Wednesday, November 30, 2005

Switchfoot: Easier Than Love

This just in: Switchfoot takes a stand against the culture. The song, “Easier Than Love” is a rebuke of the culture’s “sex craze.” While most of Switchfoot’s lyrics are impossible to understand, “Easier Than Love” is as clear as it gets. Here are just a few of the rebukes:

Sex is currency, She sells cars, She sells magazines – Now, they just used magazines here to rhyme with the next line (nicotines), but they could have just said, “she sells everything.” It is sickening to watch commercials these days. Why does there have to be a naked woman on every commercial? Switchfoot says, “How is it that one of the most meaningful, intimate moments in a human’s life is now used to sell beverages or magazines or auto parts?”
Addictive, Bittersweet…with the hopeless nicotines – In other words, our culture is just as much in bondage to sex as a drug addict is to his drugs.
Everyone’s been scared to death of dying here alone – This may be the most profound line in the song. This gets at the heart of the problem. Everyone is afraid of being alone, so they have sex to feel like they are loved and noticed. I’ve actually heard people say, “It would be tragic to die a virgin. I would never want to die having not had sex.”
She is easier than love, is easier than life. It’s easier to fake and smile and bribe. It’s easier to leave. It’s easier to lie – I almost want to say, “preach it brother, preach it.” Sex is way easier than love. Love is complicated, and difficult. To love someone, you have to seek to understand them and serve them. You have to get into their world. However, sex is quick and seemingly painless. You can leave it and move on.
What is the monster we have become? Where is my soul? – Yes, we have become monsters and have lost the ability to feel and truly live.
Sex is industry, the CEO of corporate policy – This is my favorite line in the song. I think it is saying that sex is what drives corporate America (like a CEO is supposed to drive his company). In other words, the CEO runs the company but what runs the CEO? Sex does. The corporations are bowing to the god of sex, not only in their personal lives but in how they sell their products.

I would love to hear your thoughts on this song and the lyrics I have highlighted. Maybe I should clarify one thing: The kind of sex Switchfoot is referring to is the sinful sex between unmarried people that distorts the glory of God and the gift of sex. God is the creator of sex, and therefore, it is good and holy. Sex within the bounds of marriage is none of the things described above. It is one of the most beautiful and intimate acts of worship married humans can engage in. However, in no way does sex make a person whole or complete.

3 comments:

Rob Tombrella said...

Great review Justin--i agree with this--I like this song--its message and its kinda catchy--however, i feel weird about walking around the office humming a song about sex.

Anonymous said...

Superb, J-Dawg! And you're right this one is much easier to understand than many of their other songs. Here's a challenge...Go pick up a copy of their first album, "The Legend of Chin", and try to understand those songs. It came out in 1997 and I still don't understand some of them.

Dustin said...

I haven't heard the CD yet, but "Easier than Love" sounds like an excellent song. It is good to see people in the music industry starting to take a stand against one of it's driving forces. The sad truth is that industry pushes what sells, and what sells to the culture that Paul spoke of in 2 Timothy 3:1-4 is rebellion, disobedience, and sex. I often wonder if music industry has the ability to reverse the ammount of damage it has done within our culture.