What then shall we say to this? If God is for us, who is against us?
-Romans 8:31 RSV
My son is exploring my dusty CD collection and finding himself drawn to Marilyn Manson and Rob Zombie.
I know a ton of my Christian brothers and sisters would object to that material even being in my home, much less letting my sons blast it while we dance, build Lego, and (on the rare occasion) do chores.
The world is full of temptations and demonic infuences. I don’t see power in trying to keep them at bay. Rather, I want to engage with the worldy things and see God’s meaning in them. All things work in God’s favor. Yes, we must live intentional lives and not be led astray by those who do not love us. Our intention must be to stay in God’s love while loving ourselves and our neighbors. Marilyn Manson is my neighbor. He may have horrible intentions, but those intentions are powerless against God’s plan.
The performance of “Man of La Mancha” we watched this weekend had a wonderful take on this idea in its playbill.
You can read it for yourself in the images below. It concluded with this verse:
But Jesus looked at them and said to them, “With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”
-Matthew 19:26 RSV
God works through all art, high and low, good and bad. I have no fear of free speech and “dangerous” ideas.
The key is to be engaged. God is in all things, but we must look for Him.
