OK. We have all heard it on the radio. Unless you only listen to K-LOVE...in which case the title of this post may be offensive to you. But if you are a regular listener of today's hit stations it is most likely you have become familiar with the song "F*ckin' Problems." It's not necessarily the most morally uplifting musical masterpiece butttt....
Let me tell you something.
I LOVE this song.
Like, I really love it. I don't know if it's that the majority of the hook is bleeped out, leaving the avid listener to question whether 2 CHAINZ actually has tourettes OR Drake's misplaced reference to the Lord mid-song that gets me most. Either way, I am sold. I blast that beat in the buick like I'M the one with the f*ckin problems.
And you know what, I think that's the reason I (albeit unhealthily) play it on repeat these days. A$AP Rocky has a point. We all got f*cking problems. And while some may shy away from admitting it so blatantly, this song does not. With bold and rebellious authenticity the truth is declared--YEAH, I got a f*cking problem.
No apologies.
No shame.
I don't know about you, but I work pretty hard to be perfect. Or to at least to give the appearance of being perfect. Hell, on most days, I would settle for just being good. I want to be the first draft when it comes to the dodge ball game of life. I want to be accepted. I want to do everything right the first time, to be so excellent that I never need help, to fall asleep resting in the fact that my life has no f*cking problems.
But above all, I think I want to believe that there are no problems in me. I'm tired of wrestling with anxiety and depression. I'm tired of broken relationships, daily reminders that there is no love without pain. I'm tired of failing. I'm tired of trying really really hard and coming up short.
This thing that we call life is a crap shoot sometimes. We want so badly to experience heaven here on earth, and sometimes it seems so far out of reach. We try our best to hide it--to go on and pretend that we can achieve perfection. We convince ourselves that it is a crime if we arrive at anything less than our very best. We beat ourselves up for not being what we feel we should be by this point in our lives.
Until one day you wake up and realize with mild surprise and a great amount of certainty...you got f*cking problems.
And it's kind of a relief. The tension between the real self and ideal self is abruptly broken and we are all the better for it.
I don't think that I particularly have a lot in common with Drake or Kendrick Lamar. I maybe have even less in common with 2 Chainz and A$AP Rocky. But one thing is certain--we both have f*cking problems. The difference in who I was before this song and after is that I am much more apt to claim it now.
It's OK to have problems. It's OK. The sooner you accept that about yourself, the sooner you will be on your way to wholeness. You can't fix what you don't believe or acknowledge to be broken.
Part of life is the peace that comes from realizing things will never be exactly the way we want them to be, or how we think they should be--or how we think we should be. It is from this point that we can feel the freedom to believe that our value does not come from how perfect we are. Our value is the same whether we are drafted first or not.
And the beauty of it all is that there is hope. No matter how bad we feel we are or how effed up we find ourselves to be, there is always hope. That is part of who God is--who God made you to be. He knows we have f*cking problems. And you know what, it doesn't surprise Him. It doesn't make Him give up on you, and it certainly doesn't make Him stop loving you. And I think he even rejoices a little bit when you figure it out, because it allows His grace to do the work it was meant to do.
So today, say it loud and proud: YOU HAVE F*CKING PROBLEMS. Own it. Be OK with it. Understand that it doesn't make you less beautiful, only really human. Treat yourself with kindness, allowing your heart to move into a more gracious and undefined space.
Embrace the problems and believe the hope.
You can thank A$AP and Jesus for that.
