Glimpses of God

For a long time, I rarely listened to Christian-labeled music outside of church services. I just didn’t like most of the songs I heard on the radio that were of that type of label. It’s not that I didn’t like the spiritual messages in the songs; I just didn’t like the musical composition. Most of what I had heard of Christian-labeled music seemed kind of cheesy to me, other than Lifehouse songs (but they were considered more of a crossover band) and some Celtic music. However, over the past year or so I’ve discovered some Christian artists that I really enjoy listening to: Switchfoot, Waterdeep, Derek Webb, Caedmon’s Call, and Sandra McCracken immediately come to mind. I especially love Sandra McCracken. She rocks.

Even though I’m getting more into the world of non-cheesy Christian music, I still love many non-Christian-labeled bands and artists and feel that I can be inspired by their music as well. I recently read an article on christianmusictoday.com about how they think there can be a spiritual theme in some popular music outside of the Christian music label. They said these types of songs offer “glimpses of God.”

After doing a quick run-through of my music library, I noticed that many songs could be applied to the spiritual life, even if that wasn’t what the writer may have intended. I also noticed something about love songs in relation to a book I recently read: The Four Loves, by C.S. Lewis. That book totally messed with my head, in a good way, and also convicted me in some ways. I actually posted about it last week, but then removed the post a day later because I felt I was getting ahead of myself and hadn’t thought my response through enough.

Anyway, after listening to a few of the love songs in my music library, I realized how the messages of these songs definitely apply to the Eros version of love that Lewis describes. Many of these songs express a love that was probably written about another person, but the lyrics could be applied to love given to or received from God as well. And, in my opinion, the Eros love expressed in some of these songs would be best applied to God, rather than to another person. For example, the “I can’t live without you,” type of love song. Or the “you complete me” message (Jerry McGuire, anyone? I heart Tom Cruise. Not really).

So, if these songs were to be (re)interpreted as directing the love message to God, some of them would actually make pretty good worship songs. This is from my completely subjective interpretation, of course. On the other hand, some of them would make for rather creepy or awkward worship songs. . . . I guess the spiritual theme can’t be applied to every song, but it’s interesting to think about popular music through that perspective.

Here are just a few of the songs from my music library (that aren’t on a Christian label) that I think might have a spiritual theme to them, or potentially could if reinterpreted that way:

• Call and Answer, by the Barenaked Ladies
• Warning Sign, by Coldplay
• Yellow, by Coldplay
• Cold Water, by Damien Rice
• Cannonball, by Damien Rice (it was amazing to see him sing this song live)
• Soul Meets Body, by Death Cab for Cutie
• Your Heart is an Empty Room, by Death Cab for Cutie (could the “empty room” be part of Avila’s Interior Castle? Okay, that may be a bit of a stretch…)
• Help! by the Beatles
• In My Life, by the Beatles
• Let it Be, by the Beatles (yes, I like the Beatles.)
• You Never Give Me Your Money, by the Beatles (a good song for Tithe Sunday. Just kidding.)
• Bring Me to Life, by Evanescence
• Wonderwall, by Oasis
• I Want You to Be My Love, by Over the Rhine
• Drunkard’s Prayer, by Over the Rhine
• Open Your Eyes, by Snow Patrol
• Run, by Snow Patrol

And a whole bunch of songs by U2, but I won’t take the time to list them all. I was hoping I could get a Weezer song in there, but they don’t seem to be all that spiritual.

EDiT: I retract my above comment about Weezer. I forgot about the album Make Believe, which has some spiritual/soul-searching undertones on some of its songs (not Beverly Hills).