90’s Alt-Rock & Belief

I just learned something new about my wife. She is a huge Third Eye Blind fan. By huge fan I mean she was obsessed with their 1997 self-titled album when she was a prepubescent awkward middle schooler. Earlier this week she claimed that Semi-Charmed Life may be one of the greatest songs of all time. To each their own.

Another hit from that record is the song Jumper. It’s a great song. Stephan Jenkins opens the first verse by singing,

I wish you would step back from that ledge, my friend
You could cut ties with all the lies
That you have been living in

I heard that line this morning and it got me thinking about lies. What are lies? Lies are statements about reality that we believe to be true that are in fact not true. That then got me thinking about our beliefs and how they shape and mold us.

I have been reading through John’s Gospel. I noticed that at some point in the past I went through and underlined the word believe every time it appeared. Let me tell you. John uses that word a lot. As I have been reading, another passage from John 6 captured my attention. John 6 is crazy. Check out one of my earlier posts called Jesus and Social Media Influencer to get a better grasp of what is going on. Basically, Jesus is talking crazy talk so the people around him ask, “What must we do, to be doing the works of God?” Jesus answered them by saying, “This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent.”

Now, if you have been around church or Christians, you may have heard a statement like, “You don’t have to do anything to earn God’s love. All you have to do is believe that Jesus died for your sins.”

Now, that statement is fine and dandy. I don’t really have any issues with it on a theological level. However, the more I have been thinking about belief I am starting to think that Jesus’ statement is pretty radical.

Our belief systems are deeply rooted inside each of us at a mental, emotional, spiritual, and even physical level. Have you ever had anyone challenge your belief system? I bet your heart rate increased. As much as we would like to think our belief systems are grounded in reality and reason, I have read studies that suggest humans are not very reasonable or rational beings. We believe things for all sorts of reasons. Some good and some completely insane! Just look at your news feed over the last 18 months. We are freaking crazy!

So, why was this little statement by Jesus so radical? To understand why we need to step into the sandals of the folks he was talking with. These people held deep beliefs about God and faith and reality that had been passed down to them for generations. Their entire identity was wrapped up in their belief system. Their belief system caused them to view and interact with the Divine and one another in very specific ways.

Belief was not a passive mental exercise for these people. Their belief system was all-encompassing. It affected every aspect of their lives, as individuals and as a collective whole. It affected their family dynamics, how they did business, who they did business with, what food they ate, what food they didn’t eat, how they spent their money, how they spent their free time. Everything was shaped and formed by their belief system.

We are no different.

Everything we do is driven by our beliefs, even if we don’t realize it.

With his statement, “This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent.” Jesus was calling these people to reevaluate what they believed about reality. That takes work. To reevaluate what you hold most dear in your life is not easy.

I think Jesus had a good reason for doing this. A lot of these people didn’t know what they believed or why they believed it. In a way, they didn’t know what had shaped and formed them as individuals and as a society. Somehow, even with deep generational and religious ties, they got lost along the way.

These people were flocking to Jesus for a reason. Perhaps at some subconscious level, they knew that what they believed in wasn’t actually true. Perhaps they were dissatisfied with their current belief system and Jesus was giving them the freedom to look at it from a different angle, to even deconstruct it, so that they could rebuild it on a better, more true, vision of reality.

Perhaps Jesus was inviting them into something deeper. Maybe he was inviting them to reevaluate what was at the core of their being. Maybe he was giving them permission to ask the question, “I am I believing lies?”

That is the question I have been asking myself.

What lies do I need to cut ties with?

Are there beliefs I hold about God and faith and humanity that I need to reevaluate? That is a scary question. But it is a question Jesus is asking of all of us to meditate on daily.

This is the heart of biblical repentance.

To change what we believe about reality based on the person of Jesus.

To turn from lies to truth.

When Jesus says “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” he isn’t saying turn or burn. Repentance is an invitation to reorder our belief system so that we may resist the lies that the world has baked into our very being. Repentance is an invitation to cut ties with the lies we have been living in. Jesus is inviting us to turn to him. To trust him. Jesus claims that his vision of reality will lead to an abundant life. Not just in the afterlife, but in the here and now of our ordinary and mundane lives. All you need to do is believe.

 Grace and peace ‘til we rise in glory.