Thorns and Thistles

One of my favourite songs lately has been ‘What Have I Done?’ by Cursive. Check it out below.

This songs sums up for me a mood that hits me every now and then. The singer sings about frustration at how hard work can be, disappointment with broken resolutions, a weariness with the small trivialities he fills his days with, and a desire to hide all this from those around him.

It speaks about a person’s great desire to do something of purpose with their life, to contribute in an important and meaningful way, but to consistently fall short of this aspiration. The lyrics are really well put together, and the meandering bass line and unexpected outburst compliment this brilliantly. I suspect that many people would be able to relate to this song, and tragically, I suspect that many people’s lives would be defined by the experiences of defeat and meaninglessness that plague the singer.

This is a dimension of life which Christianity knows about. We hold that because humans are broken, because the earth is cursed with thorns and thistles (see Genesis 3), living a life that is really worth living and working at something that is really worth working at are going to be hard.