I’ve always been interested in how people use their passions for greater causes (hence my obsession with using fashion to raise money and awareness for anti-human trafficking work), but what I’ve more recently recognized is that my dad was one of the first people in my life to do this. He’s always strived to use his talent as a musician to create songs with meaning and a catchy beat. He was doing this when I was 10 years old, trying to turn Philippians 2 into a song so Noah and I could more easily memorize the verses. I came up with the idea for the chorus, he took that and incorporated it into a song.
Now, more than 10 years later, he’s recorded the song (with a brief solo from my 10-year old self) and reminded me why it is such a powerful verse to reflect on. My life has more recently revolved around learning about injustice and discrepancies making this passage even more important to me than ever before.Â
Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.
Philippians 2:4
What I’m learning more and more about the application of this verse is that it isn’t just putting others first, but actually taking the time to learn and understand what others need. I can’t know what “the interests of others” are because I only intuitively know what my interests are based on my experiences.
I could go on and on about how I love this passage, and maybe I will another time, but what I’m hoping to stress here is why I am working to learn about the different perspectives people have. I thought I understood my views on racial, economic, political, (etc.) issues until I talked to those who experience them differently than I do. I am a work in progress because I will keep working to learn and expand my understanding of different issues in our world.
One of those differing perspectives that I am learning to navigate is the pain that Christianity has caused many people. I cannot apologize enough that something that brought me so much hope, joy, and encouragement has been interpreted in ways that hurt others. Organized religion gets tricky, and I’m not defending damaging actions by the church, but I want to separate the loving God I believe in from the painful actions of misguided people on Earth.
You can play and download the song below.
Because I wrote the chorus, my dad is letting me use it as a bit of a fundraiser. I’ve been accepted for an International Justice Mission fellowship in Bolivia from September 2019 – September 2020. For that I will need to raise about $20k. If the song inspires you, consider donating a buck or two.
I’m hoping you like it, some really talented musicians came together to rock it, and I hope it helps remind you, as it does me, to look out for the interests of others.
- $Any amount – very helpful and much appreciated
- $22*/month – college students (about a cup of coffee a week)
- $54*/month – suggested donation
- $250 – to cover one month’s rent
- $365 – to donate a dollar for every day I’ll be gone
- $500 – to cover local transportation fees for getting to work
- $1000 – to cover rent for a few months
- $1500 – to cover the fees of trauma-focused therapy throughout this experience
