The other day while shuffling through my iTunes library I realized how many of my favorite songs were acquired through free album giveaways. Many of my favorite artists like Social Club, Andy Mineo, and even the great Manchild of Mars Ill have blessed my ears and my soul with many no charge masterpieces. Being an artist myself I recognize the thought, sweat, and sacrifice that goes into making music and whether there motive be love, exposure or an act of faith in their talent or GOD I am grateful for the free gift they have given strangers like me. But let me get back to my discovery, as I was enjoying this music and imagining a world where great music is given freely to all for their own pleasure and enjoyment, I was suddenly transported back to an irritated reality as I heard the vocal stylings of U2's Irish crooner Bono. As I gazed upon the digital album cover I was reminded that U2 and iTunes had already tried to lay a cornerstone for the societal utopia I was framing in my mind with their latest album that they graciously placed into all iTunes user accounts for free without so much as a is this okay. It was an act of generosity that I believe was done in the same spirit and mindset as I was describing earlier, but it had epicly failed. Well, sort of....
Now before I explain let me give full disclosure that I am the exact opposite of what you would call a "U2 fan". I think they are very talented but in all honestly the only song of theirs I have ever liked enough to buy was one from a Batman soundtrack and I cherished it so much that I'm unable to recall it's name at this time (the Edge, if your reading this, it doesn't mean I wouldn't feature on a song...I would, for the right price of course). But that's the variable in the experiment that skewed the results, it's not that it isn't a great idea, it's that the idea was forced upon everyone instead of just allowing those who want it to yield the fruit of the sacrifice. Imagine if France made visiting the Louvre and viewing a certain Van Gogh painting a requirement for citizenship (actually, you may not have to imagine this, it could very well be true), wouldn't that depreciate your enjoyment and value of it? This is the fatal flaw with U2's free gift, its actually a burden (all be it a light one). I now have to go to the trouble of deleting it from my account and I will because having things in my iTunes account that I have not hand selected to be there annoys me ( Note to Mrs. CDZ: Please stop buying Beyonce songs under my account!Oh wait, that was me. Note to self: delete this before publishing). Music is personal, if we take away someones ability to choose what they listen to, you also inadvertently decrease its value.
The result of U2's act of kindness has been mostly negative and has significantly hurt their public image and perception. Which got me thinking about salvation, and GOD's value: many people I know have asked why a loving GOD would ever allow people choose not to have his salvation from their sin or why he allowed a choice to sin at all. But if all of us had to love him whether or not we wanted it, wouldn't the prospect of spending eternity with a GOD we actively rebelled against unrepentedly feel an awful lot like a burden forced upon us? Is it not then the greatest act of love to name a fair price for his own standard of life and come down and offer to pay it for all who could not afford it in return for them genuinely receiving it as a gift? It is HE that gave us the choice to sin, the command not to, and the punishment for doing so. But also he who makes it possible for us to arise from our sin induced walking death sleep and receive his gift. Either way whether a heart set on its own desires or a transformed heart that is set on him, that heart ultimately gets what it wanted in the end. GOD is faithful and generous in either instance. Unlike the U2 album he didn't download his act of sacrifice into my hearts account by force, but rather opened my deaf ears to salvation's sweet sound and drew me in with gentle power into the rhythmic patterns of his own beautiful melody, and now that I've heard it I cant delete it from my hard drive. Because music is just purposeless noise without the perfect anthem of his sovereign standards. All else loses its value if that file is removed from the library, it now is contained in my soul and sustains my being. It defines the whole of me.
This metaphoric comparison is a but a fingernails swipe at the base of the mountain that is is the full glory of GOD's grace, sovereignty and justice interacting, but I hope it causes you to aspire to scale peaks and plant flags on the heights of his character and love. You'll have to excuse me if this number carries on the same old gospel time signature as the last couple ditties.I cant help it, like I said, the free songs are some of my favorite tunes.
Feel free to share if you feel lead.
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