Here’s a confession: I’ve said several times that when it comes to disability, we’re all disabled. Let me explain what I meant, some people have obvious disabilities while some of us carry disability in our hearts – selfishness, arrogance, bitterness, etcetera. After watching Mercy Me’s “Flawless” video I doubt I’ll again compare a sinful bend to a disability. I’m a visual learner, and boy did they do a good job of putting my, “We’re all disabled” view into art form and make me shrink in my seat.
The song, “Flawless,” talks about grace and what grace means. No matter what you have done, where you come from, what your past is, grace covers it all, all of it. God’s sacrifice on the cross on our behalf makes us flawless before Him.
“Could it possibly be
That we simply can’t believe
That this unconditional
Kind of love would be enough
To take a filthy wretch like this
And wrap him up in righteousness
But that’s exactly what He did”
Flawless, by Mercy Me
I like the song. I like the lyrics. I love the band, one of my favorites.
But the music video…
In artistic form the video begins with a white background and the band members dressed in white, yet they are covered in paint. Since the title of the song is “Flawless” my first thought was the paint is the artistic representation of being flawed, right? It’s creative. As they sing, the paint comes off showing the process of becoming flawless.
When they get to the chorus, the camera changes and you see a beautiful woman sitting on a chair with the caption, “Born with only a portion of her right arm.”
Wait.
What?
I thought we were talking about God’s grace here! “But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners.” Romans 5:8
What does a woman born with only a portion of her right arm have to do with her needing God’s grace? Wait…no… is that the kind of flawless they are referring to? Like, physically flawless? Because I did not get that from the lyrics, certainly not from the verses I assumed the song was inspired from. But that visual message…wow!
The next person they show is a man with the caption, “Lives with guilt from reckless living.”
Yes, reckless living might be what brings you to your face to recognize the need for a savior and His amazing grace.
Yet the woman’s missing limb and the man’s wrongdoings just got presented as equally flawed? The following people and captions had a little of everything, making it hard to see the difference between sinfulness, disability, and illness.
You see, part of the problem here is that there is a misconception in the Church, even today, that disability is a result of sin – or that people with disability need healing from their disability more than anything else. These two messages permeate our churches and they push people with disabilities away. Did you know that the largest minority in the world are people with disabilities? Just in the US 20% of our population has a disability, yet how many of them do you see at your church? My guess is not many. And have you talked to any family or adult impacted by disability about why they don’t attend church? Their responses should break your heart and help you recognize how little we know and understand disability, and how much needs to change in our faith communities.
The video continues with more individuals and their “flaws”. “Diagnosed with autism,” “Prone to selfishness,” “Battling stage 4 cancer,” “Doubts that God will provide for his needs,” “Lives with type 1 diabetes,” “Struggles with being the spiritual leader in his family.” And then the moment that punched me in the gut, “Born with Down syndrome.”
Two beautiful girls with Down syndrome fill the screen, one of them looks sad. So sad. As if Down syndrome was bad, and hard, and flawed. Down syndrome, the actual diagnosis, on the same league as sin. Down syndrome as a shortcoming. Something that needs to be improved, changed, fixed. Something to be ashamed of.
Let me catch my breath here.
Wow…
My youngest daughter has Down syndrome. And one thing I can tell you is that she does not need the Cross to be “flawless” from her diagnosis. She needs the Cross because she is a sinful human being. If she were to be on that video her diagnosis would be completely, one hundred percent, irrelevant. Her caption would read, “Self-centered” or “Blames sisters for her own actions.” She needs God’s grace to cover her sinful nature, not to alter her genetic makeup.
It reminds me of a story a friend shared of a man with cerebral palsy who skeptically agreed to go to church after being invited several times. His life was a mess, not because of his disability, but because his life choices had left him an alcoholic and addicted to pornography. He was searching and desperate for hope in his life. Yet the only thing people at church talked to him about was healing. Healing from his disability. They told him if he believed he could get up and walk. Nobody talked to him about sin and God’s forgiveness and amazing grace. Nobody told him about the hope he could find in Christ. Nobody told him that God cared about him, loved him, and was waiting for him with open arms. What good would it be for him to get up and walk if his soul was still lost?
Mercy Me friends, your lyrics are good but your video punched me in the gut. I’m afraid your “Flawless” video is flawed and it perpetuates a stigma that families like mine fight hard to overcome in our faith communities.
I know from your songs and lyrics that you want to share a message of hope. You want people, all people, to know about the amazing grace offered to us. No sin is too great for the cross. But I am puzzled over your video. Actually, I’m hurt. I hurt for my daughters and what this video communicates to them.
