Light Gives Heat

I think its more about the kids in Africa...It talks about washing the darkness fromt heir skin. No matter how much we say slavery and discrimination doesn't exist against the people in Africa, it still does. Jars of Clay is a major helper in the whole Water for Africa foundation. This song sounds more about the trouble going on in Africa. Instead of trying to change them and how they are, we need to set fires to the houses on the hill (the Government)and that light gives heat. By just shining light on the situation, we are helping. We don't have to change who they are just their horrible situation.

@murlough23 I think this is basically correct, but your interpretation is so full of Christianisms that it sickens me. "come alongside" "brownie points" "convert people" "teachings of the Gospel" "God loves".<br /> <br /> I think in more general terms, not just about "missionaries". Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart well captures how cultures feel to be inundated and overrun by a group that believes itself to be morally and culturally superior. That attitude would be laughable if it weren't so damaging. I am glad someone from within the church is willing to agree with those outside and decry its actions.

@ bloomlvrchick I like this interpretation of "houses on the hill" meaning government. But I think it's clear that since that line appears directly after "You treat me like I'm blind", the speaker is using "fire" to mean something destructive and not the "fire of the spirit" you might like to commonly assume it to symbolize. Essentially, interference in the governments of such nations can cause a lot of upheaval, so going and trying to convert everyone there and use the state to "shine a light" on everyone else is a terrible approach. Church and state should be separated.

@pavelkomarovon One of the things I've always respected about Jars of Clay is that they're able to grapple with issues related to their faith in a way that largely avoids "Christianese" jargon. I'm not as skilled at this as they are. (Shoot, if I could do that, and I had some actual musical talent, I'd be in a band writing songs like these instead of just rambling about what I think other people's songs mean on the Internet.) Also, I wrote that interpretation literally almost a decade ago. Thinking about it now, I'd say:<br /> <br /> (a) The members of Jars of Clay are Christians who often point out flaws in the typical "Christian" way of thinking about things through their songwriting. You can see this as far back as songs like "Love Song for a Savior" from their very first album. While their audience isn't exclusively Christians by any means, I think when a song like this is trying to convict the listener of some things they need to rethink, Christians are usually the target of that critique. In other words, I tend to assume they're trying to highlight hypocrisy within the Church, rather than pointing out the misdeeds of someone outside of it.<br /> <br /> (b) Because I felt that this song was critical of typical "American Christian subculture" ways of thinking that many of us don't realize can be hurtful, I used some of that jargon deliberately in my personal interpretation, as a way of highlighting how myopic this attitude can be. I say "some" because there are terms you pointed out like "come alongside" that I never even realized fell into that category of "Christianese" jargon. Perhaps to some extent I've lived in that bubble, too, though that's hopefully less true for me in 2017 than it was in 2007. In any event, if some of that terminology was triggering for you, I'm sorry about that. I get the gag reflex when songs by certain other Christian songwriters are loaded down with that sort of jargon, so I can understand where you're coming from.<br /> <br /> (c) I don't remember if Songmeanings had the ability to tag a comment as a fact, personal experience, my opinion, etc. back when I originally posted that comment. They added it for good reason. I did say "appears to be" because of course I was interpreting the song through my own lens and the things I'd observed to be true. You came at it looking through a different lens, having had different experiences, and I enjoy that songs like this can be written in a way that you think it's about one thing until you talk to somebody else and find out they had a very different experience with the exact same set of lyrics.<br /> <br /> (d) Your broader interpretation makes all kinds of sense, too, and I agree regarding your statements on church and state needing to stay separate. Both at home and abroad, I've seen a lot of evil done in the name of religion trying to run governments and vice versa. Even when it's my own religion, I don't want that from my government.