"What's my offense this time?" / Ignorance - Paramore

Lately I've been obsessed with the band Paramore. And by lately, I really mean for the past several years. Though they did have a new album release earlier this year, I would say I appreciate this band, now, more than ever before. The profound lyrics, the heavy metal, and the intense vocal range speak deep to my soul: an experience to only be felt not analyzed or explained. Hence, the title of the blog. Ignorance is one of my favorite songs by them (although all of their songs are fantastic), and the first verse, itself, resonates with me, which is where this line is from:

"Where's your gavel?

Your jury?

What's my offense this time?

You're not a judge, but if you're gonna judge me,

Just sentence me to another life."

From here it enters into the pre-chorus, which is just as relatable:

"Don't wanna hear your sad songs

Don't wanna feel your pain

When you swear it's all my fault

Cause you know we're not the same"

More often than not, we shift the blame from ourselves onto others in order to alleviate the pain in the moment, though pain was meant to be felt. We begin to look at those around us and compare. We see how our lives add up with theirs, even though we are all on different paths. For this reason here, we are called to let God be the judge, as we simply love those around us. In Romans 2:1 it says, "You, therefore, have no excuse, you who pass judgment on someone else, for at whatever point you judge another, you are condemning yourself, because you who pass judgment do the same thing."

Convicting, right? Don't worry, I'm literally in the same boat. Yet, this is also so encouraging. In a way, Paul is saying "only God can judge me." Rather encouraging until you realize that God is not the only one that WILL judge you. We are humans. Humans are messy. Humans make mistakes. Could we all possibly agree that no one is perfect, and that no one will ever be while living in a sin-infected world such as this?

How you respond to mistakes says more than the mistake, itself, because "for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23). But the really cool thing about this verse is that it doesn't end there. The last half of the sentence in the verse proceeding it says, "and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus" (Romans 3:24)

It doesn't end at your mistakes or their judgment or your pain, but rather, those who trust in the Lord will succeed.

>> Romans 8:31

"What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?"