I hate to be the lyrics curmudgeon, but sometimes I just get really bugged by a certain Christian song. It's actually been weeks that I first heard this song, but I've been really busy. It's time to talk "VIP" by Manic Drive. It's a catchy, fun-for-kids kind of song if you haven't heard it (the rapper has some annoying tendencies that make it hard to understand a few words), but I'm not sure it's all that innocent in its core theology. Here is the entire lyric from the air1 website, so it's going to be as close to right as I'll probably find on the internet: Ladies and gents, welcome to the rock show, center spotlight and we watch the stage glow Here's what I think the song is going for: God created every human as a unique and priceless treasure in His image. Jesus Christ died so that every such human would have not only access to God Himself but also have abundant life right here. That's the "VIP treatment" from God. That's a message I want everyone to know because it's true. Every single one of us is of utmost importance to God our Creator. That's not my problem. My problem is the use of the VIP imagery. There's no question that Manic Drive is appealing to a very Western view of the VIP (read: celebrity). Paparazzi even made the chorus! The very idea of a VIP/celebrity is one of glamour, attention, and envy. Everybody wants to see a VIP. Everybody wants to be around a VIP. Everybody wants to be a VIP. In this song, the Christian is that VIP. Throw some spiritualization on the imagery: who's important in eternity? God's children. Think about the story of Ruth and Naomi. Boaz, the man who had compassion on them, is immortalized in Scripture. The relative who gave up his rights/responsibilities as the kinsman-redeemer is ingloriously named (literally) Mr. So-and-So. God knows us. Jesus Christ has personally prepared a place for us to live for all eternity. Doesn't that make every Christian more important than some deadbeat movie star with zero morals? Isn't it time for the Christians to claim their place of prominence in our world today?! Well, no. And no. That's a complete distortion of who we are and who we are called to be on this earth. What did Paul say about us in Philippians 2? Do nothing out of rivalry or conceit, but in humility consider others as more important than yourselves. Everyone should look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others. Make your own attitude that of Christ Jesus, who, existing in the form of God, did not consider equality with God as something to be used for His own advantage. Instead He emptied Himself by assuming the form of a slave, taking on the likeness of men. And when He had come as a man in His external form, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death--even to death on a cross. What did John the Baptist say when his followers indicated that Jesus was starting to get more attention than they were (in John 3)? No one can receive a single thing unless it’s given to him from heaven. You yourselves can testify that I said, ‘I am not the Messiah, but I’ve been sent ahead of Him.’ He who has the bride is the groom. But the groom’s friend, who stands by and listens for him, rejoices greatly at the groom’s voice. So this joy of mine is complete. He must increase, but I must decrease. Who is the true VIP in our life? It's Jesus. And only Jesus. There is only one name given under heaven by which we can and must be saved. Jesus. There is only one King for eternity. Jesus. There is only one Mediator between God and man. Jesus. We must have an absolute understanding that Jesus = everything; us without Jesus = nothing. To top it off, Jesus gives us a few choice sentiments in Luke 9 and 14: If anyone wants to come with Me, he must deny himself, take up his cross daily, and follow Me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life because of Me will save it. If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his own father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters—yes, and even his own life—he cannot be My disciple. Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple. What part of either of those statements has any room for paparazzi treatment? What part of either of those statements puts us on the red carpet? The only paparazzi treatment I can see is one trying to humiliate us for taking a stand for the gospel. The only red carpet treatment I can see is a long walk to prison (or worse) for taking a stand for the gospel. The VIP treatment in Manic Drive's song is more like that bizarre request by Creflo Dollar for a $65 million jet than anything the disciples expected in this life. Yes, Peter was worried about everything they had given up, and James and John wanted to sit at His side, but Jesus made it clear to them what they had signed up for: giving up their very lives for the cause of the gospel of Christ. This is no celebrity VIP treatment.
So with that in mind, I've decided that this song (however intentioned) sends the wrong message. We don't want the attention on us. We never want the attention on us. It's all about Jesus. Even in eternity, when we ostensibly enjoy something more akin to the treatment sung about here, it's still all about Jesus. He's the VIP. We must always direct everyone's attention to Him, not to us. The entire VIP celebrity treatment is incompatible with the true gospel. But you know what? What God has in store for us is still so much better than any petty earthly VIP treatment. The truth beyond this song is actually even more compelling than what they tried to put in it.
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