I respect the conviction and commentary of previous posters and would like to add my interpretation of Shinedown’s “How Did You Love.”
To me, the song has always been a beautiful summary of all the things my church believes in. I attend a Foursquare church in Florida and Brent Smith has somehow managed (I believe with God’s help) to incorporate the general aim of my church’s beliefs into one song and get it played on mainstream radio.
The point of the song is that the most important question to ask yourself as you go about life, is how did you love? Jesus said the two greatest commandments He gave us are to love God and to love your neighbor as yourself. There are none greater. So that is what I believe Shinedown is saying.
When they say, “It’s not what you believe, those prayers will make you bleed, but while you’re on your knees, how did you love?” they are making a reference to people who are so caught up in being religious and what the law says (i.e. like the Pharisees), that they forget that their greatest duty is to love others, no matter what, as Jesus did and commands us to do. (Hence, all the people today who think Christians hate people because of believers who have forgotten this most critical, important command.)
I interpreted the line, “We are the judge and jury” to mean the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit as God who judges us, not people, and that the judges are the Trinity and not us as human beings, therefore our duty is to love others and not judge. And the line, “This ain’t no cross to bury,” as a reference to Jesus being alive. They have another line in the song, “With a million lies, the truth will rise to tear you apart.” Jesus is the Truth that rose to destroy Satan’s lies. Not burying a cross can also refer to the fact that you can't hide anything you do from God who is the judge and jury; however, as Christians we have nothing to fear as Jesus has redeemed us for every sin, even those we have not yet committed.
As for the lyric, “How we forget ourselves, lose our way from the cradle to the grave; You can't replicate or duplicate, gotta find your own way,” I was taught that everyone has an identity in Christ that is unique. Your destiny is made specifically for you by God; you can’t compare yourself to others or try to be like others, you need to be who God created you to be and that is different from everyone else, hence no “replicating” or “duplicating.” You “forget yourself” sometimes, by listening to Satan’s lies, but “the truth will rise” and you need to find it and who you are in Christ. “Nothing ever feels quite the same when you are what you dreamed/And you will never look at anything the same when you see what I see;” when you finally see who you are in Christ and see others through God’s eyes, nothing will ever look the same. “How do you justify/I’m mystified by the ways of Your heart;” the speaker is amazed at God’s capacity for love because it’s beyond human comprehension – His mercy and His capacity for forgiveness is beyond what we can justify ourselves.
Finally, in the beginning of the song, they talk about how fame and success in this world is temporary and how we all have a choice every day to do the right thing (free will to be an angel of mercy or give in to hate) and the most important thing we leave behind in the world is how we loved.
I believe Shinedown does what Jesus did; they reach out to and connect with a group of people most religious people cannot or would not reach out to. Their positive message is a light shining directly in the darkness of a captivating snakepit they venture into daily and I believe they are serving God in their own unique way and fulfilling their individual destinies in Christ. Believers are not perfect, so neither are Shinedown, but they ARE doing God’s work. Undercover work for God is still God’s work, just a little more sneaky, a little bit brilliant, and a whole lot bad*ss.
Love to God, love to all, and much love to Brent Smith and Shinedown. May everyone who was brought here learn their identity and individual destiny in Christ and fight for what is good and what is right as I believe Shinedown does with every album, every tour, every day.
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