4th century BC
Plato
- Idealism — forms over particulars
- The Republic ethic: “God is not the author of evil”
Notes
It would be easy to hear this as a song about that guy - the one online, typing attacks at midnight, certain of everything. He is real; I have watched him work. But the album already told you, back in track one, whose monster this is. Our pride monster. So let me say it plainly: the puffed-up man is a self-portrait. There were years I was him - heart hardening, more bones than meat, leaving a trail of combative lines and calling it a defense of the faith.
The line that should scare all of us is in the chorus: he knows every rule but he missed the plan. The puffed-up man is not a liberal or a heretic. He is a man with the doctrine letter-perfect who never met the Lord it points to. Verse three lands it harder - the puffed up man, who doesn't believe. You can spend a whole life defending the gospel and not actually have it.
But notice the bridge, because the song refuses to leave him there: if he'd lay it down, he could rise again. This is not a takedown. It is a door. And I know it is a door, because I walked back through it - I traded the broken throne for a place on my knees. The puffed-up man can be saved from himself. That is the hope of the song, and the reason this record is called From Pride to Praise and not just Pride.
Lyrics
[CHORUS]
Puffed-up man with a heart of stone,
Typing in the dark on a broken throne.
Big on talk but he’s small inside-
Lost in the shadows where the blind reside.
He knows every rule but he missed the plan,
’Cause grace ain’t earned by the puffed-up man.
[VERSE 1]
A solid man, they call him so,
With bones of anger and pride to show,
More bones than meat he often finds,
And leaves a trail of combative lines.
He spurns the church and shuns the light,
Preferring to sit and type all night,
Posting attacks on all around,
His logic leaps with a hollow sound.
[VERSE 2]
He scorns the Gospel’s simple truth,
Insisting on words in his proof,
Belief in Christ, to him, is not enough,
For he demands a precise rebuff.
He sees the saved and lost alone,
And won’t accept what’s not his own,
His wrath burns hot against all foes,
Leaving a trail of verbal blows.
[VERSE 3]
He glories in his knowledge gained,
But love and joy are things disdained,
He cares not for the fruit of the Spirit,
Only his intellect, to him, is merit.
He’s self-important, full of pride,
Attacking all on the other side,
For he who wears his faith on his sleeve,
Is the puffed up man, who doesn’t believe.
[BRIDGE]
He’s fighting shadows in his mind again,
Building little kingdoms with a broken pen.
But truth don’t bend for the prideful man-
Grace cuts deeper than the words he plans.
If he’d lay it down, he could rise again,
Trade wrath for peace, let the healing in.
’Cause love speaks louder than the lines he types,
And Christ breaks chains that his pride ignites.
[CHORUS x2]
Puffed-up man with a heart of stone,
Typing in the dark on a broken throne.
Big on talk but he’s small inside-
Lost in the shadows where the blind reside.
He knows every rule but he missed the plan,
’Cause grace ain’t earned by the puffed-up man.
Commentary