Stop Talking About Jesus

Admittedly, I'm not a fan of country music. I often think of Bob Newhart's joke about it: "I don't like country music, but I don't mean to denigrate those who do. And for those who like country music, denigrate means to 'put down.'"

I don't even know who Charley Crockett is. But I recently saw a quote from him in Rolling Stone and I think he provides a profound theological synopsis of this moment. Charlie was referring to the contrast between two recent Grammy speeches that offered a cultural comparison.

One was when the artist Jelly Roll talked about his faith in Jesus, but then demurred when questions were asked of him about the recent news with ICE and vulnerable people being targeted. The second moment was when Bad Bunny gave his acceptance speech as the first Spanish-language album to win Album of the Year. That moment has since been overshadowed a bit by what has hilariously become his "controversial" halftime show.

In considering both of these, Crockett offered this banger:

"When I was at the Grammys the other night I saw a guy get up and talk about Jesus, and then I saw Bad Bunny get up there and talk like Jesus" (source).

As I stare at those words, I realize this is the dichotomy we see within Christianity, especially in this season.

There are lots of people who talk ABOUT Jesus. Unfortunately, many of these people also support the cover-up of the Epstein files and the protection of many of the men who are named (some of them thousands of times). It turns out that much of Western Christianity isn't all that concerned with pedophilia. Many of these people also support the blatant racism happening as ICE targets vulnerable people based on the color of their skin. Many of these people also support the patriarchal structures that minimize women's voices and perspectives. Many of these people also support the idea of our country's exceptionalism at the expense of others. Many of these people also support the exclusion of people in the LGBTQ+ community because that lifestyle conflicts with their values. Even with all of that, they still find ways to talk a lot ABOUT Jesus.

And then there are people who talk LIKE Jesus. Many of them don't even claim to be Christian. Many of them don't care what you consider them to be. They are more focused on living out the values they know help everyone thrive. As I've written about previously, is it more important for people to say they believe in Jesus or to actually follow the way of Jesus (see: Wake Up Dead Man)?

Bad Bunny's halftime performance was a beautifully inclusive call to empower those who have historically been unempowered. Meanwhile, many Christians changed the channel to an alternative halftime show with a crass musician with song lyrics about sexually preferring underage girls. But at least it offered the chance to "claim" it was a Christian alternative.

Unfortunately, far too many things being labeled as Christian these days are often laughably far from it. We'd be better off if they stopped talking about Jesus altogether and just did what they wanted without the pretending.

A friend recently showed me a song by Last July called You Sang the Hymns Louder So You Didn’t Have to Hear Them Scream. It brilliantly puts these ideas to a haunting melody. Here are the lyrics to the second part of the song:

Don't sing "How We Love" so loud
While rubble falls and shakes the ground
Don't quote "Judge Not" and still condemn
The very ones He died to defend
He said "the first will fall behind"
You trample the poor to stay in line
Then praise the God you redesigned

White washed suits and Sunday clothes
Clean on the outside, rot below
You talk like saints
But we all know you're nothing like the Christ you quote

Don't say "Oh, how He loves" out loud
While blood soaks into foreign ground
Don't cry "He saves!" with hands held high
While children burn and mothers cry
He flipped the tables once before
You chain them down and bar the door
You think you walk the narrow way
You built the empire you obey

We can talk about Jesus, or we can talk like Jesus. The Jesus I've discovered prefers the latter. Especially as Jesus didn't spend His time getting people to worship Him. He spent His time showing people a better way to live and then inviting them to "go and do the same" (Luke 10:37). 

As Jesus Himself explained, "I have given you an example to follow. Do as I have done to you" (John 13:15). But it seems we'd rather talk about His example and then do what we want.

Talking about Jesus or talking like Jesus is still our choice today. Even if it takes a country singer to remind us.