Yes, I have blogged about romance and our culture before. But when I saw that The Weeknd (yes, the spelling is correct) had 297 million hits for his song “Can’t Feel My Face” I decided to chime in once again. Over and over again Abel Makkonen Tesfaye informs us that because of the girl he met he can no longer feel his face. Being a pastor who loves the stories in the New testament I thought, hmmm, leprosy?
Nah. He’s talking about a drug known as romance. Powerful stuff. (People have also told me that Abel may be referring to how he feels after taking drugs. Not sure. The overall vibe of the song leads me to believe he is primarily talking about romance/love.)
But I have a question for Abel. A question for all of us…
What do you do when you can feel your face? Bail? Find the next relational buzz?
Again, allow me to lean on Tim Keller for some perspective.
“This principle – that your spouse should be capable of becoming your best friend – is a game changer when you address the question of compatibility in a prospective spouse. If you think of marriage largely in terms of erotic love, then compatibility means sexual chemistry and appeal. If you think of marriage largely as a way to move into the kind of social status in life you desire, then compatibility means being part of the desired social class, and perhaps common tastes and aspirations for lifestyle. The problem with these factors is that they are not durable. Physical attractiveness will wane, no matter how hard you work to delay its departure. And socio-economic status unfortunately can change almost overnight. When people think they have found compatibility based on these things, they often make the painful discovery that they have built their relationship on unstable ground. A woman “lets herself go” or a man loses his job, and the compatibility foundation falls apart.”
― Timothy Keller, The Meaning of Marriage: Facing the Complexities of Commitment with the Wisdom of God
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