And this is my fear, that this video continues to encourage the stereotype that disability is shameful and that people with disabilities need to be healed, or fixed, or improved upon. As if the main concern in our churches should be to make the disabled pretty and “normal.”
Perhaps it encourages the idea that people at church need to look perfect on the outside. But there are so many people (disabled, sick, healthy, old, young, rich, poor) dying on the inside because they have to pretend they have it all together, they are coming undone and they don’t know where to turn because they feel too messy for church, too messy for God.
Church is not for those that have it all together, church is for the broken and messy and lost. It’s us!
We are all sinful and broken, all of us. That truth extends beyond a disability. It’s our shared humanity!
“For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” Romans 3:23
This is the foundation of our faith, is it not? We are sinners, in need of a Savior, and Jesus offered the ultimate sacrifice to pay for our sin. This is a gift from God, and thanks to that loving sacrifice we can have a personal relationship with God.
Let me introduce you to amazing grace: While we were still sinners Christ died for us! A gift of grace that extends beyond disability or illness.
Editor’s note: And it is my turn to extend grace to the Mercy Me band, and I hope you do too. Because the truth is that I did not understand disability until it was personal, to me. We are all learning, I’m still learning. But Mercy Me, if you read this, I hope you take a moment to hear from those impacted by disability. You have a great platform, and you can do so much to change perceptions on disability within the faith community.
Are you impacted by disability? What do you think about the “Flawless” music video?
You can read the “Flawless” lyrics here.
Another post you might enjoy: The Church and Disability
And more about being broken: The Problem With Brokenness
Special Needs Parents, Are You Surviving?
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I do not think the video means what you have taken it as. Did you watch the one with the making of the video? My son is disabled. Can’t walk, non-verbal, has a feeding tube, – he is 6. Heart disease, epilepsy, a huge scar on his chest and his head. He also had a cranial surgery, he has 8 specialities, many diagnoses. I think the song and video means that God sees all of us as flawless…we are flawless with disability and all to Christ because of what He did on the cross. Our sins, our choices, but also the scars, the hurt, the struggles, etc…
I don’t think it means what you wrote here. At least I didn’t take it that way and I personally love and find encouragement in the song.
Kim, if I have to watch a video about the making of this video to understand it, I think that is a problem. I hear what you are saying, but the song mentions the Cross and God’s sacrifice, and the Cross is very specifically a sacrifice for our sins.
I really do like the song, but the video…
Also, I am extremely involved in disability ministry, I started an organization in response to the hundreds of letters I received from families and adults impacted by disability and their experiences at church and the faith community. Knowing their stories of hurt from within our very own (the Church) I felt the need to respond.
That said, if God is using this song to encourage you and give you hope, then praise God!
Wow! You both have great insights about this video. I don’t want to interrupt the exchange but I can’t help to jump into the conversation. Like both of you, I too have a child with a disability (dual diagnosis; Down syndrome and Autism). Like my other 2 typically developing child, my daughter is an immeasurable blessings. She has certainly transformed my perceptions about life and the Gospel.
Let me start by saying that I agree with Kim when she argues that the video can be “interpret” in more than one way. So regardless of my conclusions and personal opinion about the video, there will always be alternative ways to conceptualize its message. (That’s the beauty and the mystery of interpretation).
Now having said that, I think Ellen brings a legitimate point of view. I think that the question that Ellen raises is whether the concept of “disability” is miscategorized in this video? I personally think that is case.
Like Ellen mentioned in her post, the video seems to portrait physical and intellectual impairments in the same category as “prone to selfishness” & “guilt for reckless living”. While the former are examples of congenital issues, the later point to issues of character and moral performance. Surely, some people can argue that “selfishness” and “reckless living” comes as a result of original sin, (I’m not denying that that is the case) yet Jesus clearly pointed out in John 9:1-2 that not all congenital impairments come as a result of sin. It is from this (an other biblical examples) that we should learn to refrain from making theological connections between sinful deeds and human impairments. That is why I cringe when I here people saying: “when it comes to disability, we’re all disabled.” (Ellen, I am glad you realized the theological pitfalls embed in such assertion.)
So, in my humble opinion, this particular video from [Mercy Me] disregards most of the work that Disability Theologians have been producing for the past 20 years. Obviously, I don’t think this video reflects the personal views of the band. Nevertheless, to me this is certainly a “faux pas” that could have been easily avoided by consulting those who are deeply invested in this kind of issues.
Great response to this video.
