URC Weekly 1/29/2012: Young, Wild, and Free
I’m a hip-hop music fan. I appreciate wise rhyme schemes, stinging political messages, and simple yet catchy beats. And if you are like me, you would agree that good hip-hop is a rare animal on the radio these days. In fact, what is called hip-hop on the radio is really pop music. Let me be blunt about what I mean: Kanye West stopped making hip-hop after his second album. No, “American Boy” is not a hip-hop song. Just because you got a black guy saying things really fast over a song doesn’t make it hip-hop or rap.
While driving on the 110 south today, I heard this song called “Young, Wild, and Free” by Wiz Khalifa. This is another one of those pop songs now considered hip-hop. Frankly though, it wasn’t bad! And by it being not that bad I mean the song had catchy beat with clean piano melody. But for the other two general categories I use to judge hip-hop (rhyme and message), it totally failed. Just check out the chorus:
So what we get drunk
So what we don’t sleep
We’re just having fun
We don’t care who sees
So what we go out
That’s how it’s supposed to be
Living young and wild and free
Fail. But the scary thing is, I can totally see myself bobbing my head to this song, feeling proud that I actually live the words out, had I been a college student now. In fact, the lyrics above generally but accurately summarizes my 18 to 25 year old stage.
My brothers and sisters at Union, by now you may be thinking, “Yea I know where this is going. Hyonroh’s gonna talk about how we’re supposed to be holy and not go crazy on partying and stuff.” And individually speaking, you would be correct. I strongly advise you not to party too much. I’m all for freedom in the LORD, but please don’t use that freedom to carelessly drink and make a song about it.
But I invite you to think a bit wider with me. You would probably agree that the lyrics above represent the attitudes of most young people today. And by young I mean 18 to 35 (some 40-somethings may belong here as well). This should trouble us Christians. Not because we Christians are supposed to be these pruney party-poopers who don’t know how to have fun like Ned Flanders, but because such attitude contrasts so much with what God asks young people to be like:
Remember your Creator
in the days of your youth,
before the days of trouble come
and the years approach when you will say,
“I find no pleasure in them”
- Ecclesiastes 12:1
Young men and women of URC, I pray that you remember your Creator now. Please understand that you are a part of a generation with world-changing potential. Earlier today I saw a friend’s Facebook post that said, “Who regrets not becoming a doctor?” As you get older, your window of opportunity to do the things that you like closes. My childhood dream was to become the president. As a 29-year old with no political experience or law degree, that dream is likely over. Still, I have an option to be a professor, which is something that I would enjoy doing. But if I’m contemplating over what I want to do five years from now, it may be too late.
Elders of URC, we see that you have established yourself faithfully. Please teach our young people (including myself) to remember our Creator now. Living young, wild, and free is not supposed to mean drinking till sun comes up. Let us live young, wild, and free in the LORD our God, whose ways are higher than our ways.
- Thank you to those who participated in the Mission Vision Worship…we look forward to increasing mission movement with you!
- Please think this week about your February Monthly Prayer Requests (MPR)…we will write them this Sunday!
- Small Group Leader Meeting: 2/5 (Sun) @ 2pm in EM Room
- URC Prayer Meeting: 2/8 (Wed) @ 8pm in EM Room
- Annual Valentine’s Day Feast: 2/11 (Sat) @ 4pm in the Won’s clubhouse in Chino Hills
“Just because you got a black guy saying things really fast over a song doesn’t make it hip-hop or rap.”
Haha, so funny!
I thought this post was really well-written. I especially love the part where you mention that we’re part of a generation with world-changing potential. I totally agree!!! A huge number of the revivals that happened in western Christian history were started by college students and young adults…we should keep that tradition going!
Thank you SMN for the kind words! Yes! Let’s pray for the movement of God in young people today!!