Born to Die

As I was reading the Harrisburg Patriot News today (Friday, 12/5/08), I started to read an article by Lou Carlozo of the Chicago Tribune about the 10 worst holiday albums. I will give his countdown later on, but my attention was drawn to #10 on his list. It is a song titled Born to Die by Christian artists Shane & Shane.

I have never heard Shane & Shane's music. Actually, until today, I had never heard of them. In my curiosity, I looked up the lyrics to this song, and here they are:

When the babe was born.
In a manger on the hay.
God saw a veil torn.
He saw Good Friday.
He was born to die.

Gold laid before the Christ.
Incense, His presence is sweet.
Myrrh to signify victory over death's sting.
He was born to die.

It came in a dream.
To Joseph late one night.
That Herod sought the King.
But could not take His life.
He was born to die.

He said, "You won't take my life.
You won't take my life.
You won't take my life...
I lay it down."

We came here today to celebrate His birth.
But let us not forget why Jesus came to earth.
He was born to die.

It is very accurate in what it says. We get so focused on the hustle and bustle of the season. We get caught up in the materialistic acpect of Christmas. We get caught up in the giving to others. We get caught up in the decorating. Yet, we fail, many times, to understand the true reason we celebrate Christmas.

It is not here for us to give presents or get presents. Without the birth of Christ, we would not have Christmas (which is probably how we came up with the name Christmas). Without the birth of Christ, we would not have the death, burail, and resurrection of Christ, which is necessary for our salvation.

Anyway, the author's criticism is summed up in this statement: "True, some theologians believe baby Jesus came into this world knowing that he'd suffer a horrible death. That said, 'Born to Die' sounds awfully inappropriate for the season and would likely halt your Christmas bash." Apparently, he just does not get it.

Anyway, here is his Top 10 bad Christmas albums:
# 10 - 'Born to Die' - Shane & Shane
# 9 - 'A Winter Symphony' - Sarah Brightman
# 8 - 'Natty and Nice: A Reggae Christmas' - various
# 7 - 'Merry Christmas' - Mariah Carey
# 6 - 'A Twistmas Story with Twitty Bird and Their Little Friends' - Conway Twitty
# 5 - 'This is the Time: The Christmas Album' - Michael Bolton
# 4 - 'Christmas on Death Row' - various
# 3 - 'Christmas Song' - Mannheim Steamroller
# 2 - 'A Twisted Christmas' - Twisted Sister
# 1 - 'Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer' - Elmo and Patsy