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you're an admirable friend for being there for her, phil. But don't burden your heart with wanting revenge.. ultimately, even if you could do something, it wouldn't undo what happened.. and what was said.. and the hurt felt. Now it's something these 2 individuals have to talk about.. one having done absolutely nothing wrong.. and the other, having made a big mistake.

I'm sorry for getting so personal. But you know why I had to say something. I'm praying..

<3

 

I don't know what to say in response to why we want revenge sometimes because honestly, I haven't felt that way in a really long time.. maybe it's the fact that, most of the time, I'd rather not feel at all.

 

Those were some beautiful things to say about revenge. I mean, I think that's one of the most beautiful things about Jesus. To show mercy beyond what is deserved is so un-human. It goes against everything we are, and it's beautiful cuz it's Jesus' nature.

I think this song is a lyrical masterpiece, too. I love everything about and behind "I drew first blood," and how much it emphasizes how great Jesus' sacrifice really was.

And I'll be praying for your friend, too. I'm sure she appreciates your friendship.

 

I feel like such an idiot. All this time I thought the line was "How'd you first blow it?" and now I find out it's "I drew first blood." Well, that line makes a lot more sense now.

 

I watched heaven dying today

that's what I hear, Phil instead of I watched heaven die here today

 

or maybe it's die in? whatever makes more sense..

 

I think it's die here, Nat. 'cause Jesus died before both of the thieves he was crucified with.

 

I really cant hear "here". so I dont know

 

oh.. and I left my thoughts on the song if you'd like to read it.

 

Oh! Lo and behold, here comes Pip to burst everyone's bubble.

I disagree. I dont believe this song is the BEST Switchfoot song ever written even though I can relate to it.

There are times when I just wish something would happen to the little boy that would call me a nigger and a bitch everyday at school for a year. I wish that my dad would learn a life long lesson so that he can know how it feels like to be abandoned by a parent.

But that's not what I have been called for. How many times do I forget to forgive a brother or sister? Hah, probably seventy times seven!

This song is just a very well known topic transformed into a song by the wonderful hands of Jonathan Foreman. I dont think its something that hasnt been around or hasnt really been talked about. I guess its just what everyone feels inside but one brave person chose to write a song about it.

I dont like disagreeing with you Phil, but you encourage me too so here I am. Disagreeing. with. you.

Peace

 

Undoubtedly a great song (made my 19 track "Best of Switchfoot mix), but I wouldn't call it the best thing they ever did. It doesn't even approach "Lonely Nation" and "Let Your Love Be Strong".

 

Crap, forgot to sign that. ^^^

 

I look forward to the interpretation, but here's mine in a nutshell - the revenge for our hatred and sins was the death of Jesus and our restoration to the Father through Him. Now that's some revenge.

Actually, after reading this, I have the perfect mp3 of the week lined up for this week :p

 

as far as i'm concerned, you're not bursting my bubble, pip. just cuz i think it's a great song doesn't mean i think everyone does. it's o.k. for it to not be your favorite.

i think most songs are not really new thoughts, necessarily, and I do think that jon has put a different spin on the concept of revenge. what i, personally, like about it is the idea that we as humans are so bent on getting revenge to make ourselves feel better, like it's gonna fix us. we pretty much can't help wanting revenge. but jesus suffered huge injustices, and the beautiful thing about him is that he didn't demand revenge for the people who enacted those injustices on him. and more beautiful still, i was one of the people, ultimately, who caused him to suffer the injustices, and his answer to that was to show me the ultimate love by allowing himself to be killed on my behalf. sure, it puts me in my place. it should. he's more important than my feelings, cuz if you think about it, he let me be more important than his feelings.

i'm not trying to put you down for what you wrote, and you don't have to like the song. i kind of was just thinking this through again, and wanted to put my thoughts in order about it. don't give up, young one. <3

 

we have to wait until Saturday, arpit??

 

Haha - well, it is called MP3 of the Week, not MP3 of the Spur of the Moment :p

Although, MOTSTOM sounds so cool! :)

 

No, its ok Heather!

I completely understand and respect your opinion. I didnt mean for my thoughts to come out as something that I brush off. Thoughts of revenge are there sometimes in my mind and it does blow me away that the Creator didnt use revenge, instead he loved me and everyone else. And I feel that love every single day.

I just think that the topic is something that is not so new, you know? Its been around but in the hearts of people and no one has really come out and expressed it in a song. And its great that Jon was able to do so! I admire him for that!

And its a great song! I love it! I just wouldnt classify it on "the best Switchfoot song ever". And Im not trying to demean the meaning of the song or its quality.

