Politics: For some, it's a passionate topic that brings out a fire in them in the pursuit of "hope and change" or civil and constitutional rights. For others, it's a trying topic that they've become so tired of that they're about ready to just totally stay out of it. 

As Christians, we know that we have a duty to influence every aspect of our life with the love and justice of Christ, which includes the process of lawmaking. Consequently, the Christian music scene has produced several songs to speak to our political state. Some songs give us food for thought about a Christian position on a particular topic, while others critique a system or institution. While not on every album, there are definitely a good number of such songs in the body of Christian music. 

I'd like to highlight five such songs. These are in no way all of these songs, and perhaps not even the greatest. They are just five songs that speak to this writer's musical experiences on this topic. So without further ado, my quintessential songs for provoking political thought. In no particular order: 

"The Problem" by Downhere
This song begins by addressing, or rather, poking some fun at conspiracy theorists who always think there is a big secret agenda behind every news-making event. The song then proceeds to suggest that the true cause of these events isn't the "secret, evil corporation somewhere overseas" but rather, ourselves. In fact, singer Marc Martel sings, "the problem in the world is me." But later, the song concludes with the line, "the sooner you can sing along, the happier we'll be." 

So what does that mean for us? The song challenges us to accept responsibility for the state of our culture. Not that it's explicitly our fault for every school shooting or economic downfall. But as sinners, we have to acknowledge that we are indeed a problem. And the sooner we can all admit that, the sooner we can begin to address some of these issues. Not that our fallen world could ever be heaven, but it doesn't have to be as bad as it is. We have free will to choose good, and the sooner we admit that we've chosen bad in the past, the sooner we can start choosing good in the future. 

We can elect good leaders. We can live out our faith every day beyond the doors of our Church, without shame or fear of being called an old-fashioned bigot. We can strive to imitate Christ. But this can never happen if we perpetually blame everybody else for every problem. We are the problem, each and every one of us. And this song is a call for us to stop passing the buck but accept the responsibility to bring about real change.

"Selling The News" by Switchfoot
The news media have a major role in shaping our perceptions about political affairs. Regardless of which side you take, you likely rely on a few media outlets to inform you about what's going on in our world. But it's easy to feel that news has become a sort of secondary goal of the media. Each side seems to think a particular news outlet is biased and distorting truth to promote their agenda. And looking at the uneven coverage just about every channel gives to various stories, it's easy to come away with the belief that there's a political skew penetrating every moment of their coverage. 

Well, Switchfoot has something to say about the news. There's intriguing mix of spoken word and rock track from their Vice Verses album gives a tongue-in-cheek first-person account of the corruption of the media's coverage. The song accuses the media of being more concerned with agendas and ratings than actually reporting the facts, because of course, "opinions are easier to swallow than facts, the grays instead of the whites and the blacks." Perhaps most telling is the line, "we're still on the air, it must be the truth." These lines take the challenge beyond just news coverage and bring it to us. 

Do we shun absolute truth and distort reality with gray where Christ left no ambiguity? Do we accept something as true just because a big name reported it and it hasn't been taken down yet? Do we really strive to search for the truth behind something, or do we look only at what will fit with our own pre-established worldview? What this song can teach us goes beyond simply wanting the news media to tell us what happened without an agenda. While that's certainly the main surface point, by critiquing dishonesty in the news media for ratings, it is a bright light on us, the viewer, the ones those ratings measure. 

After all, if we didn't watch, would they have any influence? Perhaps it less the media to blame and more those of us who give them their power. Calling back to mind "The Problem," this is again a wake-up call for you and me. 

"This Time" by John Elefante
Abortion has been a charged issue for the past half a century, and this is not the first song to tackle the issue in CCM, and it most certainly won't be the last. But I do think it's personalization of the issue gives a bit more relevant discussion on the issue than could be done with a more distant approach. 

Elefante gives the story of how his adopted daughter survived an abortion attempt and has gone on to live a full life full of love and Christ. I think most interesting about this song is that it doesn't ever attempt to portray her mother as cold or evil. Of course, no legitimate pro-life activity does. There's a pervading idea in our culture that being pro-life somehow means you hate and judge women who have or even consider abortions. Yet the complete opposite is true. Abortion hurts the woman as well, and this song addresses that. 

