Dang it Lady Gaga. You put out some really great beats, but your words are hard for me to listen to.
Yesterday, I was driving down 635 when this catchy song came on the radio. I rolled down my windows, turned it up, and seriously got lost in the moment. I couldn't decide if it was a new Ashley Simpson song, or if Christina Aguilera was a part of the mix, but with a smile on my face, I enjoyed each down beat and every high-pitched note. As the song came to a close, I frantically pulled out my phone and began Googling some of the lyrics to figure out who was singing the song...wow...Lady Gaga.
I'm not saying I am anti-Gaga, I just choose to not really pay much attention to her. I think she's totally gifted and, if she truly doesn't care what people think of her, that's incredible; however, being a person whose heart easily gets distracted, I try to not go there. I have to be cautious.
Anyways, back to my story...
I downloaded the song, and listened to the lyrics. This line caught my attention:
"There's only three men that I 'ma serve my whole life, it's my daddy and Nebraska and Jesus Christ."
Okay. It reminded me of the lyrics to "Born This Way," which I had randomly heard earlier that day. I Googled those, too.
"It doesn't matter if you love him or capital H-I-M, just put your paws up. 'Cause you were born this way, baby...I'm beautiful in my way, 'Cause God makes no mistakes, I'm on the right track baby, I was born this way."
Interesting.
Over the past couple of hours, I've thought about Gaga a few times. I wonder who Gaga really is. Like who is she right before she goes to bed at night? Is she wasted, or is she a book-light reader? Does she do the whole bubble bath thing, or does she pull out a guitar and sing? Does she simply watch the news, or a black-and-white movie? All I'm saying is Gaga is someone when no body's looking, and it may be different than how we typically see her.
As I was talking with a coworker about all of this, Katy Perry got thrown into the equation. We talked about how outraged Perry had become after one of Gaga' videos "made dirty" of the Catholic Rosary. We talked about how she (Perry) claimed to be a Christian, and felt as though the video was disgracing the faith. (Even though Perry isn't walking with God, the fact that someone else walks all over the concept of it infuriated her.)
My question is, why?
Perry used to sing songs to a God she deeply believed in. Now, she doesn't, but when someone else bashes Him, she gets defensive. Does she still, somewhere deep down, have affections for Him? I can't help but wonder what's under everything.
There have been many moments in my life when I totally spit on God's Word. (I know this sounds intense, but just hang with me for a bit.) During these times, I claimed to be a Christian and did all of the right things each Sunday, but my heart was in the wrong place. My heart was set on making much of myself and not on making much of my Creator. I totally ignored the convictions He placed on me so that I could do what I thought I needed to do in order to fit in, be known, and be considered worthy of people's praise. This only worked for so long though; eventually, I found myself dreadfully empty and headed toward destruction. My world felt dark, so I ran to the light. He was there. He had always been there - I just didn't want to surrender.
I ran in circles until I was utterly exhausted from running. When I stopped, I surrendered and accepted that God was truly God, and I was definitely not. Are they running?
Check out the Parable of the Lost Sheep in Luke 15. The point of the story is that a shepherd will find the lost sheep, even if it's only one. Or look at the next little story in that chapter, the Parable of the Lost Coin. A woman had 10 silver coins and lost one, so she search[ed] carefully until she [found] it" (vs. 8). Finally, look at the next one, the Parable of the Lost Son (the Prodigal Son). The younger son runs off, squanders his father's wealth, and returns home to a Father longing to love his son.
There's a theme here: the lost are found.
Again, I don't know Katy Perry's heart, and I cannot even begin to tell you the depths of Gaga's. I don't know what they truly believe or why they do the things they do. All I'm saying is that if they are God's, if they are true believers in His grace and are completely aware that there is nothing they can do to earn eternal life with him, except for surrender under His sacrifice on the cross, then I believe God will find them. At some point, through death or life, He will grab their hearts and remind them of who He is.
God sought me out. He sought out the sheep, the coin, and the lost son. I ran and ran until BAM! I couldn't run anymore. What I found in my surrender was peace, restoration, freedom, and purpose in hardship. A life bigger than my own.
I don't know your story. You may have been walking with Christ every since you met Him, or you may not even believe. You may be "doing your own thing" right now, and figure you'll trust in God when you have a family or grow older. Or you may be like I was (and can still sometimes be) - you may be running because following Him means sacrificing things you don't want to give up. I get it.
God's Word says that "as far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us" (Psalm 103:12). He also says that "neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Romans 8:38&39). He's the Father who wants to love on His lost son...or daughter. The question is: are we accepting it?
Dang it Lady Gaga. I listen to your music and this is what happens. I need to get back to the dishes...
