Impressions are only Impressions

Some tend to justify unwise decisions on grounds that ‘God told me’. How can we tell whether these impressions are from God or from some other source? 

This is a critical question.

Impressions are real; believers and non-believers experience them. Impressions are not to be denied, but they are to be carefully evaluated. Inner impressions may be spiritual or reflect the influence of the Spirit, but they do not constitute the authoritative voice of the Spirit. Impressions could be produced by any number of sources: God, Satan, an angel, a demon, human emotions (such as fear or ecstasy), hormonal imbalance, insomnia, medication, or health conditions. For this reason, the Bible does not bestow on inner impressions with the authority to function as indicators of divine guidance. Sinful impressions (temptations) may be exposed for what they are by the Spirit-sensitized conscience and the Word of God.

To specific questions of vocation, marriage or education, the Bible only indicates what is, and is not, permissible.  When equal options exist, we should thank God for the opportunity to select from equally acceptable alternatives. We should exercise good judgement and not waste time. Where God commands, we must obey. Where there is no command, God gives us not only the freedom and responsibility to choose but also the wisdom to choose.

God’s moral will is the expression, in behavioural terms, of Gods character. It is fully revealed in the Bible. It touches every aspect and moment of life: goals, attitudes, means, and perspectives (why, how, and what). It is able to equip believers for every good work.

Since God’s moral will has been completely revealed and the means of acquiring wisdom has been explained, we can fully attain the knowledge required for decision making. We need not be dependent on subjective impressions. If the source of our knowledge is subjective, then the knowledge will also be subjective and therefore uncertain.

We should apply maturity by gathering and evaluating data, devoting sufficient time to the process, giving personal desires their proper place, seek mature counsel, rightly using Scripture, and basing the decision on sound reasons.

When we have chosen what is moral and wise, we can trust the sovereign God to work all the details together for good.

In areas where Christians’ differ, we must learn to distinguish between matters of command and matters of freedom. On debatable issues, we ought to cultivate our own convictions, but at the same time allow our fellow believers the freedom to determine their own convictions, even when they differ from us. Let our liberty be limited, when necessary, by love and servant hood.

God is not concerned simply with what we do; He is equally concerned with why we do what we do as well as how we do it. God’s will for our attitudes is that lust be replaced by love, independence by reliance, pride by humility, presumption by gratitude, guilt by a clear conscience, irresponsibility by integrity, laziness by diligence, compulsion by eagerness, selfishness by generosity, self-advancement by submission, cowardice by courage and greed by contentment.

Our attitudes are therefore important before God, but our impressions are only impressions. 

It is in giving that we receive…

Mary Alexander shares her experience as a Graduate Volunteer  

Its over! Yes, it’s finally over! Four years…whew…internals, records, assignments, exams, placements…I am at last a graduate and you know what… there was ample time for me to join in a company where I was placed. I choose to chill out…how? Very simple, to make myself available for the Lord…

It all began at the Mini Graduating Students Training Programme for 2012…I started thinking if I could volunteer my time for UESI (K) as a Graduate Volunteer. I pondered on it and prayed about it. And I knew that the Lord doesn’t look at the ability but our availability. In almost the same time, God had led another girl - Sheeba Grace John is her name…to commit herself to serve as Staff Co-ordinator for UESI (K) at Thiruvananthapuram.  I mentioned the proposal to my parents. They were willing and Sheeba was in fact looking for someone to accompany her.  One step at a time everything seemed to fall into place, that God guided me all the time.

God enabled me to involve in the UESI ministry for few months. And it kept reminded me often the reason we are here and the need of students in mission. As members of the same body of our Lord Jesus Christ we need to play different roles in fulfilling His mission. Roles are neither to compete with others nor to rule over others. All are co-labourers with Christ. Coming out of one’s comfort zone is tough but once you come out, God will provide new comfort zones with its own challenges and excitements.

  

Together we could spend more time in prayer, Bible study and shared new thoughts each day. We met students of various colleges in Trivandrum during the group and in personnel. Until now I had always been at the receiving end as a student in camps and conferences, but now as I went to the various campuses and camps, and could share from the Word of God. I learned that we need to do anything possible to help bring a new person to Christ. It takes many people to plant the seeds of the Gospel. It’s so amazing to see the changes in a student’s life.

