Song: “The
Hardway”
Artist: DC Talk
Album: Free at
Last (1992)
Track: 10
Besides “Jesus is Just Alright,” this tune was the big draw
for the album. It’s not the best song,
but it’s the best ballad. For a lot of
people, those would be the same thing, but I’m more of a rocker myself, so I
tend to like the songs like “Luv is a Verb” more than something like this. However, the ballad is critical for a band
like this, especially at that time.
Christian radio was hesitant to play songs with guitars or rhythm (only
exaggerating slightly), so all bands had to put in something soft and pretty,
even the Christian metal bands.
But musically, the song is fantastic. Everything falls into place quite nicely here
– the melody, the arrangement, the pace.
Let’s see if the theology does the same!
Martin Luther, in point number one in his 95 Theses, wrote:
“When our Lord and Master, Jesus Christ, said ‘Repent’, He called for the
entire life of believers to be one of repentance.”
Amen, Brother Martin.
That is this song.
This song is about repentance, and the depth of emotion in these lyrics
convey the true depth and heartache of real repentance, the repentance that
drives us to the waiting arms of our Heavenly Father.
I love this song.
It’s greatly balanced, the first part of the tune about that first real
turning away from sin and to faith in Christ, but it doesn’t stop there. It would still be great if that’s all there were,
because we are so hesitant these days to actually talk about repentance and its
necessity before entering the Kingdom of God.
We like to pretend that God is okay with the stuff we think, say, and
do, but He’s not. The problem is
explained very clearly and very starkly when they sing that they “thought the
devil was a friend of mine.” How many of
us are willing to say that when it comes to our sin? Jesus did:
If God were your Father, you would love me, for I came from God and I am here. I came not of my own accord, but he sent me. Why do you not understand what I say? It is because you cannot bear to hear my word. You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father's desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies. But because I tell the truth, you do not believe me.
-John 8:42-45
We have allied ourselves against God in this age-old
rebellion. True repentance sees a
glimpse of that. It sees the wickedness
of our hearts and turns us to a Savior.
Not only in the “Well, everyone makes mistakes” sort of way, but in the
“I have turned against my Creator, and I deserve damnation” sort of way.
But they go on, because the Christian life is not one of
perfection. Like Paul, DCT here cries
out, “For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I
have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out. For I
do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing”
(Romans 7:18-19).
They get it right when they say that they are “a victim of
nature and me.” That’s a good
distinction, because we are inheritors of our forefather’s (Adam’s) sin, and
that sin has tainted every part of us.
There is no aspect of our lives that are untouched by sin. But we have not been content to leave things
to that sin alone, but have added our own.
No, our condemnation is not to be blamed on Adam, but “I am the maker of
my own demise.”
Yet all of this is tempered by the grace that God has for
His children. “You will forgive me,”
they tell us, and it is so. Jesus paid
the price for His sheep on Calvary’s tree, and He grants His righteousness to us. We no longer find condemnation, but grace.
The Bad
Not a lot to complain about here, and the one thing I am
noting is really pretty minor. The only
issue I’ll bring up is that the song ends in rebellion instead of in
grace. Literally, in the closing rap,
Toby talks about rushing off to greed, despite warning signs around him.
Now, musically, you can’t add another verse. The song would just be too long and
repetitive if you added more to it. But
I wish they would have altered that verse to end more in the way that verse 2
ended – “I have fallen, but You will forgive me.”
That’s a nit that I’m picking, and I realize that, so they
aren’t really losing points for that.
Overall
Another good song we can get behind. This is a song about repentance, something that should be close to every Christian heart. And it is good that this song is here, because the album as a whole leans toward a legalism of sorts, and this track is the relief we need when we realize that we haven’t lived up to what is said in the other songs.