And I'm not talking about true or false, wrong or right
I mean racism: failing to love the way He loved
Is just as much my fault as anyone else's
But I look around and I'm frustratingly helpless
White privilege disarms me, it makes me defenseless
Against all the evil I see in the world
I'm part of the problem, not part of the cure
And that's not 'cause I'm white; white men are not evil
But my voice is hushed by the hand of the Devil
"This isn't your fight, it's not anyone's fight!
Shut up and sit down! It'll turn out alright."
But he's lying; injustice is real, all around me
A frightening, sobering, crushing reality
I'm deafened by hate, but they say, "It's okay!
It's based on statistics; you'll see that someday."
Well, I don't want to see it! I don't want to be blind
To the way that my selfishness hurts other lives
We're the children of God, and God's not black and white
He's the King of the nations, and I know I should fight
To tell you that He doesn't care about color
He showed that when He chose to let Himself suffer
For you and for me, for "God so loved the nations"
That isn't just white, it's the whole of creation
So I don't know what Bible you think you've been reading
'Cause race and religion are so damn misleading
Forgive me, I'm 'bout to go off on a tangent
But this is a problem that I see is rampant
The Muslims who wanna get into our country?
They're people too! Let me say it quite bluntly
It's stupid to think that we aren't called to love them
For God loves the world, whether Christian or Muslim
So excuse me for this, but I'm not out for blood
I don't say "Kill 'em!" or "Gimme my gun!"
My God is Yahweh Sabaoth: Lord of Hosts
I think, if He wanted, Islam would be toast
So He doesn't need me to take up the sword
He needs me to love, to live by the Word
Look, I'm not pretending I've got it together
I'm guilty of tons, and I'm sinful as ever
But don't drag the name of my God in the dirt
By pretending He's out to get Muslims deported
Look at me ranting, I feel kinda stupid
Back to the subject (my tangent's concluded)
If God wanted racism, wouldn't He say it?
"Thou shalt choose one race to hate and go hate it"?
But do we see that anywhere in the Scripture?
Uh... No. That hasn't been written!
God doesn't want us divided and hating!
The racism raging has got His heart breaking
With white Christians faking the love that they're taking
From God, who is waiting to see us awaken
To what we've forsaken, the way we've mistaken
How sin has us broken for some sort of token
That black is the problem or white is the problem
When sin has us killin' and teachin' our children
To raise up their children to keep up the killin'
And God damn the Devil for pickin' that apple
That opened our eyes to the nature of evil
And showed us that evil was tasty (if deadly)
And tasty was better than just being holy
The lies that we've bought have corrupted our hearts
Now we're so good at hate that it's almost an art
And I hate that I hate them who hate them who's different
But I see what they've done and I feel insufficient
To patch up the wound that the white folk have caused
By pretending that racism came from the laws
That allowed them to show us all what was inside
But now they just hide all their hate with the lie
That the poison they spit causes nobody pain
When people are DYING, and the poison's to blame!
Look, cops are just people, but people are broken
And the boys in the blue demonstrate what I've spoken:
That hate is as real now as it has been ever
And until now I've just let myself say whatever
But now I am sick of the sickness that threatens
Us all--rich or poor, black, Latino, or cracker
The air in this nation, the U. S. of A.
Is heavy with hatred, and I hate to say it
But we, as believers, are part of the issue
We say that we love, but then we continue
To hate, while pretending that God will still hear us
When we pray for healing! It's like we're delirious
Caught up in fakery, high off our sin
"Rebuking" the Devil, then letting him in
To feed off the darkness we carry inside
A darkness that, frankly, we're failing to hide
And everyone sees it! Do YOU think we're different?
They say, "Christians hate!" and I'm not indignant
Because I know the truth--what they're saying is true
And I'm desperate to know that it's not me and you
Who are feeding the pain that our neighbors are feeling
Ripping the scabs off the scars that were healing
Following Jesus is not about freedom
Freedom from sin, yes, but not from the Kingdom
We are not ours! We're slaves to the Father
Ambassadors, not simply sons, not just daughters
The life of the Christian is one of denial
We give up ourselves to become His disciples!
"I do not live, it is Jesus in me"
To be slaves of Christ is to truly be free
So put up your privilege, your right to be comfortable
Give of yourselves in your love, though it's vulnerable
Yeah, you might lose friends or status or power
But store up a treasure that lasts for forever
And know that the God who we know as our Father,
If we run the race well, will stand in our honor
"I do not live, it is Jesus in me"
To be slaves of Christ is to truly be free
So put off yourself and put on the Spirit
Let Him take over and silence the bigot
That shouts from inside and fills us with lies
Of how we are better than those who don't hide
Their sin behind masks or in pretty white tombs
If we hide our sin, it just grows in our wombs
And when it is full-grown, it gives birth to death
Not just for ourselves, but also for others
We are not perfect, though we are redeemed
We can return to our sin, though we're free
But brothers and sisters, we bear Jesus' name,
So sin versus righteousness isn't a game!
The hate you hold on to, with which you still flirt
Is one way to drag Jesus' death in the dirt
So let go of hate, and step out in love
Live like you live for the One who's above
'Cause we do! We've been bought with the blood of the Lamb
So let's not behave like the whole thing's a sham
Remember, everyone sees how you live
The love you withhold and the hate that you give
So it's not just a joke, it's a really big deal
The tongue is set fire by the fires of hell
Every decision and every word
Is made for the Dragon or made for the Word
You will serve a master, and now you must choose:
The King who will win, or the Serpent who'll lose?
"I do not live, it is Jesus in me"
To be slaves of Christ is to truly be free