As I shared my thoughts in few cell groups that I attended, I was enriched by the contributions made by the other students – together we were able to open up the manifold treasures that were hidden in the Scriptural passages. My personal study of the Bible could never have been as rich. The dividends to group study are many. And I Loved being with the students and sharing the love of our Lord.

I praise God for the believer students who genuinely took a stand in their campuses to be identified with Jesus Christ and make themselves available for Him to use, despite all excuses they might have give. And was deeply challenged by the lack of seniors in few campuses, to nurture and guide the second line leaders to continue in witnessing our Lord.

As I visited the homes of graduates and observed their lifestyle, their simplicity, and sacrificial efforts to spend most of the time with the students, enriching them spiritually has all left an indelible mark on me.

After all, we are here to be salt-seasoning that brings out the God-flavours of this earth. If we lose our saltiness, how will people taste godliness! Volunteering atleast for few months in student ministry was a good experience and I found the need of more graduates to help students to reach out the unreached colleges of our state.

I can never regret over the decision I took to spend few months in ministry before taking up the job.  I would encourage the fresh graduating students in EU to be a part of it as God leads and to live with a great ‘passion for God and compassion for students’. Let us lead this ‘young’ world to taste the Love of God without perishing. I close with the famous quote from C.T.Studd-a great missionary, ‘There is only one life, it will pass, but what we do for Christ will only last.’

Jesus is the Reason for the Season

Christmas is the day on which Christians--those who identify themselves as believers in the salvation from sin offered to them through the death and resurrection of their saviour, Jesus Christ, the Son of God, and who, out of gratitude for the gift of salvation, commit themselves to living their lives in accordance with the teachings of the Holy Bible--celebrate the birth of their saviour.

For Christians, the birth of Jesus Christ is indeed a cause for great celebration. As the Son of God, Jesus was sent to earth, by our Heavenly Father, to become a human being, live a sinless life, be crucified on a cross for our sins, and rise from the dead three days later. The purpose of this was to save sinners from eternal death. While you and I are born to live, Jesus Christ was born to die – as the price to be paid for our sin.

Baby Jesus grew into manhood, he preached and moved men in many walks of life, and died in agony. But His death was not the end. For Him, and for millions of men and women ever since, it marked a time of triumph—because He was born, we have an eternal hope beyond the throws of death.

While the meaning of Christmas can truly be cherished only by those one who truly believe, hundreds of millions of people who are members of other religions, or belong actively to no church at all cherish the spirit of Christmas. The reason is not far to seek. It is because the spirit of unselfish giving at a cost to self, personified by the life and the teachings of Christ makes appeal to the inner conscience and hope of every man and every woman in every part of the earth.

It's been said that all the kings who ever reigned, that all the parliaments that ever sat have not done as much to advance the cause of peace on Earth and good will to men as the man from Galilee, Jesus of Nazareth. In an address to the nation, US President Truman once said that, "In love, which is the very essence of the message of the Prince of Peace, the world would find a solution for all its ills. I do not believe there is one problem in this country or in the world today which could not be settled if approached through the teaching of the Sermon on the Mount.

The Father of our Nation, Mahatma Gandhi demonstrated this by the means he chose to free our nation. Martin Luther King and Nelson Mandela have demonstrated this again and again in deferent settings. Though all may not acknowledge Jesus Christ as a personal Saviour, all have reason to celebrate His birth because He gave the world a philosophy that has transformed the course of history of many nations - an alternative that has proved effective even for those who did not acknowledge Him as Saviour.

His birthday has meant so much to me and so much for the world. Celebrate it meaningfully.

You are already commissioned, therefore GO….

Rather than waiting for some kind of mystical call from God, every believer should respond to the revealed will of God. Jesus Christ’s great commission to ‘make disciples of all nations’ remains applicable to every believer ‘even to the end of the age’ (Mathew 28:19-20). For a believer, personal involvement in the great commission is not optional. We don’t need a call – we’ve already been commissioned. Every single Christian is to be making some contribution to world evangelization and discipleship. Every believer without exception must develop an obedient ‘great commission’ heart and then honestly  ask, ‘How can I better obey the Lords commission to me?’

