http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Tcjylg3wgQ

No, it’s not wrong to long for that. “We wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redeption of our bodies.” In fact, that fits into the “sorrowful yet always rejoicing” paradigm – there is sorrow now but we rejoice with hope that one day there will be no more sorrow. Paul gets at that in verse 18: “For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.”

Here’s a snippet from it:
During this time, Darrell began to think about his own life. What would he be bringing to the cross? “I got the picture of myself, too, on my knees at the cross. What would I be laying down in my own life?” he recalls. “The initial ideas of my sorrows and shame, and sickness and pain were rolling around in me-especially shame. That was a big one, as I though about my own failures and mistakes in life. I thought, Man, I’d like to trade those things in. And so I began singing that, which became the opening lines to the song.” [END SNIPPET]

I don’t think we’re far off with our assessment – notice how at the end he is thinking, “Man, I’d like to trade those things in.” That basically hits on my mutual exclusion point – that the song is teaching us that Joy and ____ are mutually exclusive. And there is NO indication that he’s taking Walt’s alternative definitions of what all those words mean.

Realize that I’m not worried about any of us at all. The very fact that we’re having this discussion means we understand the song, and that we could sing it with the correct motives, and to the glory of God.

I’m worried about everyone else. I *do* think that the song has a *very high probability* of being misinterpreted. I therefor condemn the verse which, taken at face value, leads us to a misunderstanding of something important.

You mentioned that “rejecting someone’s craft is like rejecting a part of them.” I see no problem with rejecting the part of the author of this song that chose catchy lyrics over clear and correct ones. If he was here I would discuss his error with him as gently as I could, and I hope he would agree.

Songwriters have tremendous influence. I hold them to high standards because they have such power. They ought to be critiqued, and they ought to be helped to a greater understanding of the material they write.

By the way, I like this song. I think it’s dangerous and I like it at the same time. I especially like “pressed but not crushed, persecuted not abandonded. Struck down but not destroyed. I am blessed beyond the curse for His promise will endure; His joy comes with the morning.” Perhaps, sing it all you want? Just let’s never play it in a context where it could be misinterpreted (or maybe correctly interpreted – maybe the author really did mean heresy, I don’t know).

so i’ll try to make this short and non-harsh. i get a bit annoyed when people over-analyze things, and that is what i thought you were doing with this song. i still hold to it as a good song, but i’ll concede it can be misconstrued. so ben, many apologies for being most harsh to you.

rajiv, i agree that much of ccm is pretty bad, but i disagree with the conclusion you make about interpretation. more on that on ben’s newer post (btw ben, good call for splitting that off).

liang, i thank you for your rebuke, though i would say most of us tend to be overly critical of these things. the comments i made about looking for the good were based mostly off of c.j. mahaney’s message at text and context, on the idea of looking for evidences of the grace of God in a situation rather than all the imperfections that linger. this is not saying we shouldn’t correct error, but that all too often we make mountains out of molehills for small infelicities. and as a poet and songwriter, i take these things a little too personally, because rejecting someone’s craft is in essence rejecting a part of them. so i’m sorry i went overboard, but i don’t take saying a song, especially one made to praise God, should not be sung lightly.

daniel, that was just poor taste. seriously, the way you started your comment i would have thought was far below you. it’s merely inflammatory, with extreme hyperbole that really isn’t helping. i would hesitate to say this song has a “high probability” of causing errant thinking. again, it’s not perfect, it can be misconstrued, but i would argue we need to do more with the songs we choose than just sing them. i am all for going through the lyrics of a song before singing it, digging into whatever goodness that is there, and then worshiping God with a right understanding and a sincere heart, not merely repeating words off a screen.

Almost as arbitrary. All the words are in the Bible, so it must be ok.

“I’m trading my chopsticks…
I’m trading my cats…
I’m layin’ them down…
For the joy of the Lord!”

Walt, I rather think your interpretation of the content of the song is a stretch for people who aren’t thinking very carefully about it anyway. Chant it long enough with the wrong understanding and you’ll come to the wrong conclusions.

There are so many songs without the high probability of spawning horrible misunderstanding. Let’s sing those. Why would we endorse a song with such ambiguity, where the most probable interpretation leads us to a very dangerous misunderstanding of the nature of God’s grace? It’s like telling people to “seek after God” without mentioning Jesus.

Lots of people take this song the wrong way, and as a result, people are living on the surface, looking for the joy of God in the absence of Godly suffering. This is dangerous. This song blurs an important concept. So why endorse it? Because it has good parts? Don’t go that route. The sketchiest churches in America use tons of Bible.

Let’s also try to give our brothers the benefit of the doubt and not be quick to assume they’re being overly critical. I do not sense that Ben is writing out of a critical spirit, but out of a desire that others would grasp the goodness of God’s truths more.

I’m not sure where you idea of “looking for more good, less bad” is from. We should assess everything with a humble heart that seeks the glory of God in all things. Assessing things accurately, with love, not only for the authors but also for the hearers, honors God. I thought this post was loving in that it was trying to point people to the truth.

Personally, I thought the post was thoughtful and accurate and in the right spirit. Ben’s not ripping on individual song writers. He’s not questioning their salvation or mocking them. He’s focusing on how we should think about sorrow and joy, biblically. And btw, when I sang this song over and over growing up, I did think of the pain as physical, real pain in this song. I think it’s not absurd to suggest most people who did not grow up with a solid biblical theology would interpret it this way.