Here is a great story. I was watching a special on Netflix about ABBA. Whether due to movies like “Mamma Mia” or because people grew up listening to their music, virtually anyone aged 15 and older knows who ABBA is. The special explores the evolution of ABBA as a pop group, and it’s quite fascinating. However, something intriguing caught my attention in the documentary.
About three years into ABBA’s career, the cultural landscape began to shift, particularly with the rise of punk rock. Punk rock represented a rebellious form of music that thrived on the degradation of norms. No band embodied this movement more than the Sex Pistols from Great Britain, known for their debauchery, excessive drug and alcohol use, and boorish behavior, which included belching, spitting, and more. The band’s leaders were Sid Vicious and Johnny Rotten, which gives a sense of their lifestyle choices.
It so happens that a writer from Great Britain followed the band early on to write a story. She observed a road crew member who had a cassette player. Whenever the band took a break, his job was to press play on the cassette. One day, after a sound check, a member of the band told the roadie to play the cassette. Within earshot, the writer heard this song playing from the cassette player: “Dancing Queen” by ABBA. This unexpected choice elicited an involuntary gasp from the journalist, who exclaimed, “What!?” She discovered that this cassette contained only one song—“Dancing Queen,” played on a loop. It turns out that the Sex Pistols were big fans of ABBA.
This raises an interesting point for Christians and the church. Often, society praises those who behave immorally and offensively, while, deep down, these boorish individuals admire those who are traditional and stable. (Abba played a few London concerts toward the end of their run, which were attended by members of Led Zeppelin, The Who, and The Rolling Stones—all Abba fans.) The apostle Paul wrote, “And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart” (Gal. 6:9).
We live in a polarized culture where so often, right is declared wrong and wrong is declared right. Please, don’t grow weary in doing good; you never know who is watching and who might appreciate and be inspired by your example.
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You can purchase Mark’s new book Holy Chaos How To Walk with God in a Frenzied World here:https://www.amazon.com/s?k=mark+edge&crid=3B1BM6W3LHOG0&sprefix=%2Caps%2C137&ref=nb_sb_ss_recent_2_0_recent