Things of This World - dc Talk

My all time favorite band is without a doubt dc Talk. The three singers are now exploring their own solo projects and have been doing so for about a decade. Nonetheless, I still listen to a lot of their newer solo stuff and their older stuff. One song that has resonated with him because of its power is their great song "Things of This World."

The reason I bring this up is that this upcoming Sunday we will be discussing Matthew 13:1-23 and the Parable of the Soils.*  As you may know, in the parable some of the seed fell upon the path (which gets eaten by birds) rocky soil (which springs up but then withers because it has no deep roots), thorny soil (which gets choked by "the things of this world"), and the good soil (which grows and bears a lot of fruit).

That third soil - the thorny soil - is what reminded me of this song.  Jesus says, And the one on whom seed was sown among the thorns, this is the man who hears the word, and the worry of the world and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful.  That is exactly what this song is about.






70 years is all we got
To accumulate goods that seem to mean a lot
For the first 20 years, you're off to school
Learnin' principles and learnin' the tools
To make lots of money, the ultimate goal
Gain the whole world and yet lose ya soul
Huh, humanism is on a roll
20 gets the the knowledge, 30 years to apply
and just 20 years left for askin' why
I didn't realize what it was all about
And, was there any use in this rigorous route because

[chorus:]
Things of this world are passin' away
Here tomorrow, but they're sure not here to stay
Things of this world are passin' away
So lay your treasure above
And start to live for Him today

All done for self in this world will pass
And all done for Christ in this world will last
Sounds like a simple task...
But everyday life seems to get in the way
No time to serve, barely time to pray
Our focal points lost and we get tossed
In the wind, cold facing the cost
Of fallin' without stallin' or even callin' the Lord
While you were blackballin'
He was waitin' for you to see the light
And find for yourself, these things are trite

[chorus]

[vamp:]
Our mind transforms a want to a need
A simple process that we call greed
Ya say ya like to have money, well I do too
The problem starts when the money has you
Workin' overtime to keep up with the pace
A lifestyle that you want to embrace
But it's 2 steps from where your needs are met
You're keepin' up with the Joneses, but your all in debt
Which will lead to stress, not meeting the bills
While ya sportin' a Benz with all the thrills
The domino effect's gotcha life in check
A temporary stitch and ya livin' a wreck

[chorus x2]

Don't lay up your treasures upon this Earth
They'll soon pass away
And all return to dirt [x4]

Things of this world are passin' away
Here tomorrow, but they're sure not here to stay
Things of this world, things of this world
The things, the things, the things of this world

Don't lay up your treasures upon this Earth
They'll soon pass away
And all return to dirt [x2]


*  The parable is sometimes known as the Parable of the Sower, but in my estimation, this is a parable more about the soils than the sower.  


For more:
Sermon - November 8, 2009 - "God Be Merciful To Me a Sinner": The Gosple in 7 Words
GBC - Matthew Thus Far: Matthew 1-5
GBC - The Sermon on The Mount Series
GBC - Matthew 8-12 - The King Has Come: The Gospel According to Matthew Series
GBC - The Last Week of Jesus: From Triumphal Entry to Triumphal Grave Series   
GBC - Fruitie-Tales: Living By the Fruit of the Spirit Series