I also don’t understand why people would put disabilities on par with being sinful. We’re ALL sinful. But being born with Autism or being born with Mental Retardation or being born with Cerebral Palsy are *NOT* sins.
Instead of churches praying for healing for the disabled, perhaps they ought to start praying for healing from within, that their hearts might be opened to what the disabled folks can teach them.
I’m a better woman because I married my husband with Cerebral Palsy. And what’s more, my daughter, age 3, is a better person as well. When we visited with my nieces and nephew (ages 9, 7, 4, and 5 months), I was stunned by the selfish behaviors of the older children. They didn’t even look at you when you talked to them. They certainly lacked the foresight to hold a door open for someone else or ask if you were OK when you started to cry. But when I needed someone to hold the door open for me, my 3-year-old daughter didn’t even need to be told; she just did it. She’s used to helping out around the house because she knows her daddy needs the help. What a blessing it is to have a disabled husband who can teach others about what it means to love and serve others?
Yes, I wholeheartedly agree… We need so much more awareness in the church about people with disabilities. Jesus healed people with disabilities, but he didn’t heal them all. As for the ones he healed, it was so God’s glory could shine THROUGH THEM. That means they were INSTRUMENTS of His Glory, NOT “poor little disabled people.”
Thank you for sharing, Ellen, and may God continue to bless you as you lead the crusade for the disabled to feel loved in church communities. We should really write a book about these experiences! So much needs to be improved!
Christina, let’s talk about sharing stories for Disability Matters. Send me an email!
I was encouraged by Christina’s story because I am also married to a man with cp and our son is very thoughtful too. I have felt very isolated, especially with parenting techniques, and would love to connect with others wives in similar situations
Thank you for your thoughtful post Ellen.
‘INSTRUMENTS of his glory’ – Amen to that, Christina! I agree too about the impact on children growing up around others with disabilities. My girls are very accepting of anyone, because they’ve grown up with a big brother with special needs. They are compassionate and caring. That’s part of how God has used their brother for His glory.
My dear boy said to me only last week “I’m not autism! I’m a human being!” which was an incredibly profound thing for a young man with quite severe disabilities to say. God-breathed, I don’t doubt. He has never found a place in the church (he’s 15 now). No one has ever quite known what to do with him (which is not to place blame – we struggle with knowing how to help him at the best of times and we’re his family!). We have taught our son a little about Jesus and a lot about kindness and perhaps that’s as far as he’ll get. But praise God that he understands that much!
In response to the video, I do get where you’re coming from, Ellen, although I think the lyrics are wonderful. My disability is that of mental illness due to a traumatic childhood. Often there is not much room in the church for people like me, either, people who have been so broken that (in this life) they will never be fully healed. I used to imagine shouting, “I am not a freak!” Not someone to be pitied or cast aside. God uses my brokenness for His glory and I wouldn’t change that – it’s a gift. I wouldn’t ever want to ‘fix’ my son, either. He is a beautiful and unique human being, even if he does drive us up the wall on occasion 😉 He teaches us daily the virtue of patience and that’s no bad thing. He really is a lovely boy.
Good post, thank you.
Ouch! I see what you mean, Ellen: really, really poor choice of imagery here. Yes, we’re all still learning, and I appreciate your desire to extend grace to MM — yet I still have trouble believing the whole group and everyone involved in (including participating in) this video thought it sent the right message.
I would add another point too: the video makes actual sin and flawed-ness look palatable and relatable. “Prone to selfishness” — OK, that’s not so bad, that’s something I can say applies to me. “Lives in fear of his health failing” — OK, that’s a fear I can imagine feeling, no problem there. It’s not that these things can’t be real barriers to our relationship with God, of course — but I wonder what would have happened if they’d included captions like “Addicted to crack” or “Cheated on his wife” or “Stole his clients’ life savings” or “Shot her partner.” I guess they’re trying to make the point that we all sin (not just those *really* bad people out there), but it comes across as so bland and safe. Even the disabled people they show are somewhat sanitized looking. Basically it’s a bunch of sad-looking people who are smiling by the end. It’s a somewhat simplistic, prettified view of brokenness and grace that also manages to make disability look like the disabled person’s fault. Like I said … ouch.
I agree with your thoughts, one hundred percent. Disability is not the result of sin and it is definitely not something to be ashamed of. I believe we need Jesus to overcome sin. But I also believe that all that He suffered for us was not just for our sins and weaknesses, but also for our pain, afflictions, trials, hardships, and things that come into our lives despite our best efforts to do good. I believe that through hard things (whether by choice or circumstance) we can come to know the Savior because He’s been through it all. So there’s me throwing Mercy Me a rope.