Given below are seven practical steps that can help you on the road to greater obedience to the great commission:

1.       Commitment: The first step is availability, and that step ought to be settled by grateful submission to the Lordship of Christ (Luke 9:23-26; 59-62; 14:25-35). God looks primarily at your availability and not at your ability. Your strength may in fact be your greatest weakness before the Lord. Or you may have umpteen vain excuses to make like Moses, Jeremiah, Isaiah or Gideon. Unfortunately we have mistakenly taught people to indefinitely wait for a mystical call, which actually never comes, because the clear commission already has been given.

2.       Investigation: Begin by gathering facts: What is the need? What are the options? What can I do? What will it cost? What do I have to give up? How, when and where can I begin?

3.       Involvement: Every believer must participate in Christ’s worldwide mission right here and now. We must understand our call is to begin first in our ‘Jerusalem’ (Acts 1:8). We must also understand that our ‘Jerusalem’ is the ‘end of the earth’ for another believer on the other half of the globe. If God has placed you in a particular campus, that is Gods sovereign and choice mission field for you now. It is often found that if one who not involved in the great commission while as a student rarely gets involved later in life too.

4.       Evaluation: Make a personal inventory, evaluating your potential by the standard of missionary qualities and qualifications. In some cases, wisdom will indicate that you can make more contribution to missions through a vocation at home. Or you may discover in yourself the raw material from which cross cultural missionaries are made. If so, you should set out on a course whereby the Potter can shape the raw material into a finished vessel, suitable for service in a far away land.

5.       Consultation: Personal evaluation should not be carried out in a vacuum. The New Testament records the involvement of others in recognizing, choosing, and sending those best suited for various works – be it serving at the tables, or going on a mission trip. You should be actively involved in ministry so that those in leadership will have opportunity to access your gifts, your commitment, your strengths and your weaknesses.

6.       Preparation: As long as the light remains green, you should take those steps that will lead to the mission field of your passion. The most important of these steps is to enrol in an accountability group whose motto is ‘Discipline yourself for the purpose of godliness’ (1 Timothy 4:7). Do the required extensive reading and team up with those who are already in the work. Learn as you go and learn while you do.

7.       Prayer: Pray for wisdom, strength, and open doors of opportunity. And submit, in advance to the sovereign will of the Lord of the harvest (Luke 10:2). Then proceed, as you pray, to obey His moral will – with the confidence that He is at work in you ‘both to will and to work for His good pleasure’ (Philippians 2:13).

In every endeavour of life, God wants us to take one small step at a time based on the light that we have already been given, leaving the unknown future in the hands of Him who holds our future. Only as we obey one step at a time, we shall be given light for the next step. Let us not wait nor ask to see what the end scene may look like. Instead let us in faith step out in obedience to the great commission while it is yet TODAY…here and now is the time for obedience.

Transformed to Transform

UESIs Vision Statement is: Transformed students impacting the campuses and the nation as disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ

2 Corinthians 3:18 tells us that we are being progressively transformed as we devote time to be in the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ in unobstructed communion. Therefore when we speak of ‘Transformed Students’ we refer to those believing students who like Mary have not allowed themselves to be caught up in the rat race of campus life, but have chosen that while remaining faithful in their academics, they will make it a daily habit to remain at the feet of Jesus Christ in humble communion.

Romans 12: 2 tells us that we are transformed by the renewing of our mind. Transformation begins in the mind. What we believe determines how we live. Joshua 1:8 exhorts us to meditate on the Scriptures day and night, so that we may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. In doing so we are promised that we would be conducting ourselves wisely and will have good success. Therefore when we speak of ‘Transformed Students’ we also refer to those who are committed to a regular habit of personal devotional Bible Study, not merely done as a ritual out of compulsion, but done with such longing and earnestness knowing that in the Holy Bible is the moral will of God revealed.

When we speak of ‘impacting the campuses’, we consider how these ‘Transformed Students’ will be the ‘salt’ and the ‘light’ (Mathew 5:13-15) of their gang, of their class and of their campus. Salt is required in very small quantities to give taste or to preserve many times a larger volume of food. Such is the expectation we have: that these ‘Transformed Students’, even if they are a minority in the campus, will shine as lights in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation (Philippians 2:15). More importantly, that these ‘Transformed Students’ could see themselves as Gods designated missionaries to that campus, being ready in season and out of season not only to defend their faith but also to make verbal witness of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone who believes (Romans 1:16)

No wonder the Hand book for UESI, ‘Witness for Me’, delineates three spiritual disciplines as required of an EU member: Quiet Time and Prayer, Personal Bible Study and Personal Evangelism.

