Wild, Young & Free

“So what we get drunk,

So what we don’t sleep,

We’re just having fun,

We don’t care who sees.

So what we go out,

That’s how it’s supposed to be

Living young and wild and free.”

You may think from a quick glance at these lyrics that the relatively new hit by Snoop Dog , Wiz Khalifa, and Bruno Mars is a party song about drinking. Although getting drunk is a clear theme in this Top 25 song, the main theme of Young, Wild & Free is smoking weed.  In fact, in the non-radio version the second line actually says, “so what we smoke weed.” A deeper look into the song makes this clear with lines like “…roll joints bigger than King Kong’s fingers,” “…smoking grade A,” “put the weed in a J,” “…weed in the air,” “T-H-C,” “…rollone, smoke one, and we all just having fun.”

And, in our culture, that’s really what life comes down to – “just having fun.”

This isn’t the first time that we’ve heard lyrics about living life wild and free. The biggest hit of 2011, Party Rock Anthem, made it clear that losing our minds is the way to “have a good time.”  Currently, Flo Rida is sitting at #6 on the Billboard Top 100 with a song called “Wild Ones” in which he sings, “I like crazy, foolish, stupid, party going wild, fist pumping, music…” And lastly, “We Are Young” is nestled at #2 with lyrics like “we are young, so let’s set the world on fire.”

Here’s the point: our culture is telling us that life is about having fun, and in order to have fun, we need to be wild and free, losing our minds, and pursuing whatever feels good. Bruno Mars makes this clear when he sings, “that’s how it’s supposed to be, living young and wild and free.” But is that true? Is that really how it’s supposed to be? Are we really supposed to turn off our minds, pursue pleasure at all costs, disregard who’s watching, and live wild and free? What about consequences? What about responsibility? What about wisdom and maturity?

Check out this set of verses in 1 Thessalonians: “Finally, brothers, we instructed you how to live in order to please God, as in fact you are living. Now we ask you and urge you in the Lord Jesus to do this more and more. For you know what instructions we gave you by the authority of the Lord Jesus. It is God’s will that you should be sanctified: that you should avoid sexual immorality; that each of you should learn to control his own body in a way that is holy and honorable, not in passionate lust like the heathen, who do not know God…For God did not call us to be impure, but to live a holy life.”

So are we, as Christians, supposed to live “wild” or “crazy”? Or are we supposed to “control our bodies in a way that is holy and honorable”?

1 Thessalonians makes it clear that we are to be “sanctified,” set apart by lives of holiness and purity. It says we are not supposed to live “in passionate lust” like those who do not know God, but instead live in a way that pleases God.

Being “Young, Wild and Free” is just a fancy way to say, “pursue pleasure at all costs.” This is the opposite of what we find in 1Thessalonians.

The reason God doesn’t want us living this way is not because he hates fun or seeing his children enjoy themselves. He does it to protect us, and bring us into a life that’s more fulfilling.

This song is a clear example of why we cannot simply get caught up in a catchy beat and fun lyrics. This song may be pleasing to the ear, but it’s not pleasing to the mind and heart. We must remember that music lyrics are trying to teach us something, and that every artist on the radio is raising the next generation. We cannot be passive listeners, and we must always take time to see what the lyrics are really teaching us about life.   

What do you think? Is life about being “wild and free?” What other ways have you seen this message taught in culture? You may comment below...