Well, in the brand new song "Who We Are" from Switchfoot's most recent EP called Fading West, I was almost sure the lyrics for the chorus were,
In the fever of our youth
We've got nothing left to lose
We're still dumb enough to choose
Who we are
And that's because at the beginning of the song it talks about just being kids with wide-eyed innocence, living in a van practically, but believing in something more than just some sort of justified ends to a means.
And so the point Switchfoot makes is that to the whole rest of the world that's a pretty dumb way to live; but they're like, who cares? We're still dumb enough to choose that way of life, because We Know Who We Are... And because as sure as we breathe, we want something that's more than just a feeling or that just lasts for a season... We want something with meaning, we want something we can believe in.
And I love it man, because that's exactly the way I want to live my life too.
In their other hit song "Love Alone is Worth the Fight" they talk about taking they're own advice, and going back to the basics. They ask why we live and why we breathe, why we're born and why we die, why we always fight to try to make things even? and then they ask if too many times in our lives maybe we're being controlled by fear. If so, love alone can erase fear; so "love alone is worth the fight."
...It's as if in the midst of all the chaos and confusion of the world, in the midst of all the meaninglessness, that's the one thing they can always go back to... Love alone is worth the fight.
They're dumb enough to choose that, because they understand that they have nothing left to lose... or well, that's basically what I thought they were saying, but actually the words for the song are really:
In the fever of our youth
We've got nothing left to lose
There's still time enough to choose
Who we are
And honestly that's an even better message because that's really where I'm at as well. I know that my real dream is as a missionary, and I still got enough time to choose that... even with the privilege of being supported full time.
I will say this though: being a missionary is no joke. Even though it's been the funnest, most fulfilling job I've ever had; at the same time being a missionary is the hardest job that I know... It requires an extremely high level of strength in each of the following areas: physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually.
But as Switchfoot says: Love Alone is Worth the Fight.
...It's awesome then when towards the end of "Who We Are" Jon Foreman concludes,
They said it's complicated
They said we'd never make it this far
But we are
They said the fight would break us
The struggle helped to make
Who we are
And then after saying that they wanted something that was more than just a feeling or that lasted for just a season; the last exclamation is
Yeah, we become what we believe in
...Or just wait a second. Did he say,
"We become who we believe in"?
Probably not. That was probably just my ear getting the best of me again.
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2 Corinthians 3:18
New International Version (NIV)
18 And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.