Once the students complete their studies, UESIs expectation is that the impact of these graduates will now not be limited to the campus alone but would encompass the whole nation as they continue to serve as disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ in whatever work situation God has placed them in. Even the presence of just one committed disciple of Jesus Christ can have ripple effects in the workplace by the difference in attitudes and values which that disciple has chosen to live by. As graduates, our calling is to serve, to be available and to get involved in the lives of the students. 

In order to accomplish its vision of seeing transformed students impacting the campuses and the nation as disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ, UESI has delineated two prime activities in its mission statement: UESI seeks (1) to evangelise students and (2) to nurture them as disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ. These are the two activities that should consume our focus, for in doing so the vision will be accomplished. Quoting again from the handbook: ‘UESI is spiritually centred. We recognise the great need in India for economic improvement, medical relief and educational advance. We rejoice in all that is being done along these lines....yet we insist that mans greatest need here, as everywhere is spiritual – to be restored to fellowship with one’s Creator through confession of sin and faith in Jesus Christ. This problem is central and others peripheral. Spiritual health is the first step towards physical and mental well being.’ Let us not forget that our primary calling in UESI is to evangelise students and to nurture them as disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Responding to Social Issues: The Mother Teresa Model

Mother Teresa has always been to me an inspiration in terms of what a single feeble woman could do in alleviating the miseries of this fallen world. She considered herself just ‘a pencil in God’s hand’ and was convinced that God was using her ‘nothingness’ to show His greatness. She has exemplified for me a model of what Jesus Christ meant when he said in Mathew 5:16: ‘...others will see the good that you do and will praise your Father in heaven’.

At the young age of 18, when Mother Teresa (at that time, her name being Gonxha Agnes Bojaxhiu) left her home to commence her life as a missionary, these were the parting words of her mother to her: ‘Put your hand in His [Jesus’] hand, and walk alone with Him. Walk ahead; because if you look back you will go back.’

Few years later when Mother Teresa was trying to persuade her Bishop to allow her to start the Missionaries of Charity, she wrote to him saying: ‘God is calling me – unworthy and sinful that I am....to leave that what I love and expose myself to new labours and sufferings which will be great, to be the laughing stock of so many – especially religious – to cling to and choose deliberately the hard things of an Indian life – to choose loneliness, ignominy and uncertainity. If the work begins, there will be plenty of humiliations, loneliness and suffering for me. Self denial and abnegation will be the means to our end – There will be disappointment – but the good God wants just only our love and our trust in Him.’

In another letter, Mother Teresa wrote about herself: ‘By nature I am sensitive, love beautiful and nice things, comfort and all that comfort can give – to be loved and love – I know that the life of a Missionary of Charity – will be minus all these.’

The Bishop in charge of Mother Teresa was still weighing whether her proposal to start the Missionaries of Charity was leaving ‘a certain good for an uncertain gain’.  He asked her to explain the parameters of success in her proposed model. Mother Teresa replied to the Bishop with these words: ‘I don’t know what the success will be – but if the Missionaries of Charity have brought joy to one unhappy home - made one innocent child from the street keep pure for Jesus - one dying person die in peace with God – don’t you think, Your Grace, it would be worth while offering everything – just for that one - because that one would bring great joy to the heart of Jesus.’

Mother Teresa also wrote to the Bishop requesting him not to dilute the standards of poverty that she had chosen as the very means to her end. These are her words to the Bishop: ‘I would be grateful if I could know regarding that absolute poverty, how far would you insist on lessening or rather making easy that poverty – which for us has to be the means to reach our end? By absolute poverty I mean real and complete poverty – not starving – but wanting – just only what the real poor have – to be really dead to all that the world claims for its own...’ 

Beyond providing care for the downtrodden and outcasts of human society, Mother Teresa was willing to embrace their material and spiritual suffering, their state of being unwanted, unloved, and uncared for.

Mother Teresa used to urge her team: ‘Don’t look for big things, just do small things with great love...the smaller the thing, the greater must be our love’. She lived this principle in whatever she was doing throughout the day. Whether it was ‘big’ or ‘small’ mattered not to her; everything she did was an opportunity to love.

