Instead of the Show
i hate all your show and pretense
the hypocrisy of your praise
the hypocrisy of your festivals
I hate all your showaway with your noisy worship
away with your noisy hymns
i stop up my ears when you’re singin’ em
i hate all your showinstead let there be a flood of justice
an endless procession of righteous living, living
instead let there be a flood of justice
instead of the show
your eyes are closed when you’re praying
you sing right along with the band
you shine up your shoes for services
there’s blood on your handsyou turned your back on the homeless
and the ones that don’t fit in your plan
quit playing religion games
there’s blood on your handsinstead let there be a flood of justice
an endless procession of righteous living, living
instead let there be a flood of justice
instead of the show
I hate all your show
lets argue this out
if your sins are blood red
lets argue this out
you’ll be white as the clouds
lets argue this out
quit fooling around
give love to the ones who can’t love at all
give hope to the ones who got no hope at all
stand up for the ones who can’t stand at all
I hate all your show
- Jon Foreman, “Instead of the Show” on Summer, http://jonforeman.com/
lyrics reprinted without permission… but they weren’t anywhere else online, so i typed them out by hand… i’ll gladly take them down if Mr. Foreman requests.
Should we be offended? or challenged?… hurt? or ignited? … is Jon judgmental? or justified? …
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it’s great stuff from an “inside the Christian bubble” perspective. It immediately got me thinking about how we all put on a show, maybe not to the degree or scenarios played out in this song, but as flawed humans, and sinners, it’s impossible for us not to. Our immediate response is to hide sin from God, others and ourselves. So is he talking to us, or himself?
good question, who is he talking to? … I know I for one FEEL the same way he does, but when i hold a mirror to my soul and look at my actions, it is unjustifiable in my life to feel this way towards anyone else. In other words, my heart wants to lay aside the show and strive to live out a faith that that stands for those who can’t, etc… buy my actions don’t always follow suit.
but, check out Amos… specifically 5:21-27. Perhaps Jon is comparing the westernized church (i can’t presume he’s only talking about America, but I don’t have any exposure to any other regional church (Europe etc)), to Israel during there years of rebellion. It’s interesting because I had to do a report on Amos last semester and there is so much in his prophecy that I could point at and say “that is us even today” …
I know i’m a bit of a pessimistic dissident towards what I perceive defines American Christianity, but it’s because I believe so strongly that we can and should be so much more… not as individuals, because we do fail on our own, rather as the Body of Christ, each doing our own part together for His kingdom and glory.
I know I don’t do my part either, but I don’t feel guilty by what I read in Amos or in Jon’s lyrics… i feel convicted and ignited… it’s just a matter of what I do with it.
if we’re dealing specifically with our American (or westernized) church, I can agree that we’re nowhere near where we need to be or strive to be. I feel ignited too. That’s a good feeling. That’s what the Holy Spirit beckons us to do. But, will we as a community (my favorite word ever!) ever be good enough for the standard laid out by Christ and the apostles? I don’t think so. There will always be this gap, something missing, it’s called sin. Can’t get rid of that, unfortunately.
We just have to let our fires ignite us into action.