Did you miss National Quitter’s Day?
The second Friday of the new year is the day known for the mass abandonment of New Year’s resolutions. The energy which motivated fuller gyms, extra purchases from the produce section, and the elimination of vices eventually burned away. In the place of such optimism, disillusionment rises. We start the new year expecting something different, but we find ourselves defeated by the same enemies.
There’s another kind of disillusionment which is bigger than failed resolutions. This kind of disillusionment comes from believing the promise of this world and finding it empty.
In their new song, “More Like Jesus,” One Voice Worship honestly speaks of the way they embraced the dominant messages of this moment in culture.
RELATED CONTENT: One Voice Worship Introduces Debut Single, ‘More Like Jesus’
“I’ve been told to live my own truth
Do whatever makes me feel good
Get rid of boundaries, the rules are stifling,
Chase good feelings.”
However, they found those messages and invitations did not deliver on their promises.
“But I found myself
More lost than ever
Enslaved and bound to my desires
And that’s not freedom”
Amid that disillusionment and bondage, One Voice Worship cries out with a desperate prayer.
“Holy Spirit make me more like Jesus
Every day a little more like Jesus
Crucify my flesh with Yours
That my new life might be secured”
While the language of “More Like Jesus” feels fresh, using language that is present every day on social media and prominent from influencers, the prayer in this song recalls words that the Apostle Paul wrote nearly 2,000 years ago.
In a letter to believers in an area of northern Greece known as Galatia, Paul wrote one of the most famous verses in the New Testament. “My old self has been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So I live in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”
The idea of crucifying the flesh sounds quite out of step with the messages of this moment, but that was the straightforward teaching of Jesus to those who sought to follow Him in Matthew 16. “Then, calling the crowd to join his disciples, he said, ‘If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross, and follow me.’” Other translations record the first of Jesus’ three steps as “deny yourself.”
Such a message presented on TikTok or in an Instagram reel might have comments like “toxic,” “gross,” or “hard pass.” But, what One Voice Worship and any seasoned follower of Jesus knows is that what is truly toxic is indulging every desire of our flesh.
In Galatians, Paul speaks frankly about this. “Those who live only to satisfy their own sinful nature will harvest decay and death from that sinful nature. But those who live to please the Spirit will harvest everlasting life from the Spirit. So let’s not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don’t give up.”
Those blessings include a new life, where we’ve been transformed and set free. Later in the song, One Voice Worship describes that change powerfully.
“Now I find myself
More alive than ever
My life laid down for Your desires
Now this is freedom”
Paul encouraged the Galatians with these words, “So Christ has truly set us free. Now make sure that you stay free.” As part of this society that invites us into what sounds like freedom but what is a prison, we need to continue to walk in the freedom Jesus purchased for us through the cross.
One Voice Worship’s debut single is a strong statement of their aspiration as a group. They draw on fresh language which we hear every day to remind us of ancient truths which we need to hear every day. They share how they’ve stumbled and succumbed to the temptation of this world, but they also declare how they experienced the power of God saving them from their failures.
One Voice Worship’s song, “More Like Jesus,” invites us to be shaped by Jesus at a time when it’s all too easy to be shaped by everything and everyone else. This song needs to play on repeat because the message it addresses is one that we will be tempted by again and again.
Scott Savage is a pastor and a writer with the best last name in the world. Scott’s writing helps you laugh, challenges you to think, and invites you to grow. He leads Cornerstone Church in Prescott, Arizona, and watches lots of football with his wife and three kids. You can learn more about Scott’s new free resource, The Gratitude Muscle Challenge, at scottsavagelive.com.