Oh nope. This brings out my rant reflex – so I won’t. I’m glad you wrote it instead, so lovely.
I would characterize my experience in watching this video very much the same way, Ellen; a punch in the gut. You have done a wonderful job expressing in words one of the main challenges in our nations’ churches. People with disabilities do not need to receive grace because of their disability. They, like everyone, need to receive grace because we are all sinful-ability or disability are irrelevant.
The images used and the message it clearly conveys (as you have eloquently explained) are extremely disappointing, especially for people like us working in the faith and disability field. I do not what kind of reach you have already gotten online and on FB, but I would certainly be interested in helping to get this message to the group. I too like Mercy Me and their music. Wouldn’t it be great if they could use their influence in the national Christian community to dispel the myth that people with disabilities need to be healed or are flawed because of their disability? Hope to hear from you. In the meantime, I will work to share your article on FB. blessings, Karen Jackson, Executive Director, Faith Inclusion Network, http://www.faithinclusionnetwork.org Author, Loving Samantha
Karen, yes, I would love to connect! I am soon getting rolling again with Disability Matters and would love to talk to you about it!
Punched in the gut, indeed! Oh, Ellen, I’m so glad you wrote this piece, because you were so much more gracious than I feel like being. What were they thinking?!?
This video was played at church a few weeks back. Great sermon to follow song as well as we sang the song as a group afterwards. It made it more palatable BUT when I first saw the video I had the same reaction. Got extremely uncomfortable and upset wondering how the video images lined up at all with the lyrics of the song or the gospel message. Disabilities are no where near the same category as sin or consequences of sin. I agree, they got it wrong.
Forgot to hit follow replies 🙂
I’m a bit stumped as to why the beautiful models with Down Syndrome look miserable. My daughter is not flawed and no one in our family, including her, is sad that she has Down Syndrome. She is fearfully and wonderfully made. She is a sinner in need of a Savior, but not because she has Down Syndrome. God’s grace extends to her just as it does to me and it has nothing to do with which one of us has a disability. Well said, Ellen!
read your article, watched the video with my kids, and read the comments. My kids and I talked. Just want to say we agree with you, Ellen. The video is not communicating what Mercy Me intends. I’m a bit offended too. Oh, by the way… I have a lovely daughter with Down syndrome. grace to others. I also didn’t ‘get’ disabilities until our lives changed 6 years ago. :). Thanks, Ellen, for sharing your thoughts.
I believe that their goal in making this video was reached and reached triumphantly. As someone that suffers from a disease/disability myself, this song speaks to me in many ways and the video points the following things out to me: 1: they are not portraying disease, down syndrome, etc as flaws in their eyes. When someone is afflicted with things of this nature, many times they can feel that they are flawed and that something is wrong with them and that no matter what they do, they will never be able to change that. I have felt thus many times myself. I believe the video takes on the persona of the person suffering from whatever situation is mentioned, or pointed out as an example, and is telling us to see through their eyes and feel how they are feeling. 2: they want us to know, feel, and believe that no matter what is wrong with us in our eyes or in another’s eye, we are not flawed. We are all beautiful, wonderful, worth while beings that deserve love, happiness, friendship, etc. I feel that it is telling us that no matter the darkness we are battling, Jesus died on the cross because he loved us so much and he wanted us to know that we are not flawed in any way and are always loved by him. God does not make mistakes and therefore there could be no flaw in any of us from being born with diseases, disorders, etc. Just watching this honestly lifted me up and reminded me that even in my darkest, most self loathing thoughts, God loves me just the way he made me and I should try to look at myself just like he does: Flawless
Ah Kira, I think by sharing your story you just nailed it in what needed to happen to make the message clear. It is all in the captions. It would be very different if the captions were “I” or “I Feel” statements.
“I feel flawed because I was born with only a portion of my right arm.”
“I feel unworthy and guilty from my reckless living.”
“Some see my son as flawed because of his autism diagnosis”
“I am selfish.”
“I feel flawed since I was diagnosed with stage 4 cancer.”
“I doubt God will provide for my needs.”
“I feel flawed because I have type 1 diabetes.”
“Others see me as flawed because I have Down syndrome.”
See how different it is when those statements become personal to those they show?
I think you are right, this is probably what they meant to communicate, it was, unfortunately, done in a way that left many questions and it did portray disability as sinful. There is a reason I felt it, and many others felt it. Many of us have actually been told that, from church members. Did you know that one of the least inclusive environments today is Church? This is why I and so many other disability advocates work so hard to reach the Church with the message that we are all part of the body of Christ, we need each other, and people with disabilities should be welcomed in our churches. Not out of pity, but understanding that they have much to offer.
