because it claims God does not exist.
The world says, “What plan? What future?” It has no vision, nor can it give us direction.
Power Up: How do you think God feels when He sees us chasing after the wrong thing to find our belonging and community? How do you feel knowing God never stops calling us, never stops seeking us to turn to Him?
This week, we’re focusing on “Hey Ho” by the Lumineers, and as we listen to the song, note some of the repeated words and themes laced throughout the lyrics.
Upon further review, it’s no secret the Lumineers capitalize on strong emotional conditions, especially the desire to belong and be loved. And as the case with many songs streaming through the airwaves of pop culture, the Lumineers hit this popular tune in pulsating fashion.
Let’s face it: some of us don't know where we belong. We don't know what true relationship looks like. We’ve heard hundreds of sermons on what makes a good person, yet we haven’t learned how to sustain them over the course of a meaningful relationship. Perhaps this is due to the lack of role modeling, a lie we’ve chosen to believe or circumstances bottling us in loneliness. Whatever the case, there are many who are breathing, but are spiritually asleep. And some of us have wound up asleep because we placed our sense of belonging over the fact we already belong. Without the “meat”, the line between love and passion can become blurred. Why? Because the world is saturated with the tall tale that says: We need love now (“So show me family…”). It inundates us with the idea we’re not complete until we fit in somewhere; however, when we turn to the Word, we find a polar-opposite reality.
Evidence: In 1 Corinthians 13, Paul trumpets the supremacy of love. Note the first attribute he assigns love: “Love is patient…”. Talk about an immediate contradiction to culture!
However, look at how Paul segues into this in v. 1-3: “If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.”
So why is Paul’s introduction so important? Because it testifies the truth that we were formed with love in order to love. We are not born into the world as “nothing”, waiting to become “something”. God created us with love, so everyone has an identity rooted in Him. Again, we live how we are, not the other way around.
Yes, the world says you got to blaze your own trail to find love and find it fast (sees second stanza), but what it doesn’t say is we already have love! Thus, it makes no sense to think we have to carve out our own path to what we think we want, when God already has a path for us based on what He wants for us. The fact we’re empowered by God to receive and give love back to Him, allowing us to overflow with love to others, speaks volume on the nature of God.
Application: Since we were made with love to love, it’s no wonder why sexual sin is arguably the biggest problem facing our generation. Unbridled passion to be loved and to give love can lead to big problems when one is living for the self. When we become our own gods, our hope is no longer anchored to anything. For how can hope be anchored to anything when our hope is in ourselves? When we call the shots, we give ourselves permission to lose control. We give ourselves consent to pave our trail, but which only leads to death. Why? Because we take perfect and stick the I’m in front of it (i.e. “IM-perfection).
The world is skilled in painting a deceptively enticing picture of how we feel in the immediate aftermath of giving into what we want. Yet, it completely ignores 99.9% of what we experience once that feeling is gone. It doesn’t care about your future, because it waters down the necessity of wisdom (Prov. 24:14). It doesn’t value your identity, because it claims God does not exist.
The world says, “What plan? What future?” It has no vision, nor can it give us direction.
But the truth is we do have vision; we do have direction. And the more we live, the more God wants us to provide these elements to us. In Jeremiah 17 & 29, we see the value in investing our trust in God, since He has confidence in us to accomplish His vision. So if we align our passion to His vision, we can experience the love we so desperate want the right way.
Power Up: How do you think God feels when He sees us chasing after the wrong thing to find our belonging and community? How do you feel knowing God never stops calling us, never stops seeking us to turn to Him?
God wants us to love, not because He has a love deficit, but because He wants us to experience the gain of being filled by Him to give back to others. God wants you to know that you belong to Him and He belongs to you - He is our heart.
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