Song of the day: How B.o.b Airplanes relates to American Christianity

I enjoy poetry. I haven't always enjoyed poetry, but I have come to appreciate its significance as a means of symbolically communicating that which one cannot necessarily communicate with prose. But this post is not totally about poetry--it is about a song. I like song lyrics for some reason--maybe it’s because they are essentially poetry. But I think it is more because I like to engage with song lyrics--that is, ponder the meaning, intention and ramifications of the philosophy espoused by the lyrics. I see this as a legacy of my upbringing, where even the philosophical significance of a road-side billboard was free game to be called into question. For example, on seeing a billboard that said, “All you need is love,” my father might ask, “Is that statement true?” and for the next five minutes or so we would discuss the elements of truth and limitations of the statement, “All you need is love.” In a similar manner, I ponder within my own mind the elements of truth and limitations of song lyrics I hear.

Today’s song is B.o.B’s Airplanes. It’s a very romantic song, in the sense of romanticism--seeking to return to a better past. Whenever I hear this song, there is one line that catches my attention every time: “But nowadays we rappin’ to stay relevant.” This line comes from the following part of the song:

Somebody take me back to the days

Before this was a job, before I got paid

Before it ever mattered what I had in my bank

Yeah back when I was tryin' to get into the subway

And back when I was rappin' for the hell of it

But now a days we rappin' to stay relevant

I'm guessin that if we can make some wishes outta airplanes

Then maybe oh maybe I'll go back to the days

Before the politics that we call the rap game

And back when ain't nobody listened to my mix tape

And back before I tried to cover up my slang

But this is for the Cada, what's up Bobby Ray

So can I get a wish to end the politics

And get back to the music that started this s**t

So here I stand and then again I say

I'm hopin' we can make some wishes outta airplanes

Somehow I always think of American Christianity when I hear these lines. I think of television preachers and famous speakers; megachurches and seeker-sensitivism. And I want to go back to the days before church was a business. Before it ever mattered how many people sat in the pews on Sunday morning, or how much money came into the offering plate. Back when it didn’t matter whether you gathered in a school gym or a tall cathedral. Back when it was all about the truth and how God applied it to the heart.

You see, now a days, we preachin’ to stay relevant.  American Christianity has become largely all about covering up, not slang, but the offensiveness of its message. Seeker-sensitivism says that we can attract people to Christ. Unfortunately, the very message of the Gospel is offensive. To cover up its offense is to dilute it. Instead of diluting the truth, we need to speak the full truth in love.

With that said, though, “going back to the days,” is really a misnomer. Throughout church history, there have been those who have compromised the truth in their quest for outward results. Thus, “going back to the days,” even if it was possible, is not the real answer. The answer lies in “going back to the truth.” The truth is always with us in the Scriptures--no time travel necessary. There are churches in America that aren’t focused on numbers or statistics or a business model, but on faithfully proclaiming the truth in the Scriptures. Those are the places we need to go back to, because they will lead us back to the truth.