Thank you so much for leaving this comment, your personal story is what helped me see what their intent was. Now the fix is easy, they can easily go back and edit the video and make sure those captions communicate what they meant to communicate.
Yes, this is exactly how I interpreted the video too.
Thank you Kira,
I saw the video in the same way.
I have a disabled granddaughter, whom I adore in exactly the same way that I adore all of my grandchildren and I don’t see her as flawed at all. She is perfect in God’s eyes, so who am I to question Him?
I have Crohn’s Disease, severe arthritis, clinical depression, etc, etc, and have also suffered with very low self esteem.
The “Flawless” video has helped me see myself differently now.
I felt “flawed” because there are so many times I feel I have let people down because of things that are beyond my control. “Flawless” has helped me to give these times over to God. I saw me as I believed others saw me. Thanks to this video, I now see me as God sees me. But I am a work in progress and I still have a tendency to wallow in self pity.
In my church there are quite a few people with disabilities. In our band we have one who is struggling with the after effects of Lyme disease, another who has Fibromyalgia, another who has a disabled adopted son and then there is me with all my “problems”. We worship God through our music and song with joy!
We pray together, not just for healing but for understanding and for the love of praying together to our God.
The rest of the congregation support us prayerfully and with love and never, ever make us feel that we are less than “Flawless”.
I love MercyMe’s music and the messages through their words have brought me closer to God.
Linda
I actually feel like the video is saying that disabilities fall under the “pain or hurt” category. I didn’t get the idea that they were saying disabilities are sin. I understand it to communicate that we all need the cross, and, in the cross, one day we will find complete physical, emotional and spiritual healing – but only because of the grace and the cross.
I agree with you, Shannon, and though I understand the concerns in the post (and you know I love you, Ellen!), I feel like there are different categories represented in the lyric and the video, not all sin-driven. The lyric that says, “No matter what they say, or what you think you are” says to me that this includes those who FEEL less than, even when they are valued by many around them. Not that they have sinned specifically in that realm. I feel like sometimes the term “flawless” in this lyric refers more to a “being whole” or being enough, just as we are created, and that would include some of the things that weren’t sin-related in the video. I don’t think he intends Down syndrome as an example of the “filthy wretch” due to the trisomy and it’s manifestations. God doesn’t see the “bumps, bruises,…hurt…pain” struggles, scars, he sees a redeemed child of God. So for me, this isn’t an offensive video, even though I wish with cute girls with DS would have been happier. 🙂 But then again, in the first round, everyone looked pensive and solemn, so it makes sense that they did too. Either way, with many interpretations plausible with this particular video, discussions and education about viewing disability differently than chosen sin is important.
I agree, I don’t believe that the video is saying that disabilities are a result of sin, no way! I do believe that the itentions were to portray that the world views those with disabilities as being Flawed and God sees us all as being Flawless.
Ellen, I find myself puzzled by the grace that you say that you’ve extended MM. Did you go to the group before your post to Social Media and express your concerns regarding the video? Are your intentions to truly offer Grace or to create a stir amongst the community of families with Special Needs to support your personal cause….
No matter the cost, I would say confidently that MM would edit the video if approached. I personally have no issues with the video, however, I believe that MM would not want to offend anyone.
Yes , I have children and family members who have special needs.
Phyllis, have you read any of my other posts? I am not one to ever create a “stir” or try to find support for my “personal cause.” I took a few days (as in three days) to pray about this. I sent the link to the video to several special needs families with just one question, “What do you think about this video?” The feedback I got was similar to how I felt. Then I sent this post to leaders in the disability community for them to read it and give me feedback so that it was not an angry post, and so that my concerns were clearly communicated. You would be surprised to know that for those of us involved in disability ministry, we all had very similar reactions too. These are people I respect in disability ministry, people who have spent many years trying to make a difference in our churches and faith communities so people of all abilities are welcomed, respected, and included. We all agree this was not the intent of Mercy Me, but we have heard so many stories of hurt and pain from families impacted by disability that the video is not clear enough with their portrayal. And you know, it matters, these families matter, and if there is even a small possibility that this video will communicate to them what they have been told at church (that their disability is a result of sin) then I do think as a public band and public figure they have a responsibility to make their message very very clear.
I have a dear friend who is a pastor and has cerebral palsy. He is also a huge disability advocate. He has shared with me that sadly many adults with disabilities are not believers because of the messages they have received at church. Yes, the clarity of the message really does matter.
