Worth Far More Than Rubies

A couple of days ago one of my friends posted a video making light of “weird Facebook guys” who “stalk” total strangers of the opposite sex who happen to be attractive. It’s relatively tame, but due to the subject matter and some obscenities, I can’t recommend it. However, you can view it at your own discretion by following this link.

I recognized the song (by Eminem) that it parodies but wasn’t that familiar with it, so I did a search and discovered that the original song is called “Love the Way You Lie” and features Rihanna. In the rap, Eminem talks from the perspective of an abusive husband/boyfriend. Here’s the chorus, which is sung by Rihanna:

Just gonna stand there and watch me burn?

That’s alright because I like the way it hurts

Just gonna stand there and hear me cry?

That’s alright because I love the way you lie

I love the way you lie

And here’s part of Eminem's rap (with appropriate edits):

Now I know we said things, did things that we didn't mean

And we fall back into the same patterns, same routine

But your temper's just as bad as mine is

You're the same as me

But when it comes to love you're just as blinded

Baby, please come back

It wasn't you, baby it was me

Maybe our relationship isn't as crazy as it seems

Maybe that's what happens when a tornado meets a volcano

All I know is I love you too much to walk away though

Come inside, pick up your bags off the sidewalk

Don't you hear sincerity in my voice when I talk?

I told you this is my fault

Look me in the eyeball

Next time I'm [ticked], I'll aim my fist at the drywall

Next time? There won't be no next time

I apologize even though I know it’s lies

I'm tired of the games I just want her back

I know I'm a liar

If she ever tries to [****]ing leave again

Im'a tie her to the bed and set this house on fire

Needless to say, while the song isn’t meant to be uplifting, I found it deeply unsettling in a way that Eminem and Rihanna surely didn’t intend. For those of you who don’t know, Eminem has made a career out of writing lyrics that are alternately full of anger and egotism, while Rihanna is best known outside the music world for being the victim of domestic violence. Why anyone thought it would be a good idea to put those two in the same studio is frankly beyond me.

The more I thought about “Love the Way You Lie,” I couldn’t help recalling the words of Proverbs 31:10-12:

A wife of noble character who can find?

   She is worth far more than rubies.

Her husband has full confidence in her

   and lacks nothing of value.

She brings him good, not harm,

   all the days of her life.

Then there’s Colossians 3:19:

Husbands, love your wives and do not be harsh with them.

It is tragic that our culture uses the same obscenity to describe sexual intimacy and hurting someone. This is clear evidence of the extent to which the father of lies has deceived humanity about the nature of love. As I said in a previous note, “God is love”! Jesus said, “Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil.” (John 3:19) Most people will never even glimpse the beauty that God created and the love that comes from him. But the pain and the violence and the shame that mark fallen lives in a sin-cursed world only foreshadow the terror and the torment that will be theirs for eternity unless they come to Christ.

It was God who said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.” (Genesis 2:18) Apart from grace, no one can experience the riches of a godly love. But even as a single man, I have been blessed to witness the beauty of marriages that honor God.

Here’s my closing question: Does your life point to the love that comes from God?

(Originally posted on Facebook on Wednesday, February 16, 2011 at 7:20pm)

Flesh and Blood

(NOTE: I began writing this around midnight last night, but only finished it this afternoon.)

As I write this, it has just been announced that Osama bin Laden, mastermind of the September 11, 2001 attacks, is dead. One of the first things that entered my mind upon hearing this news is the words of Martin Luther’s “A Mighty Fortress is Our God”:

By Their Fruit

Around fifteen years ago I heard a famous country singer -- a self-professed Christian -- who, in answering a fan’s question, said these words: “I just can’t bring myself to believe there’s only one way to Heaven.”

There’s a song that I was recently made aware of by Mark Schultz. I love his song “I Have Been There,” but I was troubled to learn of one called “Love Has Come.” Here are some of the lyrics:

What is Love?

In a previous note I referenced the song “If I Know You” by Out of the Grey. The next day I posted the following status:

For There's No Other Way

I don’t listen to the radio much, but I heard a song last evening that (naturally) got me thinking. The song is “Only You Can Save” by Chris Sligh. Here’s part of the lyrics:

"Heard a Rumor That the End is Near"

I believe it was in the late 1980s that I first visited New York City. I don’t remember who all was there, but I do remember that Mom and my aunt were with me. As we were going down one of the infamously busy streets, we passed a woman who was handing out flyers while saying in a loud ominous voice: “Jesus is coming back in 1992!”

If I Know You

One of the things I try to do in my notes is offer hope for hard times. Sometimes it feels like I’m beating a dead horse; but then I remember how many times in the Bible the word “remind” is used, or derivatives thereof, and I’m compelled to press on.