Dancing through Life vs. Walking through the Light.

Don't get me wrong, Wicked is a great movie, and the Broadway soundtrack, which I was first exposed to, is phenomenal. The movie is relatively clean, doesn't have explicit language, and is generally friendly for most audiences.

But that doesn't make that it doesn't at times, promote worldly ideals.

One of my favorite songs is "Dancing through Life", a song Fiyero sings after he feels a call to "corrupt" his fellow classmates.

And while it's a super catchy tune, the message is slightly problematic.

Let's examine the first part of the song:

The trouble with schools is They always try to teach the wrong lesson Believe me, I've been kicked out of enough of them to know They want you to become less callow, less shallow But I say, why invite stress in? Stop studying strife And learn to live the unexamined life Dancing through life, skimming the surface Gliding where turf is smooth Life's more painless for the brainless Why think too hard when it's so soothing? Dancing through life, no need to tough it When you can slough it off as I do Nothing matters but knowing nothing matters It's just life, so keep dancing through Dancing through life, swaying and sweeping And always keeping cool Life is fraughtless when you're thoughtless Those who don't try never look foolish Dancing through life, mindless and careless Make sure you're where less trouble is rife Woes are fleeting, blows are glancing When you're dancing through life

"Stop studying strife and learn to live the unexamined life" philosophers of old have targeted this ideal. "The unexamined life is not worth living" is a famous dictum attributed to Socrates.

If philosophers that lived years ago knew the importance of self-examination, it might be worth digging into.

But I'm not here to find out what ancient philosophers said. What does the bible say?

Ephesians 5:15-17 Living by the Spirit’s Power 15 So be careful how you live. Don’t live like fools, but like those who are wise. 16 Make the most of every opportunity in these evil days. 17 Don’t act thoughtlessly, but understand what the Lord wants you to do.

The bible tells us to live wisely, but what about self reflection?

Psalm 139:23,24 23 Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. 24 Point out anything in me that offends you and lead me along the path of everlasting life.

Matthew 7:3-5 3 “And why worry about a speck in your friend’s eye[a] when you have a log in your own? 4 How can you think of saying to your friend,[b] ‘Let me help you get rid of that speck in your eye,’ when you can’t see past the log in your own eye? 5 Hypocrite! First get rid of the log in your own eye; then you will see well enough to deal with the speck in your friend’s eye.

The bible emphasizes examining your own life, so that you can live rightly.

Fiyero sings about going with the flow, not thinking about things, taking the easy way out.

Jesus emphasizes living a purposeful life and living with intention.

Matthew 7:24-27 Building on a Solid Foundation 24 “Anyone who listens to my teaching and follows it is wise, like a person who builds a house on solid rock. 25 Though the rain comes in torrents and the floodwaters rise and the winds beat against that house, it won’t collapse because it is built on bedrock. 26 But anyone who hears my teaching and doesn’t obey it is foolish, like a person who builds a house on sand. 27 When the rains and floods come and the winds beat against that house, it will collapse with a mighty crash.”

Following God requires introspection, listening to and learning from God's teachings. Taking the easy way out is like building a house in the sand. It seems like a good idea at the time, until the waters come and wash it away.

You'll still catch me jamming along, but as a Christian, I believe it's important to reflect on the messages that our music promotes. Even if we know deep down that Fiyero isn't really as shallow as the front he puts up, after all he helped Elphaba free the lion cub from his cage.

However, each of us possesses various facets to our personalities, and this song embodies the ideals for which his widely admired persona is renowned.

The lyrics also capture a common human temptation: to numb ourselves.

It is common to want to escape reality when life gets too hard, distracting ourselves with something more fun and frivolous instead of wrestling with hard truths.

And to be up front The Bible doesn’t condemn joy or dancing (unlike "Footloose" tries to get us to believe). As demonstrated in Ecclesiastes, there is a time to dance. But we have to remember, it does call us to joy rooted in righteousness, not in escapism

So while “Dancing Through Life” is catchy and charming in a theatrical sense, its message—“why think too hard?”—is not biblical because it rejects the kind of self-examination, wisdom, and purpose that Scripture holds as essential to a godly life.

Yes, that was a quote from Chat GPT and here are some fun comparisons

In short:

Fiyero’s worldview	Jesus’ worldview
Don’t think too hard	Seek wisdom and truth
Avoid struggle	Take up your cross
Do what feels good	Do what is right
Live for the moment	Live for eternal purpose
Ignore the heart	Examine the heart