Eternal Perspectives

I am old.

I know this because the other day a teenage client said to me, “I just love Britney Spears! ‘…Baby One More Time’ is a classic, you know,” giggling as she said so. Calling upon all my professional training and experience, I was able to restrain myself from throttling her and hiding her body in an industrial landfill.

I don’t listen to Britney (I am proud to say), although I do listen to Maroon 5 and Cake on occasion. Mostly I listen to my own “classic” music, i.e., that which was produced in the late ’60s and ’70s by the likes of Pink Floyd, The Beatles, The Who, Led Zepellin, Eric Clapton (especially with Cream and Blind Faith), and a few groups from the early ’80s like Talking Heads and The Police.

What I also don’t listen to, though, is music by Christian artists. Oh, once in a blue moon I’ll toss a WOW collection into the player and drive around. But I don’t listen to it for the content so much as for the music: “It’s got a good beat and it’s easy to dance to! I give it a 75!” (Whoa, now I’m really dating myself.) Once in awhile there’s a Christian song that moves me, like Colored People by DC Talk or Ross King’s As Much for Me.

I do listen to Bob Dylan’s music, both BC and AD. He’s a Christian artist, I suppose, but I guess I feel like he belongs in a category all by himself. He is a music giant and an astute social observer. “Neighborhood Bully” is a great, great song.

The Christian music I prefer is found in the lyrics of non-Christian (ostensibly) artists. They not only deliver a biblical message sometimes, but they do so with incredible creativity and talent. There are a bunch to choose from, but let me limit it to one for right now. Perhaps later I’ll look at “Once in a Lifetime” by The Talking Heads or “Eminence Front” by The Who. And then there’s the whole rock opera “Tommy” to consider.

Right now, though, I want to dig into one of my favorite Christian songs from one of the most unlikely of groups. The group is The Rolling Stones, and the song is “Sympathy for the Devil.” I’ll provide the lyrics and make comments along the way. Maybe I can convince you that this song is, in fact, Christian in its message. No gospel, but biblical truth.

“Please allow me to introduce myself
I’m a man of wealth and taste
I’ve been around for a long long year
stolen many man’s soul and faith.”

A couple of things from the opening verse: first, notice that Satan is described as “a man of wealth and taste.” Scripture teaches us that he describes himself as an angel of light. Mick Jagger knows where to look for the devil, even if sometimes I don’t.

“I was around when Jesus Christ
had His moment of doubt and pain
Made damn sure that Pilate
washed his hands and sealed His fate.”

According to Jagger, it was Satan who was the motivator of those who crucified Christ. Not the Romans or the Jews (although they were willing subjects), but Satan.

“Stuck around St. Petersburg
when I saw it was a time for a change
Killed the Tzar and his ministers,
Anastasia screamed in vain.”

This, of course, is a reference to the Russian revolution of 1917 that ushered in communism.

“I rode a tank; held a gen’rals rank
when the blitzkrieg raged and the bodies stank.”

World War II and the Holocaust.

“I watched the glee while your kings and queens
fought for ten decades for the Gods they made.”

The Hundred Years War in Europe.

“I shouted out ‘Who killed the Kennedys?’
when after all it was you and me.”

John and Bobby Kennedy; Teddy’s killing himself.

“Let me please intruduce myself :
I’m a man of wealth and taste.
And I lay traps for troubadors
who get killed before they reach Bombay.”

Our Adversary opposes missionary efforts and anything else that would propogate the gospel.

“Just as every cop is a criminal
and all the sinners, Saints;
as heads is tails, just call me ‘Lucifer ‘
’cause I’m in need of some restraint.”

Satan’s world is upside-down: cops are criminals, sinners are saints, heads is tails. The message he sells is diametrically opposed to the truth.

“So if you meet me, have some courtesy,
have some sympathy and some taste.
Use all your well-learned politesse
or I’ll lay your soul to waste.”

“Politesse” is politeness. Satan’s nature is revealed at the end: he is a murderous tyrant who, if not submitted to, will “lay your soul to waste.” What Jagger doesn’t say, however, is that if you do obey him, your soul will forever be ruined.

Pleased to meet you hope you guess my name
But what’s puzzling you is the nature of my game.

Satan doesn’t come out and say, “Follow me and I’ll guarantee you eternal torment” or “All I have to offer you is blood, sweat, and the lake of fire.” Those in his grasp do not realize their peril.

What strikes me most about this song is where Jagger places the responsibility for the events of history. He does not identify the actors directly but looks behind the scenes to the director, i.e., Satan. How often do we fail to take Paul’s words into consideration when we rail against the likes of John Kerry, Barbara Boxer, or the Democrats in general? Or, for our Democratic Christian brethren, George Bush, Donald Rumsfeld, or the Republicans? Listen to Paul:

“For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.” - Eph 6.12 (NASB)

People are not the ultimate enemy. The Apostle reminds us that we, too – prior to our salvation – were “dead in your trespasses and sins, in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience,” and John tells us that “the whole world lies in the power of the evil one.” Christians, of all people, should know this and treat our enemies with love, patience, kindness, grace, and respect – just as God treated us before our salvation.

But, you might say, there are Christian groups that make similar statements and do it more “biblically.” Well, I doubt it: most of the Christian music I’ve heard doesn’t deal with this kind of stuff. But there are two important points I want to make before ending this lengthy post.

First, there may be Christian groups that convey messages similar to the one in this song by The Stones. But what audience do they reach? Do people in bars listen to their music? People doing drugs? The Stones’ music reaches around the world and lasts for decades. Which leads to the final point.

Music like this can be a natural bridge or entry point for talking to non-Christians about the gospel. There are a lot of lost people out there who know the words to “Sympathy for the Devil” by heart but, like the Ethiopian eunuch, have no one to explain the message to them.

We can explain it, but we have to know the words, too.