Godspell: The Original Soundtrack of My Faith--Matthew 6:19-21
Day 6
The video for the song All For The Best from Godspell creeps me out.
The total early 1970s hippie theater geeks vibe doesn’t bother me anymore, now that I understand who put Godspell together and why.
It’s not even the vaudeville dance routines and costumes that bother me. Not even Jesus as a clown.
The lyrics, once I started going through them combined with the smarminess of Judas in the video, raised my hackles some.
[Primary Voice – Part 1]
When you feel sad,
It's better to laugh about it,
When you feel bad,
It's better to think about it,
You can be glum,
Or you can be glad about it.
Some day you're gonna be happy!
[Secondary Voice – Part 2]
Some men have all the luck and some men get all the breaks,
Some men have caviar and some men get bellyaches.
Some men have everything and some men never get a taste.
Some men get all the best!
[Primary Voice – Part 1]
Someday you'll see,
Things will be brighter,
Someday you'll know,
Life will be lighter.
Some day you'll find,
Skies will be bluer,
Some day you'll learn,
Happiness is yours!
[Secondary Voice – Part 2]
Rich men live in a palace,
Poor men sleep in the street,
Rich men dine on pheasant,
Poor men eat what they can eat.
Rich men get the women,
Poor men get the grief,
Some men get all the best!
[Both Voices Together]
All for the best!
Believe it or not,
All for the best!
Someday you'll see it!
All for the best!
Someday you'll know it!
All for the best!
Some day you'll find it!
All for the best!
[Primary Voice – Part 1]
When you feel sad,
It's better to laugh about it,
When you feel bad,
It's better to think about it,
You can be glum,
Or you can be glad about it.
Some day you're gonna be happy!
[Secondary Voice – Part 2]
Kings may sit on a throne,
Clowns may tumble and fall,
Kings may wear a crown,
Clowns just wear a call.
Kings may have a kingdom,
Clowns have nothing at all,
Some men get all the best!
[Both Voices Together]
All for the best!
Believe it or not,
All for the best!
Someday you'll see it!
All for the best!
Someday you'll know it!
All for the best!
Some day you'll find it!
All for the best!
You know that feeling–something isn’t right and there is a choice to be made–a deep, philosophical and spiritual choice and you best not get it wrong.
Aren’t we exactly HERE, right now?
Jesus is optimistic and spiritual, singing about hope and finding happiness even through hardship and Judas is far more cynical, singing about life’s inequalities.
I’m a little startled at the accuracy of Jesus’ prophetic words in Matthew 6 and how the theater kids of Godspell portray the Scripture.
Matthew 6:19-21 19 “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. 20 But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal; 21 for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
Obviously, the producers of Hoarders: Buried Alive are counting on no one taking Jesus’ words seriously.
And a lot of us don’t.
Karen and I still rent a storage unit that is almost as big as our condo to keep our STUFF in.
Stuff that we don’t look at. Stuff we don’t even know we have. Stuff that will probably never see the light of day again.
Why we keep this stuff, goes back, I think to the choices we have made about trusting the Lord–wholly or only partially.
Sarah Ruden helps define the message of verses 19-21 in The Gospels: A New Translation:
“This passage may be influenced by the miser in Greek and Roman thought, a person so fixated on the fear of loss–particularly through thievery–the they cannot enjoy the basic pleasures of human society, such as dining with friends, but still ends up losing their entire hoard.”
The stuff in our storage unit doesn’t bring us joy. We like to think each item in there represents some precious memory and that’s true, I suppose, as far as that goes, but I think our lives are much like a roaring, raging river that keeps pushing us onward and the stuff in our storage unit (or our memories) are just moss-covered rocks that we are trying to cling to to slow the current of our lives.
We can’t stay there, while life rushes on.
Randy Alcorn writes in Heaven:
“God is the source of all joy–all other joys are secondary and derivative. They come from Him, find their meaning in Him, and cannot be divorced from Him. LIkewise, while Christ is our primary treasure, He encourages us to store up other treasures in Heaven.”
And that is the primary tension between Jesus and Judas in this song–Jesus and what’s in Heaven as the source for joy–or the stuff we think we need for our happiness here on earth.
Believers, in this sense, I think are the Haves.
Non-believers, I think, are the Have-Nots–and they are desperately unhappy even though their collection of stuff may be gargantuan and plentiful.
In Desiring God: Meditations of a Christian Hedonist, John Piper offers the natural culmination for living out verses 19-21 here in this world:
“So the answer to how to lay up treasures in heaven is to spend your earthly treasures for merciful purposes in Christ’s name here on earth. Give alms–that is, provide yourself with purses in heaven. Notice carefully that Jesus does not merely say that treasure in heaven will be the unexpected result of generosity on earth. No, He says we should pursue treasure in heaven. Lay it up! Provide yourselves with unfailing purses and treasures.”
Get rid of your stuff. 🙂
There is even a very subtle nod to Jesus’ restorative power and love in the video at the :34 second mark.
They are around a pool and there is a girl on roller skates and she is heading right for the water.
The way the shot is constructed has Jesus saving the girl from failing in. But when I look at the video–it seems as if Jesus’ point of view is from the pool–not beside it.
Walking on water, maybe? 🙂
But that’s not what creeps me out about the All For The Best video.
It’s the last shot where the group is singing and Judas says, “Someone’s got to be oppressed,” and the group sings the last line, “All for the best!” as the camera pans out from the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in all of its early 1970s glory.
Prophetic because…we know.
Don’t store up your treasures on earth.
It won’t last.
Lord, grant us the grace to release our grip on our fleeting earthly possessions and to see first Your love and righteousness.
Lord, fill us with a spirit of generosity, that we may share what we have with others and reflect Your limitless love. Help us to align our desires with Your will.
Amen.