aschwartz's blog

Long before the Father spoke His creation into existence he foresaw a moment in time. As an artist holding fast to a vivid image, God shaped and molded each curve of creation, knowing its rightful context and purpose. Nothing out of place. Nothing meaningless. The Father forged in man His own likeness. It gave Him GREAT joy… and yet He knew. He gave light. He gave shelter. He gave intimacy. He gave beauty. He fed. He cared. He loved. But still… He knew. He knew His beloved would fail to trust. He knew despite all things being given to them, they would reject Him. It hurt.

Long before the Father spoke His creation into existence he foresaw a moment in time. As an artist holding fast to a vivid image, God shaped and molded each curve of creation, knowing its rightful context and purpose. Nothing out of place. Nothing meaningless. The Father forged in man His own likeness. It gave Him GREAT joy… and yet He knew. He gave light. He gave shelter. He gave intimacy. He gave beauty. He fed. He cared. He loved. But still… He knew. He knew His beloved would fail to trust. He knew despite all things being given to them, they would reject Him. It hurt.

If you are not familiar, RATM is a band that it many ways defies genres. To put it simply, they are hard, loud, and angry. They unapologetically scream an agenda that is most often diametrically opposed to everything that is evangelical political doctrine. However, a friend of mine recently pointed out a statement made by their guitarist Tom Morello concerning their “sound” that resonated with me in a powerful way. I am asking you to put aside whatever issues you might have with their lyrical content or their political agenda to hear this one statement.

I can’t do drama anymore. When I come home from work I want random escapist entertainment. I love movies like UHF, Tommy Boy, and Happy Gilmore. I get enough serious situations in my work. So, I rejoiced at the recent television show “Community.” If you haven’t seen it, the show revolves around a group of community college students who form a study group. They are all dysfunctional in their own ways and led by Joel McHale’s character “Jeff Winger.” Each week they embark on some absurd adventure that leads to conflict and argument.

Last week I did something I have sworn not to do on numerous occasions. I got in a facebook fight. I am frankly embarrassed at myself for being drawn in to one. Internet arguments are kinda like breaking up toddler fights. No one gets what they want and everyone leaves upset. There is no voice inflection in text. You can’t read body language. Most of the time, you don’t know the person well enough to understand their motives. I cannot tell you how many times I have resisted the temptation to post something I knew might start a fight. Last week, I didn’t.

Anybody remember the band “Extreme?” You know, that band who transformed college campuses everywhere by giving “that guy” with an acoustic guitar, a realistic shot at attracting girls who were way out of his league simply by strumming “More Than Words” in a public place. I am guessing you hear the song in your head as you are reading this sentence. Sorry about that. They were also known for lending their lead singer to Van Halen in a triumphant attempt to produce VH’s worst album (sorry, that really had nothing to do with my point.)