You Look So Defeated...

...Lying there in your new twin-sized bed. I think that Death Cab for Cutie has surprisingly been my new favorite band of the year. If anyone had told me that around this time last year, I probably wouldn't have believed them. To be honest, when I was first introduced to them by my now-room mates, I didn't really Death Cab at all. The music sounded too low key, the drums and guitars were produced weird, and Ben Gibbard's voice was kind of annoying. To me, they were just some alternative band that seemed to be really popular among somewhat-artsy and suburban-trendy twenty-year-olds.

But then something changed. Something happened during the fall semester that made me fall in love with this band. I couldn't get enough of "Title and Registration," "Transatlanticism," or "Brothers on a Hotel Bed." Every song just seems to be layered with beautiful melodies and the smallest musical details and idiosyncrasies. And Ben's songwriting? absolutely amazing! The way he is able to be so poignant in capturing human emotions astounds me. How could anyone not like this band???

But what changed? A year ago, I didn't appreciate Death Cab at all. Now I can't get enough of them. I'm not exactly sure why, but I feel that constant exposure to their music might have had something to do with it. Before I met some of my friends at college, I had a different view as to what I thought good music was. Last year, my idea of good music ranged anywhere from loud guitars and ear-piercing screams to heart-felt anthems and the occasional white-boy hip hop. I had never honestly listened the likes of Radiohead, Coldplay, or Simon & Garfunkel until my friends started introducing these different artists to me. I wasn't to interested in most of the bands at first, but after being exposed to them for while I began to gain some appreciation for them. Whether I realized it or not, my views were changing. And the influences of my friends had a lot to do with it.

I've begun to understand that the people I place myself around really do make a lasting impression on my life. In a way, they help me to determine the way I see the world. The influence they've had on my change (or more like expansion) of musical taste is a small example. In these past two years of college, I've seen my worldviews, theological views, ethics, and moral standards be challenged by the influence of my friends and contemporaries on campus. Sometimes it's been a welcomed challenge. Other times it's been a struggle, trying to reconcile my views with others'. Sometimes I'm forced to question whether my beliefs about something are right or true, but other times my beliefs are strengthened and encouraged. Dealing with this stuff can be really confusing.

But in the end, it all comes down to one question. Are the people who I'm letting influence me pointing me to Christ? If they're not, then there's a problem. I'm warned in Scripture about false prophets and the wisdom of men, about well-intentioned people who sadly miss the mark. I need to be surrounded by people who will help me walk down this narrow path called righteousness. Granted, all people are fallen and will sometimes fill me with not so great influences; but part of learning under God's grace is helping each other correct our flaws. The individuals that I let into my life will eventually help to determine the kind of influence I will be in others' lives. The Body of Christ is a fine thread, a chain reaction (or to put it in terms of a better Illustrator: the branches of a tree). What's poured into one person will be poured into another. Our influences reach far beyond ourselves and the people immediately in our lives. Am I being filled with hope? truth? faith? Love? And am I pouring these same attributes into the people around me? Is Christ alive in me and am I letting Him make Himself alive in others? I hope so.