No, I did not contact them before posting this, but I did share this with them hoping we could engage in conversation. I have not heard back from them. I hope I do. before I posted it, I asked those who read the post before hand if they thought it was okay to post. They all said yes and expressed no reservations.
I do think a simple edit will make all the difference. You say confidently that they would edit the video if approached, I hope they do, because they have been approached now.
I’m almost sorry I saw this video. This is currently my favorite song, mostly because I think every believer struggles to embrace that truth that the blood of Jesus covers us from all sin and that He truly sees us as righteous, no matter how black our soul has been or no matter how difficult the fight against sin. I think what really struck me most is how “sanitized” the people are in this video. I go to a church where there is everything from formerly homeless, drug addicts, bank robber – you name it, it’s there – on up to a few that appear to be well-to-do, and most of them would not feel comfortable among this group of perfect looking people, BUT I can guarantee you that in the inner man, there is no difference. We all struggle with accepting this truth. Regarding the use of the “disabled”, I have a child with Down Syndrome as well, and I have never thought of him as needing to be looked at as flawless because of his DS disability. Or that the purpose of the cross was to save him from his physical disability. I love Mercy Me….this doesn’t do justice to the song OR the message of the cross, that all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, but while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. No, Down Syndrome is not a sin.
Hi! I have two children with disablities and I did not take this video this way at all. Rather, the video was portraying how people’s PERCEPTIONS affect people with disabilities. Has your child ever been heartbroken because someone treated them as less because they look or act differently? Of course. Because PEOPLE see them as less. No wonder the little girls with Down Syndrome look sad….you know what made them smile? Realizing that EVERYONE is equal at the foot of the cross. I am daily trying to instill that into my sons…yes, people see you as flawed sometimes, but they are wrong. The same God who sent His Son for Billy Graham sent His Son for you, too. Our worth is not determined by our disability, it is determined by the blood of Jesus.
Exactly, our worth is determined by being God’s children, regardless of ability. I think if the intent was to show people’s perceptions, then that needed to be very clear. Not, “Born with Down syndrome” but rather a simple, “Some see me flawed because I have Down syndrome.” It is a simple solution that would make all the difference.
Ellen,
I completely understand your points about your daughter and the distinction you make about Downs vs sin nature. I have a nephew who is in his 20s with both Downs and Autism. There are many things people could “fix” when they get determined. Help and support is one thing. Spiritual fixing is another. I also have a daughter who is gay. She loves Jesus and desires to honor God. These same distinctions can be made for those who are gay. They need the church to recognize that a gay married couple can have the same good fruit and sinful nature as a straight couple but that being gay is not their sin. Is it a result of the Fall, like come believe cancer and Downs is? Perhaps, but it is not their sin and they can and should be free to honor God.
Jean, I will take a guess here and suggest that just like when it comes to disability, the church only focuses on being healed from the disability rather than their heart, for your daughter the main concern from many within the church is perhaps her sexual orientation, not issues of the heart.
Thanks Ellen for articulating my thoughts so well. The equation of sin to disability seems to be an all to frequent theme. I have 3 children, (young adults ). My daughter has down syndrome, my other daughter has type I diabetes and my son had a brain bleed caused by a malformation. There are those who have whispered that we must have been cursed, for some sin, but the reality is we are blessed to have walked this journey, because we have had to rely on God’s mercy and grace, because we are so utterly helpless without Him. The pain from those whispers never quite goes away. I know so many families who have walked away from the church because of the perceptions. Sadly some walk away from God. Much more education needs to be done. Thanks for continuing to put things like this out there.
I agree that the video is poorly constructed, and I hope that Mercy Me did not intend to equate disability with sinfulness. One thing that I noticed was that at the end, everyone with a disability was declared flawless, and still had that disability. Their physical/mental condition had not changed, but their spiritual one had. I think their intentions were good, but execution sorely missed the mark.
Yes, anyone who is familiar with Mercy Me, as a band, will know that they were not suggesting that disability is equal to sin. It is not a matter of the heart, but execution. When you are a family impacted by disability and you have been hurt by comments within faith communities, you watch something like this and you feel puzzled over what exactly they were trying to convey.
Wow, I did not get that at all from the video. I got that God has made us all flawless regardless of disability, and I didn’t watch the making of the video. When I saw all the disabled people, it made me think of how the world sees them as flawed, but God sees them as flawless by his grace. I don’t see them trying to equate disability and sin at all. To me, it was like they were showing examples of flawless people that, to the world, seem flawed. They should have had pictures of all kinds of people, really, disabled or not, but I don’t think Mercy Me meant the message you got from their video.
