Heaven
January 7, 2008Sometimes people are wrong. Yes, wrong. I know it’s hard for some of you to believe- “doesn’t everybody have a right to their own opinion? What’s wrong for you may be right for me?” Well, someone has to be right and someone has to be wrong.I was having a discussion about this with a guy. I pointed to a black phone and said, that phone is orange. We both knew it was black, but he actually said, “it may be orange to you.” Huh?
Some people think heaven is a place where everyone goes when they die, that it’s all fun, fun, party time, that you get to be with your wife, that you get hundreds of wives. These are all impressions of heaven cooked up in the imaginations of men. The Bible alone proclaims the truths about heaven.
Let’s see what some songs say about heaven:
“Heaven” by Live
From the Album, “Birds of Pray”
lyrics found at www.azlyrics.com.
I don’t need no one to tell me about heaven
I look at my daughter, and I believe.
I don’t need no proof when it comes to God and truth
I can see the sunset and I perceive, yeah
In a way, I hear what singer Ed Kowalczyk is saying. It’s true- the Bible says in Romans 1:18-20:
The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness, since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities–his eternal power and divine nature–have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse. (Emphasis is mine)
And I’m guessing his daughter is a little baby. Give her a couple months, Ed, and you will see sin personified as she continually defies you and disobeys you. We don’t have to teach children to be bad, they’ve inherited a sinful nature from our forefather, Adam. We do have to teach them to be good, have you ever noticed that?
Yo, Ed, will you see heaven when you catch your teen daughter in the back of your car making out with some greasy boy?
FYI, according to Wikipedia, Ed is a follower of Jiddu Krishnamurti. I don’t think Ed’s heaven is the same as the Bible’s heaven- a place where believers of Jesus Christ will live eternally as they worship Him.
More songs with “Heaven” coming soon…
I remember when I first got this song. It seemed to have all the indications of a Christian hit. The lyrics looked as if they showed a deep, meaningful relationship with Christ – and all with a hit in mainstream music, no less! But right away, when I first heard it more closely, it was plainly empty – so much so that I couldn’t wait to get rid of it. I couldn’t understand how something that looked so devoutly Christian could be so empty and hollow! Now I know.
I did a little probing into that Wikipedia article, and even though the J. Krishnamurti teachings appear to line up with the teachings of Jesus, the Krishnamurti teachings are based in worldly accomplishments and motives. God’s nowhere in the mix. It’s all about how humankind can change things. Try explaining this teaching to a murderer, and he’s not going to want to meditate or help change society. He’s going to want to kill you!
Likewise – and I agree totally – if Ed’s daughter is indeed Heaven to him, she won’t be if she follows teachings that go against God and the Bible.
A lot of great points here. I totally agree with your assessment. Just because something is spiritual doesn’t mean it’s Godly. I now look at the song’s lyrics, the album title “Birds of Pray,” and I’m embarrassed.
I also agree with your statement. “Give her a couple months, Ed, and you will see sin personified as she continually defies you and disobeys you.” Unlike the pop culture who believe that babies and children are born innocent. Without Christ we are depraved and will gravitate toward the lusts of our flesh. On the other note, as believers we tend to look for Christian themed lyrics in the secular mainstream. But for the most part the lyrics often are hollow like the above commenter said. I love music and I try to use it to preach Christ through it’s medium.
BTW – I loved how you use Romans 1 to tell about the evidence of God. The evidence that our flesh suppresses.