Below is the chorus of a song we sing in church sometimes.
I would run for a thousand years
If I knew every step would be getting me closer
I’d swim to the ocean floor
For my Lord is the Treasure
My Lord is the Treasure– Treasure by the Desperation Band
Sometimes I wonder if I’m overthinking things, or if there’s something wrong with me. But I have a confession:
I can’t sing that.
Now, this isn’t self-deprecation or sham-humility. I honestly wonder how anyone can sing that. I wonder if St. Paul could sing that. This side of heaven, that is.
I believe that the person who wrote that song meant the words he/she was writing, on an emotional level, or at least desired to mean them. But we humans are fallible. In my more cynical moments I label songs such as these “brag worship”. I feel it’s a boast that few, if any, can keep.
Many of us have a hard time following the commands of Jesus in the mundane things of life, though there are many saints out there giving their all for the Lord.
But none of us can run for a thousand years, or swim to the ocean floor. And to sing this in a corporate worship setting troubles my spirit.
I realize, of course, that these lyrics are poetry. I am being too literal, most likely.
But I just know I can’t sing them yet, this side of Heaven. One day, though, I will be like Him, for I will see Him as He is. Then I’ll be able to sing this and other songs that we cannot even fathom or imagine yet.
I’ve always seen that sort of song as trying to emulate much of what’s written in the Psalms. For example:
I see your point, though. Many times we sing way over our heads.
That’s a good point, Bird. I guess to me it’s a matter of degree and also of resources.
It’s natural for a deer to pant for water in the wilderness. Panting for water expresses a lack – it expresses a thirst that can only be quenched by one thing.
Telling God I will run for a thousand years seems to flow not out of a need (at least not completely) but also out of a sense of “look what I can do”
For contrast, in the Parables Jesus talks about people finding a treasure and selling what they own to buy it. Or searching their entire house to find it. These are things that even fallible people can do.
I’m not trying to rag on this song – I am quite sure the person who wrote it meant what they said, and I also don’t have a completely deadened sense of poetry or hyperbole.
But to me it seems different than the Psalms, and kind of unseemly.
It seems like we’re making promises our bodies can’t cash. I can hunger and thirst for God. I’m not sure that I can do superhuman feats for Him.
ditto. I’ll find myself singing those songs and if I’m honest, I’ll bow my head and quietly thank God for his awesome Mercy and Grace.
I heard somebody respond to somebody else who had just said that they would be willing to die for the Lord. He said: “Dying’s easy. But are you willing to LIVE for him!”
I don’t diss the song writers though. I don’t know what’s in their hearts. I do know what’s in mind. And at my best, I find myself at a loss for words. And the funny thing is, it’s ok. 🙂