What are the success parameters for us today? How does the Mother Teresa model compare with our models of responding to social issues today? Have we in Christendom, conformed to the ways of the world by adopting a business model to address the social issues of our day? In Mark 11: 15 to 17 we read of Jesus Christ saying: Is it not written, "My house shall be called the house of prayer for all nations?" But you have made it a den of thieves. Has the time come for Jesus Christ to purge some of our so called efforts for the upliftment of the poor and the downtrodden? Has the time come for Jesus Christ to enter and cast out those who make monitory gain in name of social action and spirituality? And to overthrow the tables of the money-changers and the seats of those who sold ‘doves’.

The Mother Teresa model will always remain a high water mark in the history of Christian missions for the poor.

The Gospel is to be Preached

"Preach the gospel at all times. Use words if necessary"? - is a famous dictum attributed to Francis of Assisi. According to those who know the relevant history well—the Franciscans—Francis never uttered these words.

But more important, this dictum represents a significant error. It's simply impossible to preach the gospel without words. The gospel is inherently verbal, and preaching the gospel is inherently verbal behaviour.

Those who insist that the gospel can in fact be "preached" without words, sometimes call this an "incarnational" approach to evangelism. But the belief that we can "preach the gospel" with our actions alone represents muddled thinking. However important our actions may be (and they are very important indeed), and whatever else we may be doing in terms of social action, if the gospel is to be communicated at all, it must be put into words.

Few would deny that the holistic mission of the church is the best possible platform for our verbal witness, and that our generation will be more inclined to give us a hearing if we walk the talk. But let us not forget that the church has been messy from the beginning, falling far short of living out the Great Commandment. Yet despite our failures, the gospel itself remains marvellously potent, the very "power of God unto salvation" to those who believe. The gospel's inherent power does not fluctuate with the strengths or weaknesses of its messengers. This truth is humbling, but also immensely liberating. In the end, my inability to answer objections, my lack of training or experience, even failures in my own faithfulness in living it out do not nullify the gospel's power. Its potency is due to the working of God's Spirit. Even when we are at our best, the gospel is powerful in spite of us, not because of us. Thanks be to God.

In 1 Corinthians 1:21, Paul says, "For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe." Paul is referring here to what we have been calling the verbal witness of the gospel. This is God's chosen modus operandi, Paul says, "so that no human being might boast in the presence of God" (v. 29).

In Romans 10:14,15,17  Paul emphatically says, ‘... how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without preaching? And how shall they preach unless they are sent? As it is written, "How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the gospel of peace and bring glad tidings of good things!" ... faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the Word of God.’

The gospel of Jesus Christ is a verbal thing, and communicating it requires putting it into words. This verbal witness is scarcely the whole of our calling, but neither is it dispensable. Nothing can replace it. Let us celebrate the reality that the power of the gospel resides not in us but in the Spirit's application of the message we proclaim, the message that declares a crucified Lord and Saviour.

Fig Leaves

Fig leaves were Adam and Eve’s first choice after sin entered the Garden of Eden, and ever since man and woman have always had questions on what to wear and what not to wear.

When I observe some of the fashion trends among believers today – tops with lengthy slits, leggings that hug the body, unbuttoned shirts, low neck lines, sleeveless dresses with large arm holes, low-rise pants, see-through clothing, a bared midriff and back... I begin to wonder: Has not the world succeeded in squeezing us into its mold contrary to the will of God revealed in Romans 12:2 where we are exhorted ‘not to be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind’.

Many sincere young men and women are clamoring for a set of clear guidelines on what is right and what is not.

Fashions keep changing from time to time and from place to place. What may be modest and appropriate at one place and time may be wholly offensive at another. Whatever is the ‘IN’ thing today is ‘OUT’ tomorrow. There is no way we can keep up with the Jones-es in the world of fashions as the trends keep swinging from one extreme to another. Like a pendulum the length of tops swing from short to long, and the width bottoms from Afghan baggies to skin fits.  What then are the ground rules to be followed?

First, there ought to be a decided modesty in dress: In 1 Timothy 2:9 Paul says: ‘I also want women to dress modestly, with decency and propriety.’ This is a biblical injunction. John Stott says, ‘What Paul is emphasizing is that Christian women should adorn themselves with clothing, hairstyles and jewelry which in their culture are inexpensive and not extravagant; modest and not vain; chaste and not suggestive.’

