Know Your Worth

Music lover that I am, when I heard “Broken Clocks,” I had no idea who the female vocalist was; I just knew I wanted to. I later learned that the beautiful sound was coming from a relatively new artist by the name of SZA. I love her raspy voice, along with her delivery and style.

Initially in Kendrick Lamar’s camp, SZA went on to become one of the most Grammy-nominated artist in 2017, including Best New Artist, Best R&B Song (Broken Clocks), and Best Urban Contemporary Album (Ctrl).

Listening to the lyrics of “Broken Clocks,” my interpretation is the story of so many in the world today, running from one thing to the next, making quick decisions without thinking of the consequences. No time for much of anything, just broken hearted on many levels, looking for a soft place to land. Love the sound, lyrics make me sad.

Then, low and behold, I hear another song by SZA, “The Weekend,” love the sound, these lyrics make me sick. “My man is my man is your man, this her man too……….. You can have him during the week and I’ll just keep him satisfied on the weekends.”

Okay, I get that this is a song representative of creative expression; however, there is a lot of truth in these lyrics as we look through our society today. Truthfully, it makes me frustrated, that as people, rather than hold ourselves to the standard our birthright declares, we are willing to accept work arounds.

We are now giving each other permission to mistreat ourselves, and then be willing to accept the scraps from the table.

Music is music; nonetheless the subliminal messaging that we are ingesting into our psyche is something I am concerned about. Not just SZA, some reality shows, other musical artist and their self-destroying lyrics as well.

We have to know our worth! I am reminded of a line in the 1993 movie, “What’s Love Have To Do With It.” Angela Bassett, staring in the role of Tina Turner said when walking out of the courtroom, “all I have is my name.” Protecting her name and her self-worth was more important than any material possession she had.

No different, we must stand and never compromise who we are for anyone. We cannot settle for anything less than our birth entitlement. We must remind ourselves of Luke 12:17, “Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.”

During this time, sparrows were being sold at 5 for 2 pennies, yet, Our Lord did not forget about them. How much more valuable are we than the sparrow?

Tanya Wilson