Thursday, March 24, 2011

Jar of Hearts

Who do you think you are?
Runnin’ ’round leaving scars
Collectin' a jar of hearts
Tearing love apart
You’re gonna catch a cold
From the ice inside your soul
... Who do you think you are?

The first time I heard this song was when it was first released (last year I believe) and Christina Perri performed it live on American Idol...  I was in the kitchen making something (a usual occurrence at my place: TV running and I in the kitchen listening... Apparently I haven't realized that's what radios are for...) but I thought I liked the bits and pieces of the vocals I heard.  I also thought "Christina Perri... Wonder if she's related to Katy" of course, previous to me knowing Katy changed her name for recording purposes. (P.S. I'm not a big fan.. In fact, I just had to google the spelling of her name, take that Katie! ha!)

After the American Idol performance I never heard of Christina Perri or her song again.. I actually wouldn't have remembered either existed until I heard the song was at work on http://www.accuradio.com/ (this is how we get music at work, WAY less commercials, skip option, pause option and you can remove genre and/or artists from the playlists... Snoop Dog - or is it Dawg haha - isn't exactly office appropriate) This time as I listened to the vocals I was completely annoyed, it seemed so whiny and depressing... I skipped the song after listening to less than half.  It may have been my mood that day or the weather that added to my frustration but all I could think was "wow, how could I have liked that song on American Idol..." 

The third time the song played I decided to force myself to "give it a chance" and listen through to the end before committing to a judgement... This time I actually listened to the lyrics instead of sound only; after that, I couldn't get those words out of my head.

Lately at work I've heard the song at least twice a day... Plus I've been thinking about the lyrics and humming them on my own time.  The other night I was almost asleep and what do you know, the song was playing in my mind getting louder and louder... The lyrics made me think of one thing, I'm sure it was not the intended meaning by the song writer... nevertheless, here it is: 

I'm sure none of us "Christians" mean to be "collectin' a jar of hearts" but let's face it, sometimes we do just that... We "run 'round leavin' scars" on people with our judgements and opinions (whether vocalized or not) and that is not okay!  Let me remind you, God does not want us passing judgement on others or hurting them, even stunting their growth by telling them what they should or should not be doing "at this stage in their walk with God!" Matthew 7:1, Luke 6:3, Matthew 18:10 all command us "JUDGE NOT" & "DESPISE NOT." In other words, leave that pastoring to the pastor and the judging to God. Stop leaving scars with your words, it's "tearing [God's] love apart." And "who do you think you are" to change the way someone looks at God because you can't act in a kind, loving manner and keep your mouth closed? (read a funny little twitter quote from @funnyoneliners  and @TFTenney : "The most reliable way to save face is to keep the bottom half of it tightly closed!" Funny but so TRUE!)

You can choose to be offended by what I've written today (if offence or defence is your initial reaction, I've learned through experience, that's probably not offencive at all it's just God talking to you through conviction... Easy to get them confused but always search yourself to see which it actually is) you can choose not to consider or apply anything from the words above to your life... But I will be considering and applying love in my own life because the Bible teaches us not continually applying love and consideration of our actions toward others will harm us as well as the people around "...the love of many shall wax cold." Matthew 24:12 in other words "You’re gonna catch a cold from the ice inside your soul."  So let love warm your soul and quicken your mind and let's make sure the lyrics this song are remembered but not spoken about our lives and actions toward each other.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

I needed to hear this. Lately there has been someone in my life that I have been cold with. Why I don't know? I guess it's a shield I use for Protection. I'm only making it harder for myself and the other person by my actions. Forgivness is a struggle sometimes, but it's worth it once you do. Thank you. Time to dig out my hair dryer and melt this ice that made a home out of my soul.

teri-lyn stewart said...

you were right about sharing similar thoughts...so let me direct your readers to http://my-point-o-view.blogspot.com/2011/03/swing-bat-drop-gavel.html :-)

i'm certainly not offended :-) i can always use a reality check in the judgment department, because this pot has called the kettle black on more than one occasion...i've been taking a step back in this area over the past couple weeks, so your post is duly noted on my heart :-)

*AMY* said...

I love your view of this song! I had some different thoughts of it the first time that I heard it, reflecting more on how the Enemy is the one running around leaving scars, and trying his best to tear the love apart between God and his children.

Great post and a great time of reflection for us to make sure that we are following the ways that God wants us to. Thanks!