We eat for ourselves, but we dress for others: It is others who see us most. We see ourselves only in the mirror. Others are continually making value judgments about us by what we have chosen to wear. While the statement – ‘A man is what he wears’ is not wholly true, it is true that what we choose to wear makes a statement about ourselves: our values, our intentions and even our character. Our dress style should reflect values such as modesty, moderation, decency, propriety, simplicity, practical utility, comfort and stewardship of time and money.

Second, we must learn to dress for the occasion: Moderation involves – not lagging far too behind the trends of the day, nor always sporting the latest trend in town. But let us also not forget that we are called to be different – to be counter culture, not conforming to this world but being transformed by the values that are given to us in the Scriptures. If you are to be at a meeting of the Board of Directors of a corporate office, follow the dress code – be there in your executive best. But if you are at a sea side resort on holiday it goes without saying that you would choose casuals. We must be dressed such that our dress doesn't catch special attention – either by being too outlandish or by being too inappropriate. If no one takes special notice of you – then, it is probably the best indication that you are truly dressed for the occasion. On the other hand if many are taking special notice of what you have chosen to wear – then maybe you have made a mistake!

Third, we must be careful to ensure that our dressing does not lead others to sin: You may never have intended that the dress you have chosen to wear should lead someone else to sin. But the purity of your motive does not cancel the effects of your appearance. In Luke 17:1-2 Jesus said to his disciples, ‘It is impossible but that occasions of stumbling should come.’ In other words, the world being what it is, the human heart being what it is, occasions of stumbling are almost inevitable. ‘But woe unto him, woe unto her through whom they come. It were well for him, for her, if a millstone were hanged about his neck and he were thrown into the sea rather than that he should cause one of these little ones to stumble.’ The little ones are those who believe in him. Romans 14:13 says: ‘Let us not, therefore, judge one another anymore, but judge this rather, that no man, no woman, put a stumbling block in his brother’s way or an occasion of falling.” That is what we are to judge. Am I in any way in the manner of my dress putting an occasion of stumbling before one of my brothers or sisters in Christ?

Fourth, the Scripture (Deuteronomy 22:5) clearly forbids transvestism - the practice of wearing the clothes of the opposite sex. So we must make sure that the male-female distinctive is not lost in what we choose to wear.  

Finally, we must welcome controls: Seek genuine feedback on the modestly and appropriateness of your dress from godly others, your parents or your spouse. Parents must know that they have every right while their children are under their roof to insist on modest dressing. They must stand the ground and tell the son or daughter, ‘While you are under our care, this is simply not permissible. No discussion. End of the issue.’ This generation of young people cannot stand against the tremendous pressure on them to compromise and be insensitive to the biblical standards of modesty. They may have to learn to simply tell their peers, that certain styles are just not permitted by their parents.

We must cultivate a sensitive, well instructed conscience before God concerning the choice of your dress and our stitching styles. If you realize that you have made mistakes in the past in the inappropriate choice of your dressing styles, repent and bring forth the fruit of true repentance. Make the necessary changes in your wardrobe.

Lest I be misunderstood: I am not trying to rob you of your Christian liberty. I am not advocating that you go out dressed covered from head to toe in a robe with only two eye holes for you to see. But I am determined that we need to be decidedly modest for the glory of God. Let me also make it clear that in our outreach meetings and cell groups we will not say to those whom we invite: ‘You can’t come in here and listen to our gospel dressed like that,’ No. We would welcome them exactly as they show up, but that doesn't mean that we need to compromise on the biblical principles ourselves in order to win them.

Post Script: A more detailed article on the subject of drawing lines on modesty in dress can be seen at the author’s blog: http://maturityfoundation.blogspot.com (Blog Post dated: 8^th June 2010)

Why this Kolaveri Dee?

I had never really given much attention to this song until the gruesome murder of Revolutionary Marxist Party (RMP) leader T.P.Chandrasekharan at Onchiyam in Kerala on 4^th May 2012. The Post Mortem report stated that he had over 50 wounds on his body – the question that kept haunting me: Why this Kolaveri Dee? (Why this murderous rage?). But I was quickly told that I had taken the title of the famous song totally out of its original context: Relationships - being dumped by a girlfriend.

