(You Just Do As You're Told)...
That's an interesting lyric, isn't it?
What could Jack White be thinking there?
On the surface, it sounds like he's trying to tell a married woman that she should dump her no good husband.
"I can see your man can't help but win any problems that may arise But in his mind there can be no sin if you never criticize. You just keep on repeating all those empty 'I love you's' until you see that you deserve better I'm gonna lay right into you..."
I don't resonate with that line of thinking, as it opposes my "marriage is sacred, honorable, worth fighting for" type mindset. If a woman is getting physically beat up, getting the victim out of that situation immediately sounds smart and very reasonable and compassionate. Anytime dogma props up injustice, it needs to be looked at a second time and probably rejected.
One thing that Jesus taught us is that "the Law was made for man; not man for the Law" (in the example about "breaking the Sabbath" to heal a man). It becomes a gray area when you cross into other types of so-called "non-physical" abuse (verbal, emotional). I would certainly try other methods of intervention over separation at first, like confrontation and rebuke (one on one at first, then two on one). Jesus knew what He was talking about when He gave us those "if your brother sins against you, here's what to do" principles in Matthew 18.
Like all areas of life, we would do well to critically think about our lives through the lens of Scripture. It's really not just a book of myth and some sort of "control the masses through this fake religion" book that some actually paint it as. It's a relevant book that, if carefully studied (and I'm not talking about being fluent in Greek and Hebrew), will bring practical guidance for many a life situation. We can even get insight in how to do our jobs by understanding Scripture.
Jesus blew up the convention of His day by even talking to women (much less one from a rival faction like the Samaritans), which is neat to see. We benefit from some brothers and sisters that have gone before us and have seen in Scripture reason to stand up and do something about slavery, women's rights, civil rights, and such.
Jack White's words in this song, however, seem to be aimed at helping another person. He seems bent on telling this person: "You don't know what love is" until they realize how twisted and dysfunctional their relationship is.
"And until I realize that you've realized I'm gonna say these words to you..."
I really think there's some interesting thinking going on beneath the surface in this songwriter's lyrics.
Posted by Doug Van Pelt at June 12, 2008 10:53 AM