While some may take issue at the portrayal of abortion clinics as cold and almost forceful, there is legitimate testimony from women about the ways of many of these clinics. And if you really think about it, the song doesn't really portray these clinics as run by evil people as much as people who have distanced themselves from what abortion really is. The girl is alone and confused and doesn't really want to have the abortion, but she feels for a bit that she has no other choice. This is the mindset of many girls. And a mission of pro-lifers isn't to condemn them but rather to show them that Christ is the answer to their problems, and not an abortion. 

Every life is a gift from God and deserves our protection, mother and child alike. I think this song does a great job of portraying the uncertainty a young mother can face when faced with such decisions, but ultimately showing that both she and her child are better off when life is chosen. The fact that Elefante's adopted daughter is able to live as a testimony to choosing life serves as living proof of the importance of this issue to Christians today. Thus, especially this week, this song can provoke us to go beyond the media stereotypes and see exactly what this issue does to young women and their children. 

"While You Were Sleeping" by Casting Crowns
Whether you look at the original or Christmas versions of this song, there's an undeniable warning to us in America today. The song shows us how Biblical cities like Bethlehem and Jerusalem had Jesus in their midst but they rejected him. Now we in America may not have the man walking about us in the same way that he did in those cities, but he is still just as real to us and just as present. Furthermore, we're still faced with the same choice: are we going to reject him or accept him? In our day, this has gotten a bit more distorted. 

Many people welcome Jesus with their lips but throw him out with their actions. As the song says, we're the people who "save the trees and kill the children." And as the earlier songs on this list remind us, we're the people who love the "gray" and the distorted view on reality. We're the people who blame everyone else for our problems. We're a country of sinful people who are all too content to stay asleep and avoid anything to do with actual Christian living. Is Jesus knocking for each of us but we are too asleep to truly answer with our bodies in addition to our lips? "What will miss while we are sleeping?" 

One of the more memorable sermons in my life came from a priest friend at an Easter Vigil Mass last year. The homily and this song seem to be speaking on similar messages. His sermon spoke to how God wants to use us and be with us, but he's also not going to be hindered by us. He's going to give each of the chance to follow him, but if we don't actually get up and do it, he's going to move on. 

While this song references the second coming in particular, I think it also speaks to the idea that Christ isn't going to wait around for those who are "sleeping" in the sense that they aren't bothering to follow him. Jesus isn't going to stop because we aren't following Him. Will we sleep through His grace in our lives and therefore miss out on a true relationship with our Lord and Savior? 
 
"Living Life Upside Down" by Truth
This is the oldest song on this list, and the most obscure. It's also the most straight-shooting of the bunch. It tackles all of the issues in one thought-provoking notion proclaimed by the chorus: "What if we've fallen to the bottom of a well thinking we've risen to the top of a mountain? / What if we're knocking at the gates of hell thinking we're heaven bound? / What if we spend our lives thinking of ourselves when we should have been thinking of each other? / What if we reach up and touch the ground and find we're living life upside down?" 

Whether it's critiquing out culture's placing the live of trees over unborn children or showing how families are being destroyed by divorce, the song calls us to see if even many of us Christians are living life upside down. Are we calling evil, good? Are we calling sin, virtue? Are we calling good, evil? Are we calling virtue, vice? Perhaps we expect this from the culture that doesn't yet "know Jesus." But maybe many of us who claim to "know Jesus" are also living it backwards too. 

Conclusion:
Calling to mind all the lessons of the previous songs, can we honestly say that we aren't living life backwards? I am pretty sure any honest person would confess that we all do, at least some of the time. Yet, we are called to better. Following Jesus means leaving sin behind. We can't do it alone, but we don't have to. Jesus will help us. 

What I think these songs do is provoke us to ask questions of ourselves. They challenge our preconceived notions that we are doing everything right, that we know best, that every day we're doing exactly what God wants us to without question. They challenge us to be better, even if it makes us unpopular and outright outcasts of the world we live in.

Of course, that's my interpretation. I write this not to judge others, but merely to plant a seed of thought. I invite anyone reading to take a listen to these songs and consider what they mean to you. Also, if you have a list of songs that fit this theme for you, please share them in the comments. I already think there's potential for me to make another list on this topic.  So please tell us your lists and what those songs do to provoke political thought in you.