‘Why this Kolaveri Dee’ is a Tamil song from the soundtrack of the Tamil film 3. According to composer Anirudh Ravichander, 3's director Aishwarya Rajinikanth Dhanush wanted a "light-hearted" song about failed love. Ravichander quickly composed the tune in about 10 minutes. Dhanush then began work on the lyrics, which he completed in about 20 minutes of playful singing and writing in broken English, as a Tamil person might if his knowledge of English was limited. The song is also called a 'Soup' song, where 'Soup' is a colloquial word which refers to young men experiencing failure in their romantic relationships. The words of the song are in a simple mixture of Tamil and English. The singer is presented as an Indian boy whose girlfriend has rejected him. He is drunk as he sings, asking why she hurt him this way. The words have been described as "nonsensical" by some but Dhanush has said that the simple colloquial words used help make the song something that "people can relate to".

Released in November 2011, the song became the top downloaded song on mobile with 10,000 downloads within the first 18 days of release. Its rapid spread to nightclubs and discos in Tokyo, Japan were reported soon after release. The song and versions of it account for more than 50 million of YouTube's total views. The popularity of the song was also reported by international media like BBC and Time magazine, who attributed its major crossover world appeal to its universal theme, catchy tune and unique lyrics. Top business schools like Indian Institutes of Management conducted studies to figure out the popularity of this song. The song has inspired flash mobs in Chennai, Mumbai and even in Auckland, New Zealand. Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh invited Dhanush for the dinner party along with Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda in his New Delhi residence, India. The political parties plan to use variants of the song in their campaigns for 2012 assembly elections. In April 2012, a petition was filed in the Kerala High Court seeking a ban on the song citing negative influence on children, claiming to inciting violence and aggression.

If this song had touched a familiar chord somewhere in the psyche of today’s youth it was surely worth contemplating on. I decided to do a ‘Quiet Time’ on the lyrics to try to make some sense of what seemed absolutely nonsensical.

Here I go...

My life is in a soup and everything else also seems to be a soup. I am a flop but I am not alone. The whole world around me seems to be in shambles, and nobody seems to know how to make sense of it. Why?

Instructions of ‘rhythm correct’, ‘maintain please’ and ‘now tune change’ have gotten into the lyrics of the song as part of the dire need to get rid of the masks that have become a given in life. It is a way of saying: I am fed up with whatever is doctored or manipulated to give a false front. Let there be no editing on my song of life. Let me be true, original and genuine.

The moon far away is white and stands in stark contrast to the night sky in black: I wish things were as simple as that: black and white, with no grey shades of confusion. While the moon may give me a glimmer of hope, most of what I see around is depressingly black. Why?

The girl who dumped me, had a facade of white skin, but her heart was black. When I look into her eyes, I know my future is dark. Why did this have to happen to me?

Mom is still around and her true love is expressed not in words but in simple acts of unrewarded service. She never fails. What a difference!

To run away from my raging emotions I resort to addictions. Deep down within me is an empty feeling. My eyes are full of tears. My life seems to be moving only in reverse gear.

I still love you, even though you dumped me. You have become an addiction in my life. I am hurting. But you are happy. We have no choice. Why these raging emotions?

In the world of relationships this song depicts the real struggles of this generation: the search for meaning and purpose in a world that seems to be falling apart, the longing for genuine mask free relationships, the longing for true love, the duplicity of what looked good only on the outside, the desire for certainty in a world of ambiguity, the soothing dependability of a mother’s acts of love contrasted to a world where romantic love was so transient and unreliable, the lack of hope in a despairing future, the pain of addictions and the struggle within to rein in one’s own raging emotions and finally the resignation of having to accept certain things in life simply because we have no choice. 

Are you able to identify with the pain expressed in the lyrics of this song? If we don’t, we are probably not fit to minister to this generation.

Way back in 1972, Henri J. M. Nouwen in the introduction to his book, ‘The Wounded Healer’ wrote: ‘For all ministers are called to recognize the sufferings of their time in their own hearts, and make to that recognition the starting point of their service. Whether we try to enter into a dislocated world, relate to a convulsive generation, or speak to a dying person, our service will not be perceived as authentic unless it comes from a heart wounded by the suffering about which we speak.’

Jesus Christ said: I have come to heal the broken hearted. As one who was himself betrayed from within His inner circle of friends, He knows the pain of being dumped. He only can understand you fully and comfort you. Jesus Christ says to you: ‘Come unto me...I will give you rest.’