A blog designed to encourage Grace Church of Tallahassee College/Career members to think biblically in all areas of life and to grow in the knowledge of the truth which accords with godliness (Titus 1:1). The title is based on Titus 2:12 where Paul says that the grace of God saves us and trains us to live godly lives in the present age.
Ironically, this song and Lady Gaga’s performance was perhaps the program’s best attempt at profundity. “Born This Way” is making a theological point. It contends that sexual orientation is an innate and immutable quality of the human condition—a trait that we are “born” with. Whether you are gay, straight, or whatever, God made you this way, and for that reason you should embrace it. Or as Gaga herself puts it, “I’m beautiful in my way ’cause God makes no mistakes. I’m on the right track baby. I was born this way.”
The message of the song drinks deeply of the “is-ought” fallacy—the idea that we can determine what ought to be by observing what is. The song’s message also flies in the face of the Bible’s depiction of a fallen creation. It is true that God created human beings in His own image and that as a result every single human has intrinsic value and worth (Genesis 1:26-27). It is not true, however, that God endorses every thought and intention of the human heart. We live in a Genesis 3 world in which humanity and the cosmos are fallen and compromised by sin. That means that some of our desires are misdirected—even some of the ones that we are born with. That we desire sin from birth is not a cause for celebratory anthems but an indication of just how desperate the human condition really is (Psalm 51:5; 58:3; Jeremiah 17:9).
With every breath I take, with every heart beat, sun rise or moon lights the dark street/ every glance, every dance, every note of the song/ it’s all gift undeserved that shouldn’t known/ Every day that I lie/ every moment I covet/ I’m deserving to die, I’m just earning His judgment/ Without the cross there’s only condemnation/ If Jesus wasn’t executed there’s no celebration/ so in times that are good, in times that are bad/ for any times I’ve had at all I will be glad/ and I’ll boast in the cross/ I’ll boast in my pains, I’ll boast in the son’s shine, I’ll boast in his reign/ What is my worth if it’s not praising you/ Another dollar in my bank account/ or vain pursuit/ I do not count my life as any value or precious at all/ let me finish my race/ let me answer my call/
Tomorrow’s never promised/ but it is we swear/ think we’re holding our own/ just a fist fulla air/ God has never been obligated to give us life/ if we fought for our rights we’d be in Hell tonight/ Mere sinners owed nothing but fierce hand/ we never loved him/ we pushed away his pierced hands/ I rejected his love, grace, kindness, and mercy/ dying of thirst and yet willing to die thirsty/ Eternally worthy/ how could I live for less/ Patiently you turn my heart away from selfishness/ I volunteer for your sanctifying surgery/ I know the Spirit's purging me of everything that’s hurting me/ removed the veil from my darkened eyes/ so now every morning I open your word to see sun rise/ I hope in nothing boast in nothing/ only in your suffering/ I live to show your glory/ dying to tell your story
