Diamonds In The Rough (2008) "The Fight"

[reprinted as written by Avenged Sevenfold]
As performed by A7X

The problem with society's been how do we teach
And if they'll believe.
We'll fight this battle for years to come
'til we only accept that we can stand on our own.

Grandfather used his hands, he worked them to the bone.
To provide his family with a happy home, alone.

Don't take your aggression out on me.
My own man is all I'm meant to be.
This common place is so lazy, old and tired
All your ideas are so F***ING uninspired.
Takes more than one idea
More than one person to fight the fight
How many times have you taught and not conspired?

You don't wanna be, then never say
But don't call us the liars.

We've walked these alleys a thousand times
And scattered around a thousand lies.
They are trying to hold you down
Your life may be hard, but keep your feet on the ground.
Why don't I have the finer, things that others have?
The chance is there if you want it all that bad.
So bad.

Don't take your aggression out on me.
My own man is all I'm meant to be.
This common place is so lazy, old and tired
All your ideas are so F***ING uninspired.
Takes more than one idea
More than one person to fight the fight
How many times have you taught and not conspired?

Don't try and get me confused.
Cause I do understand.
And sometimes people need help.
That they may need a
Hand when there's problems going on.
A thing you have to get straight
Is that you don't hold my hand.
And I don't owe you a thing.
So don't think about how sorry
Your feeling now your treated so bad.

This common place is so lazy, old and tired
All your ideas are so F***ING uninspired.
Takes more than one idea
More than one person to fight the fight
How many times have you taught and not conspired?

And as a race we look back and we've come so far.
While some men conquered,
the others had it so hard.
But in this day we just complain
while there's no one for us to fight.
I guess we're bored and it's how we keep us occupied

One A7X fan felt this is, "Talking more about how many people in society rely on government for their own happiness. This song talks a lot about being one's own person, creating a "happy home" on your own.

"This common place is so lazy old and tired... how many times have you taught and not conspired?"
This sounds pretty direct towards people who believe in reliance on the government, like left-minded politicians regardless of their party, and how its not only a lazy and generally unfruitful way of living, but also how those who promote bigger government are conspiring, or possibly brainwashing, and not actually teaching in order to get their way.

Also, if we look at the part where M Shadows says
"Why don't I have the finer things that others have? The chance is there if you want it all that bad" that has a very capitalistic point of view to it. People complain that they don't have the things that others have, but if they really wanted it, they could take the opportunities given to them every day to gain those things through their individual labor.

"We'll fight this battle for years to come til we accept that we can all stand on our own" is another example of learning the lesson that your own individual labor is the best way to live, it brings more happiness than the government can by handing you things.

Then, I see obviously at the end how this generation is the lazy generation, the generation that has no one to fight and is bored."

Added another fan, "Also in the beginning, "The problem with society is how we teach and what they believe." This refers to the media, government and society teaching us and our children lies. Unfortunately only a small amount of people truely see this."

What you think is going to determine what you do, so this last statement above is the key to the whole dilemma.

You and I are what we believe. People almost always act according to what they really believe. It doesn't matter much what you and I say we believe or what we want others to think we believe. When it really matters, in our real lives, we act out what we really believe most of the time.

There are five aspects that shape a belief:

1) The content of a belief -- What we believe matters. The facts. the gospels present the facts of Jesus’ deity through Jesus’ own claims about Himself, through the other witnesses of Jesus’ authenticity, and through the miracles themselves, acting as signs.

2) The strength of a belief -- When a person says they believe something, that doesn’t mean they are certain that it is true, it just means that they are at least more than 50 percent convinced the belief is true

So a belief's strength is the degree to which you are convinced that the belief is true. As you gain evidence and support for a belief, its strength grows for you. It may start off as plausible and later become fairly likely, then quite likely, then beyond reasonable doubt, and finally, completely certain. The more certain you are of a belief, the more it becomes a part of your inner being and the more you rely on it as a basis for action.

That's why the gospel writers provided irrefutable evidence, backed up by eye witnesses and miracles, that added strength and support to Jesus’ claim of being Messiah, Son of God

3) The centrality of a belief -- The more central a belief is, the greater the impact it will have on your worldview, the way you see things. For the gospel writers belief in Christ was so central that Jesus was the very source of life for him, and he saw Jesus as the source of life, light and love for all people.

4) How do you change a belief? -- You start on a course of study with an open mind, one of inquiry. Place yourself in a position to undergo a change in the content, strength and centrality of the beliefs you already have -- this is what all the new testament writers asked their audience

5) How does a belief stand in terms of what the culture considers plausible -- The gosepls record some stupendous claims Jesus makes in this gospel.

This is what the Bible means when it says you and I need to constantly renew our minds. This is why studying the Bible is so important, because it is the antidote to the constant immersion our minds already have in our culture’s belief systems, and our culture’s values.

What do you believe about God right now? About Jesus right now?
The greatest battle that goes on in the world today is for the mind.
You and I learned how to cope with life using thought patterns and behavior patterns that are not compatible with God's way
• Lots of people learned to lie to protect or promote themselves
• We refuse to face the truth so we pretend it doesn't exist – some people call this denial
• We indulge in a fantasy life because real life is unpleasant
• We withdraw from people so people won't reject us
• We regress, revert to behavior from our childhoods
• We take our frustrations out on other people,
• We blame others for our troubles
• We make excuses for ourselves

You and I have to unlearn what we learned during those years without Jesus. We have to retrain our minds, we have to renounce the lies, reprogram the way we think by renewing our minds daily with God's word. Since Satan is the father of lies, you and I have to commit to believing the truth, speaking the truth and applying the truth every chance we get -- no white lies, no manipulation, no social niceties that are intended to deceive.

Satan knows that if he can control your thoughts, he can control your life because what you think will determine what you do and say. He can insert deceptive thoughts that sound just like your own voice, so you think you're thinking your own thoughts.

The antidote to Satan's deceptions and schemes is found in disciplining yourself to take every thought to Jesus. Does that sound like work? It is. Hard work! You must take every thought because the problem with deception is that you don't know if you are being fooled, since you might already be deceived. So you ask Jesus: is this thought worthy of You? Does this thought pass muster with Your word in the Bible?

What you believe is what you'll do, what you'll say and what you'll teach

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