let\u2019s live happily ever after<\/em>\u201d sorta deal. It\u2019s raw, shallow, carnal, and if nothing else, honest.<\/p>\nI don\u2019t want to know your dad or mom
I won\u2019t be calling you to go to the prom
If you want to go, some cheap motel
You can pick me up at eight, I\u2019ll never tell<\/em><\/p>\nDon\u2019t cry your heart out
Don\u2019t tell your preacher
Don\u2019t get ideas, this won\u2019t last forever
Just wanna touch you
Just wanna feel you
Just wanna taste you
I never wanted, I never wanted love before
I never wanted, I never wanted love before<\/em><\/p>\nNot that kind of love
Not that kind of love
Not that kind of love
Not that kind of love<\/em><\/p>\nLet\u2019s face it! As we\u2019ve discussed many times in this blog, the world centers around \u201cSex, Death, and Money.\u201d They are the top 3 vices and marketing ploys used to keep humanity wallowing in flesh, vice, and greed. We\u2019re sold the lie that life will be fulfilling and meaningful if those things are attained.<\/p>\n
A surface-based \u2018relationship\u2019 <\/em>with no strings attached or lasting connection is what the subject of the song is offering. There\u2019s no mask, no filter, no game, no romance, only an unapologetic invitation for lustful interaction. Again, it\u2019s not ideal, but it\u2019s honest<\/u>.<\/p>\nThe song\u2019s subject is blunt and rude, but how many instead use false declarations of connection, romance, or love to attain the same thing deceptively? They are thinking the same shallow, lust-filled things the subject proclaims, but hide those thoughts, knowing that they won\u2019t achieve their goals if they announce them.<\/p>\n
How many of us have been there? How many of us have fallen for the lines and innuendos? Not necessarily about sex, but in general. Have we ever been tricked into thinking someone wanted friendship or maybe more? Has someone fraudulently misled us into thinking they actually cared?<\/p>\n
Interestingly enough, humanity isn\u2019t very good at hiding intent and ambition. Of course, one would prefer honest and open conversation about such things, but unfortunately, as we learn with time, actions speak louder than words. What do our actions say to others? Are we being open and honest with people about what we want?<\/p>\n
Although the song\u2019s subject isn\u2019t interested, Alice alludes to a greater, deeper meaning of love. He discreetly reveals to the listener that there\u2019s more out there. There\u2019s \u201cNot That<\/span> (Another) Kind Of Love.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\nThe 4th chapter<\/strong> of 1 John<\/strong> addresses Love and its source \u2013 God. Although it\u2019s a short chapter, it perfectly lays out who our Creator is. There\u2019s so much to unpack and study in those verses about our Heavenly Father, His nature, and how His Love transforms us.<\/p>\nKnowing God Through Love<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\nBeloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who\u00a0loves is born of God and knows God.\u00a08\u00a0He who does not love does not know God, for God is love.\u00a09\u00a0In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten\u00a0Son into the world, that we might live through Him.\u00a010\u00a0In this is love,\u00a0not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son\u00a0to be\u00a0the propitiation for our sins.\u00a011\u00a0Beloved,\u00a0if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.<\/em><\/p>\nSeeing God Through Love<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n12\u00a0No one has seen God at any time. If we love one another, God abides in us, and His love has been perfected in us.\u00a013\u00a0By this we know that we abide in Him, and He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit.\u00a014\u00a0And\u00a0we have seen and testify that\u00a0the Father has sent the Son\u00a0as\u00a0Savior of the world.\u00a015\u00a0Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God.\u00a016\u00a0And we have known and believed the love that God has for us. God is love, and\u00a0he who abides in love abides in God, and God\u00a0in him. <\/em>\u2013 1 John 4:7-16<\/strong><\/p>\nLooking specifically at the verses above, the world has lied to us about what love is. We\u2019ve been told that love is what makes us feel good and that we and others should be willing to give up principles and rights to obtain it. However, that\u2019s the opposite of love. It\u2019s selfishness.<\/p>\n
Considering the premise mentioned above, it\u2019s interesting how society often addresses love as a feeling or a mysterious connection between long-lost lovers or soulmates. In reality, love is a choice. It\u2019s a deliberate action, and we can only attain it from Him.<\/p>\n
Through God\u2019s presence in our lives \u2013 the Holy Spirit \u2013 we are given the power and ability to love (Romans 5:5<\/strong>, 8:9<\/strong>; 2 Corinthians 1:22<\/strong>).<\/p>\nWrapping up this week\u2019s post, true Love comes from God. It\u2019s not the nice things we do (often expecting something in return), the way we make others feel (or vice versa), nor is it a hookup. Love is a gift from the Holy Spirit. It\u2019s genuine, authentic, and unconditional. It\u2019s the only \u201cKind of Love<\/em>\u201d worth having.<\/p>\nSo, how do we know what true Love is, apart from its counterpart? What does it mean, and what does it look like?<\/p>\n