Its a good song. I love it. Its just not, in my standards, the best Switchfoot song ever.

 

I think "the best switchfoot song ever" is pretty much impossible to categorize, isn't it. :o)

and arpit, haha! mp3 of the spur of the moment. that's great. and i can think of nothing more fun. but i'll try to forget about it until Saturday. and you know, if you think you'll be too busy to do it on Saturday, and putting it up before then would be more convenient, then I don't see that there'd be a problem with that.

i'm so just kidding. i'm patient, i can wait.

 

Dah stupid commenter - it crashed on me. Anyways, you'll have it Friday night/Saturday morning. If I put it up any earlier, you'd miss out on all the torture! :p

But trust me, the band is ridiculously awesome; they're good friends of mine, and everyone that listens to MOTW, must go get their album! They've actually hung out with Switchfoot's manager a few times.

Wow, so much suspense... it must be killing you, Heather! Sorry! :p

 

yeah. (i don't know how to type that so it sounds disgusted...). i'll bet you're sorry. when i started reading your reply, I was like "[sound i can't spell], he doesn't have to go on about it!" you must have talked to my dad. He enjoys doing the exact same thing to me.

[deep breath] but i'm still patient. [exhale] contrary to what jon says, my soul is made of stone.

 

Lol - well, I'll let you know when I find a mason - you guys can live happily ever after! :p

 

yeah, and i'd be the only one hurting.

anyways, i hope i like this new band and their mp3. guess i'll just have to trust you.

 

hold on a second, who said its the best switchfoot song ever? I said its "one of my favourite Switchfoot songs" of all time. I didn't even use the word "best".

And Pip, I'm afraid the song isn't about revenge in the everyday sense of the term. The idea of revenge is figuratively used to tell a grander story in which the revenge is of a good, glorious kind.

Arpit, you stole my thund-- er, read my mind. :p (Well, I hinted at it in the teaser.) So yup, my post is gonna be an expansion of that amazing idea.

 

oh, wait, arpit, is this gonna be a "christian" band you feature?

 

he's not allowed to feature christian bands :D

let me guess, elliott smith? nick drake?

 

Hahahaha - what's funny is I just got a request for a Kirk Franklin song to be put up... I had to regretfully decline :p

Lol - I'm still laughing about the 'no christian bands' thing... that's great. I'm starting the post now as I sit here in Miami... the things I do for you guys! Just kidding :p

See, Heather, Friday's already here, and you were fretting so much!

 

[shakes head] arpit, arpit, arpit. you're incorrigible.

i LOVE the no christian bands rule. that rocks! and you guys rock! (btw, the bands that i sent you are definitely not christian, wink wink.)

 

wait.. why is there a no "christian band" rule? lol. is it for people visiting the site?

 

i would just venture a guess that, as with every other ccm issue, it would become a cage. but that's just my cranky, cynical opinion. :o) phil and arpit might have a more tactful, compassionate response, though.

 

Yeah - Christian bands suck. :p

I mean, first of all, any band with a number in their name all sound the same. Secondly, their christianese is old and overdone. Thirdly, most of them only make money because they are "Christian" music, hence all parents will buy it for their kids. Puh-lease! I'd much rather listen to Tool than those guys ;)

So there's my tactful response - Christian bands suck :)

 

oh whatever, Phil. You always ruin the discussions by saying something smarter....(dont get defensive...:))

 

oh-ho, arpit, you're as cranky and cynical as i am! awesome!

you're not a mason, are you? (just kidding - seriously!) but you are quickly becoming one of my favorite people. :o)

 

“You will not be punished for your anger, you will be punished by your anger.”

-Buddha

Revenge is built into the system. Punishment is built into the world God created. God doesn't need to strike him down where he stands, for he's already done that to himself.

 

blahh haha im new here. but i was reading through this and the whole all christian bands suck thing? nahh not all. yea i agree the cheesy all american im christian bands are hard to accept, but when you get past those guys you can find some good bands! honestly not all of them suck. i guess thats just my opinion. i dunnno i dont really listen to christian bands, mostly christian artists and switchfoot. but ive heard a few good bands. dont look at a few and judge the rest :)

 

or i guess not a few. alot. hahah im not really making sense here. overall its true that most suck, but there are a few that are good. there we go

 

i dunno, this song to me talks to me about Judas and the betrayal. Judas watching Jesus from his terminal view, meaning he is going to die (hanging himself) and Jesus rising/lifting Himself up to take a breath. I think Jon means to say that we all deserve to die, but Jesus' love descended and stole our sins away. i dunno, its my interpretation, so i am open to be corrected.

