Commentary on The Black Eyed Peas’ “Where is the Love?”

Remember The Black Eyed Peas’ first hit rap song of 2004, “Where is the Love?” replete with rhyming lyrics like livin’ and givin’, mama, drama trauma?  Don’t listen to rap music?  No worries.  As my wife will readily attest, I’m not exactly “down” myself.  I’m not even sure what that means.

Nonetheless, whenever I hear this song on the radio it moves me–always has. After I adapt my ear to the hip hop music, the deep meaning of the song is much like a hymn.  The lyrics are a heartfelt prayer for healing the suffering in the world.  The song cries out against misinformation and negative images in the media.  It protests against hate and apathy and encourages love for one another.

In Christian Science, Love is another name for God.  I assume the real question being asked by the song is, “Where is God?  Where is God in all this suffering?”  The lyrics humbly call out, “Father, Father, Father help us, send us some guidance from above.”

I feel what the song is really searching for is a spiritual understanding of God, a heightened awareness that His love and guidance are never apart from us.  To me, as a Christian Scientist, this includes knowing that all of us are inseparable from our divine Father-Mother (God) who heals and opens our eyes to the light of ever-present Love.

I’m definitely not talking about blind faith or positive thinking, but a solid truth regarding our spiritual relationship with God that we can put our weight on and demonstrate.

I remember once feeling separated from any sense of love; perhaps that’s why I relate to the song.  I had just gone through a painful divorce and felt isolated and alone.  Whenever I thought about what I had just lost, it felt much like it must feel to be in a burning house.  Fortunately, I knew I could find my way out by practicing what I had learned in my study of Christian Science.

I knew one way to practice this spiritual approach was to acknowledge evidence of divine goodness wherever I was–no matter how small the evidence seemed to be.  Gratitude for the good in my life always opens my thought to see and experience more of the abundance God has for me.  Soon, I regained my sense of joy and purpose and established it on a more solid foundation based on the understanding that I was never separated from God’s love.

For instance, five years ago, I received a call from a young woman who wanted my help in writing to her local newspaper.  She had recently graduated with a degree in theology and was searching for an interpretation of the Bible that made sense to her.  She had found her answers by reading the Christian Science textbook, Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy.

She called me when she learned that my job was to correct misunderstandings the public may have regarding Christian Science.  Correcting these false rumors was her motivation for writing to the newspaper.  She said, “the public deserves to know about this.  Too many people have never heard of Christian Science or think it’s something it’s not.” Through reading Science and Health, she had found healing of a physical problem and the answers she had been searching for in the Bible.   And like the song’s urgent message, she felt a need to show others where this truth could be found.

I often think of my initial conversation with her.  Her heartfelt words serve as a motivation for this blog.  If you’re reading this and wondering, “Where is the Love?  Where is God’s guidance and help from above?”  Know that His unconditional love for you is present right now.  Suffering or feeling lost and abandoned is never God’s will for any of us.