Normally, in stressful times like this, a cycle develops. It goes like this: I'll get super uptight with my time and feel like I always have to be working on something, burn myself out going along like this for a couple of days, get all mopey, then Michaela through sheer cuteness and force of will snaps me out of my stress-induced stupor. The whole cycle can last as little as 3 days or as long as 3 weeks. This last time basically lasted all of the first week of classes. Somewhere between the last two steps of the process, in the last two or three days, I typically go through a period I call "crunk time." It is when I dig up all of the hip hop I listened to in junior high while simultaneously searching youtube for the songs and dance crazes burning up the current scene. This last session of crunk time, I found my playlist centering around a few key tracks. Out of those, the track that struck me the most was Rihanna's song "Rude Boy."
I'm not going to put up the video for this song; though there's no swearing in it, I don't feel like I could in good conscience put something up that is so blatantly provocative; you know, the whole "don't cause your brother to stumble" thing. Suffice it to say, the images in the video are pretty much what you'd expect to be playing on MTV 24/7. The lyrics of the song are in the same vein; I don't know if you could even call it innuendo. It's not the general message of the song or the full extent of the lyrics that I found striking; it was the specific lyrics that end the chorus. See, after the "call to action" segment of the beginning of the chorus, it ends with Rihanna emphatically singing the words "Love me, love me." These are also the words that end the song. This made me think about the search for love in this world. Without God in the picture, human beings search for their value and fulfillment in the things of this world. Many pursue sex as a way to that fulfillment, as a way to feel valued and a way to feel like they belong. Rihanna has gone through a period of great emotional trauma, being at the center of one of the highest-profile domestic violence cases of the last decade. It is interesting that in those circumstances she performs this song which revolves around a search for love disguised as sexual aggression. We as Christians have the incredible blessing of knowing true love, a gift that we could never deserve on our own merits. It is our responsibility to show this love to a lost, dying, and hurting people. Whether they know it or not, we have exactly what they are looking for.
P.S. Here's a song I was really "feelin" during my crunk period. It is called "Teach Me How to Dougie." by Cali Swag District. I could not really find any theological significance in this video, so it's purely for the enjoyment of all you at home. So, enjoy!