No I don’t think they did at all, but I know for many of us in the disability community (especially involved in disability ministry) it does, because this is actually what is said to our families, “Disability is a result of sin.” “Your kids cannot come to children’s church.” “Your family is not welcomed at out church anymore because we don’t know how to handle your family impacted by disability.” (We actually ave a couple of families attend out church who were asked to leave their previous church because their kids have a disability).
I would have nothing to do with a church that acts in such a cruel, ungodly manner!
Did not Christ tell the disciples “suffer the children to come unto me”?
Any Christian church that behaves in such a way is utterly reprehensible!
I read your post being very familiar with the song and its lyrical content…my daughter and I love to belt it out…I was, however, ignorant of the video. So after reading your thoughts I watched it. I think the message at the heart of the video is God’s ability to see beyond what man sees but to see into the heart. Like The Word reveals in the story of David. A celebration of the freedom we have knowing our identity in Our Father and His unconditional love for us….BEYOND WHAT THE WORLD SEES as flaws.
The video including people with disabilities and illnesses was a commentary on the world’s view…even the church view. As you mentioned, and I have witnessed, too often people with disabilities and illness are the focus of pity and the need to fix what is on the outside instead of an engagement with nurturing and building up of their heart and spirit. To engage them as valid members of the church body and not as projects or novelties.
The message isn’t just about the cross and the sin covering grace His sacrifice offers. It is also a message that through His grace and mercy He truly sees value and worth in all His children…That is the TRUTH this video seems to be conveying.
That said, I can understand how your personal experience could change the intended perspective of the video.
To me, and my 9 year old daughter and 13 year old son the video was a reminder that we need to seek to know and nurture the heart of people. To not look at people and see just a cancer patient, a homeless person, a biker, a wheelchair, autism, tattoos, etc…but to SEE Deeper…to see others as Christ sees them…flawless.
But do you see that it’s not just “Christ sees them as flawless” but that they actually ARE? My boys (with Down syndrome) are flawless (well, sinners in need of the cross, actually) because they were created in the image of God, exactly as He intended them to be. For them to be a glaring example of “flawed” on a video (Christian, no less) is beyond insensitive, it’s inflammatory, no matter how well-intended. Those who need the “reminder” to see people with disabilities as fully human (aka, not flawed), may need to enlarge their circle to include more of them.
I’m disabled myself (CP) and I was referred to this post (and video) by a friend. I watched the video before I read any of your commentary on it, and I did find it very offensive personally. I attended church for several years as a young adult and eventually had to stop because every conversation anyone had with me was about getting physical healing. No one seemed to care that I also was dealing with anxiety, depression and the after effects of living through a trauma. The insinuation was strong to me in the video that disability is equivalent to sin, and that’s so detrimental. Thank you for addressing this in your post.
Ellen, I hear what you are saying, and I have to say I cringed when I saw the girls with Down syndrome frowning into the camera. Their expressions were what bothered me most. But I felt better about it when I watched the rest of the video and saw the girls smiling and included along with all the other “flawed” people. I understood where Mercy Me was intending to go with the video. But I agree that it made me uncomfortable.
Maybe the problem is with the word “flaw:” it means a fault, an imperfection or a weakness. You are understandably associating it with a character flaw, or sin (the symbolism of the paint in the video would certainly seem to suggest that) and in that case I agree that it’s inappropriate to group people with disabilities and illness together with those who are physically “whole” but flawed in character. If Mercy Me is guilty of anything maybe it’s mixing metaphors.
I think you are right (as you responded in the comments) that changing the wording to “I feel flawed” would help.
When my son was born with Down syndrome I came across a book by Stephanie O. Hubach called Same Lake, Different Boat, which is a biblical perspective on disability. In it she says: “Disability is essentially a more noticeable form of the brokenness that is common to the human experience—a normal part of life in an abnormal world. It is just a difference of degree along a spectrum that contains difficulty all along its length.” As you wrote at the beginning of your post, we are all disabled. If you look at it in these terms, then maybe Mercy Me is trying to show that, because of the legacy of sin, we’re all broken, all of us inwardly and some of us also physically. In that regard we are all flawed. (As much as I love my son and consider my family blessed to have him, I still see Down syndrome itself as a genetic disorder; i.e., a flaw.) But through Jesus’ atonement we are all perfect in God’s eyes. I do agree that they could have expressed this in a more sensitive manner in their video, and I hope they see your beautiful post. It would be great to get them in on the discussion.
