“The privilege of a lifetime is being who you are.”
If you had asked me beforehand what I knew about Taylor Swift, I would respond with the valid response of, “I haven’t got a clue.” Upon further research, Taylor Swift is an American singer-songwriter born in 1989 who started her career at fourteen. She began her career in country music but later transitioned to pop music. She has won a total of forty American Music Awards, thirty-nine Billboard Music Awards, and fourteen Grammy awards. If you keep up with pop culture, you know her as among the biggest influencers in modern-day music.
I’ve never been a “swiftie,” but I’ve heard occasional song lyrics over the years. With that said, I felt compelled to write about Taylor Swift due to her major impact on Millennial culture. Her career started while I was in high school. My typical Taylor Swift updates came from classmates who loved the occasional teenager breakup song. Her breakthrough song, “You Belong With Me,” skyrocketed her career and grew her fan base to what it is today. Other breakthrough songs include “Blank Space,” “Bad Blood,” and “Shake It Off.”
What if I roll the stone away?
They’re gonna crucify me anyway.
What if the way you hold me,
Is actually what’s holy?
It’s a surprise to hear Taylor Swift making a song with a hidden meaning. It’s another surprise to hear her making a seventeen-song album that has Christians raising their brows. Nonetheless, that’s what we got. It’s true that Taylor’s songs typically revolve around a relationships-gone-bad theme. Such is common knowledge to the average pop-culture addict. But in 2017, there was one specific song that caught my attention: “Look What You Made Me Do.” On one side, it’s a way to explain why people dislike Taylor — as we see ten versions of Taylor in less than five minutes (fifteen if you watch until the end). But more importantly, the song “Look What You Made Me Do” had significant meaning for her fans. It declared that she was no longer the teenage girl who sang about secret crushes. She was now a full-grown adult who gave her opinions on politics, lifestyle, and culture. It was a new identity.
You swore that you loved me, but where were the clues?
I died on the altar waiting for the proof.
Taylor recently released her standout album, “The Tortured Poets Department.” Thus, the controversy begins here. Rumors and opinions of the album claim that this is a subtle attack on Christianity. I find both the rumors and opinions to be nuanced — a “beat around the bush” vibe. Similar to a passive-aggressive stance: She is, but she isn’t. In looking through her various song lyrics, I found seven songs of her seventeen-song album that somehow had a nudge, nudge reference to Christian symbolism. Whether she wrote these songs from a sense of anger or a sense of intellectual criticism is still uncertain. But one thing is true: the album in-fact does have Christian analogies in some form or manner. This ultimately brings up some very important points around authenticity and sincerity. So let’s talk about it…
You ain’t gotta pray for me,
Me and my wild boy and all this wild joy.
If all you want is gray for me,
Then it’s just white noise, and it’s just my choice.
There seems to be a misunderstanding between Christians and secularists — whether valid or not. Typical secularists may see Christians as using ostracism as a tool for forcing others to believe in their ways. The same can occur between two Christian denominations in that two churches disagree on the simplest things for all the wrong reasons. But let it be said: A life philosophy is neither determined by external nor societal demand, but rather inner conviction. We don’t save people, but God can. It’s not about you and me; it’s about you and God. We cannot save the world, but God can. With all that said, perhaps our good intentions are clouded by a tug of the heart or a desired push towards Christ. None of us want to see another lost — let alone face an eternal hell. In all, perhaps the most effective solution in helping others is to put focus on what we can control: Repentance of sin, purify our heart, and love others as God loves them. To obsess over things we can’t control is to waste our time and effort towards ineffective results. Let us use our time and effort in such a way that can produce results.
God save the most judgmental creeps
Who say they want what’s best for me.
Sanctimoniously performing soliloquies I’ll never see.
We talked in a past blog how there are blessings within our curses. The opportunity that presents itself today is the same of what we see in the mentally ill community. Anyone who struggles with mental health can relate: The most difficult lesson to learn is that your wellbeing cannot rely on the nourishment that society owes us. People who have PTSD and past trauma can confirm this. Assume the world as harsh, and let us move on.
So in all, the one lesson I’ve learned from Taylor Swift is the reinforcement of what the Millennial Spark can offer: Authenticity. We keep talking about how this generation of adults need to return to the words of Christ. We even talk about a so-called “offense and oppressiveness” of Christianity in our generation. But what we don’t talk about is the great opportunity we have in this present day of finding answers for oneself, being honest with oneself, and being our own leader. There is in-fact a need and an obligation for society to provide a sense of trust. If you have no trust, then you have no community. With that said, we must rely on the nourishment of ourselves and ourselves alone. Yes, it’s difficult to swallow in replacing the obligated role of society’s nourishment that they owe us and turn it into our own burden. But it’s through a strong will and determination that makes us into who God meant for us to be. It’s through this dedication that makes us be the person that our community needs. Such is what it takes to be a spiritual leader.