Rich Men North of Richmond: A Christian's Perspective

Millions of people in just a few days have been listening to Oliver Anthony (Christopher Lunsford) sing passionately about the plight of blue collar America. After coming out with his viral song "Rich Men North of Richmond," followed up by a plethora of reaction videos, providing more songs and comments himself, the news channels weighing in, the media influencers seizing the moment to get a few more clicks and ad revenue, even the politicians themselves having commented on how much they agree (it of course being the other side of the political spectrum that is being sung about...) I am left to ponder.

What is the Biblical View of Rich Men North of Richmond?

Here are the lyrics:

I've been sellin' my soul, workin' all day / Overtime hours for bullshit pay / So I can sit out here and waste my life away / Drag back home and drown my troubles away.

Pre-Chorus:
It's a damn shame what the world's gotten to / For people like me and people like you / Wish I could just wake up and it not be true / But it is, oh, it is.

Chorus:
Livin' in the new world / With an old soul / These rich men north of Richmond / Lord knows they all just wanna have total control / Wanna know what you think, wanna know what you do / And they don't think you know, but I know that you do / 'Cause your dollar ain't shit and it's taxed to no end / 'Cause of rich men north of Richmond.

I wish politicians would look out for miners / And not just minors on an island somewhere / Lord, we got folks in the street, ain't got nothin' to eat / And the obese milkin' welfare.

Well, God, if you're 5-foot-3 and you're 300 pounds / Taxes ought not to pay for your bags of fudge rounds / Young men are puttin' themselves six feet in the ground / 'Cause all this damn country does is keep on kickin' them down.

Repeat Pre-Chorus

Repeat Chorus

I've been sellin' my soul, workin' all day / Overtime hours for bullshit pay.

A Christian's Perspective

I think there can be many different Christian perspectives, but here's mine. I agree, however... there is hope. I've listened to this song many times now and I politically agree, economically agree, even historically agree with the sentiments and the feeling. But what I don't agree with is the lack of hope.

I often find myself in conversations about the current state of America and there is a difference between the Christian world's complaining and the Non-Christian world's complaining. Both are complaining, don't get me wrong. Both are a lament over things outside of our control, much like the book of Lamentations in the Bible. However, in the Christian perspective there is always hope. Sometimes this comes in the hope of end times events like the resurrection[if your interested in having hope in the resurrection here is a sermon I gave last week on Daniel 12], receiving a new glorified body, the judgement where the wicked will get their justice, or in God's love being able to change things and bless His people bringing them through any situation[many of the worship songs I've reviewed are about exactly this]. All these hope-filled pieces are more important than the lament itself. This reminds me of Mary's Song in the first chapter of Luke.

The Magnificat

46 And Mary said:

“My soul glorifies the Lord

47 and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,

48 for he has been mindful

of the humble state of his servant.

From now on all generations will call me blessed,

49 for the Mighty One has done great things for me—

holy is his name.

50 His mercy extends to those who fear him,

from generation to generation.

51 He has performed mighty deeds with his arm;

he has scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts.

52 He has brought down rulers from their thrones

but has lifted up the humble.

53 He has filled the hungry with good things

but has sent the rich away empty.

54 He has helped his servant Israel,

remembering to be merciful

55 to Abraham and his descendants forever,

just as he promised our ancestors.”

The difference in a biblical or Christian perspective is that we not only see what is going on in the world, witnessing and calling out injustice and heresy, but also (and more importantly) that there is hope. I look forward to more songs from Christopher Lunsford in the future, not only because I like the music and agree with the message but because it is an opportunity to bring hope into the conversation with a wide audience of people who really need hope. If you're interested in my sermon series on the book of Ecclesiastes click here.

Thank you for reading my thoughts. Comment below or read some of my sermons, bible studies, or worship song analyses on this site. Enjoy.

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