If I could speak all the languages of earth and of angels, but didn\u2019t love others, I would only be a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal.\u00a02\u00a0If I had the gift of prophecy, and if I understood all of God\u2019s secret plans and possessed all knowledge, and if I had such faith that I could move mountains, but didn\u2019t love others, I would be nothing.\u00a03\u00a0If I gave everything I have to the poor and even sacrificed my body, I could boast about it;\u00a0but if I didn\u2019t love others, I would have gained nothing.<\/em><\/p>\n4\u00a0Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud\u00a05\u00a0or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged.\u00a06\u00a0It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out.\u00a07\u00a0Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.<\/em><\/p>\n8\u00a0Prophecy and speaking in unknown languages\u00a0and special knowledge will become useless. But love will last forever!\u00a09\u00a0Now our knowledge is partial and incomplete, and even the gift of prophecy reveals only part of the whole picture!\u00a010\u00a0But when the time of perfection comes, these partial things will become useless.<\/em><\/p>\n11\u00a0When I was a child, I spoke and thought and reasoned as a child. But when I grew up, I put away childish things.\u00a012\u00a0Now we see things imperfectly, like puzzling reflections in a mirror, but then we will see everything with perfect clarity.\u00a0All that I know now is partial and incomplete, but then I will know everything completely, just as God now knows me completely.<\/em><\/p>\n13\u00a0Three things will last forever\u2014faith, hope, and love\u2014and the greatest of these is love.<\/em> \u2013 1 Corinthians 13<\/strong><\/p>\n1 Corinthians 13 <\/strong>defines Love (and God). These are His attributes and the things He has given us through the Holy Spirit. As we walk with others, we must ask ourselves if the \u201clove\u201d we give and show matches Him and His Love.<\/p>\nAre we patient? Kind? Trustful? Humble? Gracious? Gratifying? Respectful? Or in comparison, are we the opposite? Are we choosing to Love? Are we choosing ourselves over others? Are we choosing Him?<\/p>\n
Our flesh and sinful nature are selfish. Humanity is prone to see 1 Corinthians 13 <\/strong>and proclaim, \u201cI want to love and be loved, but \u2018Not That Kind of Love.<\/em>\u2019 It is much easier to buy what the world sells \u2013 self-love and instant gratification.<\/p>\nLove requires submission. Submission to Christ (Ephesians 5:21-25<\/strong>). He renews us in the process (2 Corinthians 4:16<\/strong>, 5:17<\/strong>). However, we are required to deny our flesh (Galatians 5:24<\/strong>) and hold every thought captive (2 Corinthians 10:5<\/strong>).<\/p>\nSubmission to Christ leads us to the suppression of self. It\u2019s not a journey for the faint-hearted. Attached to it is a daily choice to be faithful, hopeful, and choose to love (even our enemies).<\/p>\n
If we find ourselves only interested in self-love and gratification, we should take a step back and reassess things. God\u2019s Love \u2013 authentic Love \u2013 isn\u2019t about us. It\u2019s about Christ. It\u2019s about others. If it\u2019s only about us, there\u2019s something wrong \u2013 His Love is \u201cNot That Kind of Love.\u201d<\/p>\n
In conclusion, Alice often uses the extreme to prove a point. Raise Your Fist and Yell <\/em>is an extreme LP. It starts with a protest and declaration for freedom, then slowly morphs into a horror-based record. The subject\u2019s journey begins with selfishness and leads to murder(s).<\/p>\n\u201cWell, before (accepting Christ), you are always self\u2014you\u2019re always self-centered. Everything is for you.\u00a0 Your self is God. And we make lousy gods. Humans make lousy gods, I think. We need to let God be God, and us be what we are. I think that\u2019s what changes: the focus on who you\u2019re serving. You\u2019re not serving you. You\u2019re serving Christ.\u201d<\/em> \u2013 Alice Cooper.<\/p>\n\u201cNot That Kind Of Love\u201d addresses exactly what Alice is talking about in the quote above, and isn\u2019t it ironic that the follow-up track points to the greatest deceiver known to man?<\/p>\n
\u201cPrince of Darkness,\u201d the 6th track on the album, reveals humanity\u2019s greatest foe. However, he\u2019s not formidable. He\u2019s easily defeated. Obedience and submission to God require the \u2018prince<\/em>\u2019 to flee.<\/p>\nThe LP\u2019s subject, a man led by desire and lust, falls into a selfish spiral which leads to murder; he becomes a psychotic, serial killer. Instead of seeking truth, purpose, and meaning, he succumbs to the darkness. His selfish desire and ambition affect both him and his victims. His loss is the enemy\u2019s plan.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s it for this week. Be well, and catch you next Friday!<\/p>\n
In the meantime, Keep Walkin\u2019 in Faith and Rockin\u2019 with Alice.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n