Yes Carrie, I would love to have a conversation with them. And I love Stephanie Hubach’s book (and her! She has been such a great voice in my life as a friend, special needs mom, disability ministry leader). I agree on her perspective of disability, and wish everyone read her book! That book really molded my perspective of disability and challenged me in many ways!
I totally agree with your thoughts, Carrie.
My husband talked about this video at length. I have a severely autistic sister, and she is nothing like what is depicted in the video…growing up with her was traumatic and hard, and I know she herself has been in a lot of physical pain and gets uncomfortable around others because she knows she’s different. I know I can be too critical of things, and I do love the song. We talked about the fact that all our problems indirectly tie back to sin. Our burdens, our illnesses, our hurts somehow stem back to the fall. In spite of these, we can still experience God’s grace. We can be happy that we are fully accepted by Jesus (even though many Christians may shun us). The video did rub me the wrong way, and to me it seemed to present a very happy ending (everyone smiling after recognizing their flawlessness) here on earth. For those of us who know Christ, we know he sees our ugly hurts and grieves with us and will one day make things new. I guess what I’m saying is that I feel conflicted…I don’t want to nitpick the video, but I acknowledge that spiritual sounding quips about God’s love don’t always do a whole lot for people in despair…Our imperfections, physical and spiritual, were not in his original design, and we may need to grieve them. I am looking forward to seeing my sister made whole, if not here on earth, then one day in heaven. I am also thankful for daily grace and miracles he gives us on earth. I will say that she is on a special treatment to rid her of parasites and toxins that is helping, and some info can be found at http://www.cdautism.com and for adults with severe cases, someone named Robin Goffe has been very helpful at modifying the treatment with additional herbs and tonics. Thank you for this blog post. Living with someone who is disabled is hard, and we will never be completely understood by those around us, even well-meaning Christians.
I don’t think MM is trying to say disability is the same as sinning, but my problem is what the title implies – my daughter’s disability is not a FLAW (although others might see it that way, so by adding “others see…., the issue could be corrected). Just b/c she is different and experiences challenges that typical kiddos may not, she is made exactly how God created her and is perfect – not inspite of her disability, but b/c of it – it is a part of who she is and who she is supposed to be.
Someone share this link in regards to the video. Though if you have to see this just to know they aren’t saying that… maybe they should re-do the video so it is obvious in the main video not just the making of… but here it is… https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aXlShznlvQE
Yes Lucille, I have watched that video, but thanks for sharing because other people here might want to click on the link 🙂 They do talk about what their goal was, which is not clear in the actual video. I think an edit of the captions is all they need to do and it will make a difference.
As a Mom with a young son with autism, I appreciate this video and it made me love Mercy Me even more.
When my son was 3 years old, I had an encounter with a evangelical Christian woman who said that he is possessed by a demon. Her ignorance infuriated me. He’s closer to God then she is. AND, HE IS A GIFT FROM GOD. And, so is every single person with special needs and every person with a life challenge.They are gifts to the world.
Also, many times, people feel that there’s something they did in their past that has caused the cross they bear and there are people in the world who tell them so. All those who suffer are “flawless”.
The meaning of the song is that EVERYONE is beautiful in the eyes of the Lord. No one should feel guilt for what decisions they have made in the past or for the cross they have to bear. The song gives hope and strength. And, it’s all for God’s glory.
The concept of the video is very deep and is hard to understand if you haven’t heard the message behind the video.
Mercy Me is an awesome, kind, and genuine God-centered band. My daughter and I were blessed to meet them in October 2015. We will never forget their kindness when we told them how their music is helping all of us get through this challenging time of our life.
This is one of the most amazing songs AND videos that I have ever seen, and it’s the video itself that spoke to my heart the most. I think that we view our own flaws (be it physical, personality tendencies or spiritual issues) as something that holds us back from the life that we could be living (the life that we dream of or what we believe God has created us for), and I think that THAT is what MercyMe tried to show in the video. I think most of us are very critical of ourselves, and as such we don’t realize that God CAN and WILL use ALL our flaws for GOOD (Romans 8:28). I believe that that’s what MercyMe meant by the video – no matter what flaws we see in ourselves, how critical we are of our flaws – seen or unseen – God sees us as perfect through the sacrifice of Jesus. I really am saddened that we are very often so quick to find fault in other believers. I am certain that MercyMe NEVER intended to equate a physical disability with sin, and I really wish that we can start to expect others to have good and pure motives. Lastly, I don’t think any of the persons with physical disabilities who featured in the video was over-sensitive about it, otherwise they wouldn’t have participated. Let’s start building each other up as Christians, not tearing down what others try to do for God’s Kingdom!