 

@beeeeee
yeah there are some good christian bands but i'm not sure i like the idea of having a genre based on lyrical content - the perfect excuse for ignoring musical quality.

and man, i need to finish this post or what. soon, soon.

@bryant
that's an interesting point of view and i've thought of it that way too but i am more inclined to think it's about the crucifixion and the idea of grace. please check back soon and i'll have finished up the post. if you're a regular, you'll know when i finish it.

@kristen
nice quote.

 

Not to take away from your post by any means, but did anybody else happen to notice that this song is from the perspective of the theif next to Jesus on the cross? I mean, it's open for interpretation, of course; but when I really began thinking about it, it made perfect sense.

I just can't see it simply being about the feeling of vengeance. In fact, the meaning of revenge practically changes in every verse of the song. In the first verse revenge is used to describe the world's revenge against the theif for being a criminal. The second verse seems to be the world's revenge on Jesus.

I think the line "I drew first blood" is first referring to the theif's hatred for Jesus when he is first hung on the cross, but then goes on to mean that he was the first to enter the kingdom of heaven when he accepted Jesus on the cross. ("We consumed heaven's Son/ And I drew first blood") Not to mention in the last verse when he mentions a murder stealing his rage. When he realized that Jesus was the Son of God and accepted him in his final breaths of life, he had no reason to be angry with the world any more.

I could honestly pick through every line of the song and point out its relevance in this context, but I have a feeling that would take the fun out of it. :]
I truly do hope that your situation improves and that God tames whatever vengeful thoughts are taking a toll on your mind.

 

I agree with you on what you have said about revenge. I believe that the last section of lyrics (stanza is it called?), about how a theif had been robbed and a murder had stolen my rage is about Jesus. We are the theifs and Jesus has robbed us of our sins. His death, murder, took away our sins and our rage. Also, could "So I stopped for a moment to look at the sun" actually be, the Son? Meaning that when the Son, Jesus, died, love had decended and stolen our pain away. It's ironic because all of the bad things we wanted to do to other people, Jesus took those thoughts and died for them. Our thoughts of revenge murdered the only thing that was ever pure in this world. I love this song for its deepness, it's so open to interpretation!

 

Chris Byerly , I was just thinking the exact same thing! that's so funny. You're right, in the context of that passage in scripture it makes a lot more sense. I had to listen to it 3 times before I got it though. :P

 

I couldn't help but think about The Count of Monte Cristo when i thought about the song and the comments made. The whole story is about a young man who basically had it all: He got promoted, had the perfect girl, people loved him..and then one day he was betrayed and sent to jail for a crime he didn't commit. He lost his job, lost his girl, lost his father and his world fell apart by the time he escaped and returned to it. He spent years of his life finding all the people who had wronged him and trying to hurt them. At the end, he realizes that all he had ever wanted was something he didn't need to waste all that time getting revenge for. He had family and friends and he didn't need to burden himself with anger from the past. The thing is, I was glad he got all those people back. I was so glad he took everything from the people who had done the same to him. Then I found myself wondering why i felt that way. Not only is it human nature but it's very built up in the media now. A lot of movies and stories revolve around payback because it plays to our weakness. I think ultimately revenge is something we need to overcome because it only causes more negative feelings. Sometimes you just have to remember that as Jesus died on the cross he pleaded with God to forgive them "...for they know not what they do..." Forgiveness is something God extends to us, so we should extend it to others even if it takes years or even if we just settle with indifference rather than hatred.

 

@ynnej: the count of monte cristo is such an amazing book. And now that you mention it, I can see the relation to 'Revenge'. And what you said about the idea of revenge is true...to me the idea of revenge is two-sided. There's the initial rush of adreneline, and then there's the slower realization that getting revenge didn't undo what was done, and sadly it never will.
I think in a world that's becoming more material, we're looking for quick fixes to a lot of things...revenge being one of them.
Sure, it's easy to, in the moment shoot some guy who raped your wife...but it's just that, in the moment. It's not going to last. The guy's death isn't going to make up for the things he did.
Everywhere we look, we're offered rememdies for problems. We never get told to look at the root cause of things. And in this case, whether one believes in God or not, the idea that revenge is short lived is still true. If someone who is wronged decides against exacting revenge, and figures out a way to move on with their life, I think ultimately, that's the better course of action; knowing that the person who wronged them would someday be brought to justice, whether by the law, or then some higher form of justice.
I don't think it's wrong to want revenge, I think ( whether by society's doing or not) it's natural to want (personal) justice. It's just that the person who can overcome that, is in the end the best form of justice.