Foolishness

This isn’t some self-righteous criticism. I actually really like both of these songs. But you see the truth in the verse above if you browse through the comments on these videos.

First up, A Perfect Circle’s “Judith”. The song is about Maynard James Keenan’s mother, Judith, who suffered a stroke when he was 7 and was confined to a wheelchair the rest of her life. Yet, she remained steadfast in her faith. A sampling of the lyrics:

It’s not like you killed someone
It’s not like you drove a hateful spear into his side
Praise the one who left you broken down and paralyzed
He did it all for you…

Oh so many ways for me to show you how your dogma has abandoned you

Next is the Deftones’ “Change (House of Flies)”. This one is interesting. The video is pretty debaucherous which leads many in the comments section to think it’s about addiction or sex. I don’t think there’s any hidden meaning at all when the lyrics explicitly call out the cross:

I look at the cross
And I look away

The way this song hits me is as someone who is jealous seeing the change in someone after their decision to follow Christ. In my recovery ministry I’ve seen this first hand, where there’s an attitude of “oh, so you’re too good for us now?” It’s part of the victim, savior, persecutor cycle. “I’ve watched you change, like you never…”

The message of the cross is foolishness.