It’s quite interesting – and a bit of shocking – to see how ”the outside” look at the Christian subculture with all it’s quarrels, all double morals, all who pretend to be something else and better than they actually are, all moneygathering in God’s name, all wellpainted stageperformers, prosperityteachingTV-preachers and the like.
Some twenty years ago one of the most wellknown US TV-evangelists, Jimmy S, was caught with his pants down. One of the then-popular heavy metalgroups, Iron Maiden, wrote a song about this, and about Western Christianity as they saw it.
I somehow can feel a certain disappointment in the song, a ”if you can’t do any better than this, then you are no real followers of Jesus, then you are just out to gain, not to give!”
I couldn’t help wondering how many searchers there are out there, being scared away from Christ by all our empty loudness, when I listened to ”Holy Smoke” a few minutes ago.
”Believe in me – send no money
Died on the cross, that ain’t funny
But my so called friends they’re making me a joke
They missed out what I said like I never spoke
They choose what they wanna hear – don’t tell a lie
They just leave out the truth as they’re watching you die
Saving your soul by taking your money
Flies around shit, bees around honey
chorus
Holy Smoke Holy Smoke, plenty bad preachers for
The Devil to stoke
Feed’em in feet first this is no joke
This is thirsty work making Holy Smoke
making Holy Smoke
Jimmy Reptile and all his friends
Say their gonna be with you at the end
Burning records burning books
Holy soldiers, Nazi looks
Crocodile smiles, just wait a while
Till the TV queen gets her make-up clean
I’ve lived in filth, I’ve lived in sin
And I still smell cleaner than the shit you’re in!
Holy Smoke…”
And I also remembered these words, Jesus speaking: if we keep quiet the stones will shout…they surely already are shouting!
Why is it that we Christians never seem to get real? Why don´t we just stop fooling around, dancing along with the rest of the world around that golden calf?
Do we actually believe that we can serve two masters, even thought Jesus himself said that no such option exists?
And what about us who preach the Word? Have we forgotten that the Scripture tells us that we shall receive a harsher judgment? That there will be blood on our hands if we fail to give a proper warning?
Think, and think twice! Will there truly be plenty bad preachers to fry in the same pan as the Devil and his angels? There won´t be but one exit to choose between when the Lord says ”Depart from me, you evildoers…”
(Iron Maiden got that stoking part wrong, of course. The Devil won´t be the barbecue master on Judgement Day, he´s gonna burn first of all…and that will be the best riddance ever!)
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And today I have realized that my eldest son did beat me to this one – his write on ”Holy Smoke” was online two weeks before mine!