It was well rehearsed and performed with passion. Talented young voices singing in perfect harmony. The ballad rose dramatically in energy and intensity. "The goodness inside you will be your guide to the God in others. We are God. God is us." Thousands cheered. Some shouted, "Amen!" and stood to their feet, moved by melody and ability.
I was stunned. How could so many people, so quickly embrace a song that was so clearly blasphemous?
Blasphemy is not a word I use frequently, it sounds too 'churchy', but it is the most accurate word. Blasphemy: the act of claiming the attributes of deity.
Spiritual truth is in short supply today; sometimes even in our churches. But inside each human there is a latent spiritual hunger for truth that's craving satisfaction, and many will eagerly grasp spiritual passion even when it is devoid of spiritual truth.
Yet this was something more; these were not merely empty words - void and without truth - these were deceitful words, poisonous to the soul. Spiritually deadly words.
Why was the reaction of the crowd nearly universal? Why was my reaction so different? Maybe it has something to do with pita bread.
I used to work in Detroit and I have to admit - there are several things good about Detroit. One of those things is food. You could experience the entire, wonderful, culinary world and never leave the Detroit Metro area. Greek food. Polish food. Jewish food. Chinese, Mexican, Japanese, Soul, Thai. And then I discovered the Islamic bakery.
I thought I knew what pita bread was, but that was before I experienced the Islamic bakery. Nothing compares to fresh hummus, tabbouleh, and a warm pita fresh out of the stone oven behind the counter. I would buy several pitas and take them home to eat throughout the week, but after about five or six days, the pita lost it's wonder and began to taste like the stuff you get in the grocery store.
To this day, I can't taste a pita without wishing I was standing at that counter waiting for a warm, fresh, wonderful, authentic pita. And maybe that explains my reaction to the young voices singing about "being God".
Most people can quote that phrase, "... you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free" but few know what Jesus said right before that. To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” (John 8:31-32)
When stores and banks train their employees about counterfeit money, they don't start by showing the fake bills. They study real money. The reason? The more you study the genuine currency, the easier it is to detect an imitation.
Art connoisseurs can easily spot a fraud because they have studied the artist closely. They know his or her style, how they held the brush, what colors they favored, what subjects moved them to create their masterpieces.
What Jesus told those who believed him was, "If you study my teachings and apply them to your lives, you will be free. You will know me and my character, and you will easily see through false claims that can enslave you." The implication is that if we do not study and apply Christ's teachings to our lives, we will be easily deceived by false claims - we won't know what authentic pita bread tastes like.
People are so hungry for truth, they eagerly consume imitations. Our job as Christ followers is to tell them about the "stone oven behind the counter" and "the bread of life." The strategy isn't just to take them to the bakery; our goal should be to give them some of the bread we've discovered. Not week old bread, but warm bread that we receive fresh every day.
When you see or hear something that is blasphemous or spiritually offensive, it's not usually because the people are evil. It's almost always because they are hungry. Listen to Jesus as he gently prods, "You've got fresh bread. You feed them."
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