Growing up in faith: The moral of Taylor Swift’s ‘Peter’
Every year since 2019, Taylor Swift has released or re-released one or more studio albums, including last week’s addition, “The Tortured Poets Department: The Anthology.” This 31-track album is a combination of disappointing, throw-away songwriting and messages that will outlast any mention of the singer, specifically in the track called “Peter.”
Initially, I heard this song thinking that it was some sort of callback to Taylor Swift’s “Betty” from 2020. Later, after listening to its repetitive chorus a number of times, I assumed her influence was Ruth B’s “Lost Boy” from 2015, given the fact that the two reference one who seems to be Peter Pan and the sadness-stricken hope of remaining forever young.
But then, I heard the pleading of the chorus rather than waiting for the next verse, and something seemed different.
“(You) said you were gonna grow up / Then you were gonna come find me / Words from the mouths of babes / Promises oceans deep / But never to keep.”
I remember Matthew 14:28-33, when Jesus commanded Peter to step out on to the stormy sea after the disciple tested Jesus by saying, “Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on to the water.” Peter began walking on the water toward him, but looked away to the fierce winds and became fearful. Then as he began to drown, he screamed, “Lord, save me.” So Jesus drew up his servant, saying “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?” Peter would respond along with the rest of the disciples saying, “Truly you are the son of God.”
Later, in Luke 22:34, it is written, “Jesus said, ‘I tell you, Peter, the rooster will not crow this day, until you deny three times that you know me.’” This came just after Peter promised his commitment to Jesus until death. He then denied Jesus three times before the rooster crowed. After Peter remembered the prophecy concerning his betrayal, Luke 22:62 states, “And he went out and wept bitterly.”
Peter’s unfaithfulness after being shown the power of Jesus is a testament to the ever-present temptation to look to the harsh winds of life even when Jesus calls us to himself.
I do not know what Taylor Swift’s “Peter” was written about, and in truth, I am not concerned with its true meaning or purpose. But in its chorus, I can imagine Jesus thinking about Peter’s promise to find him, to keep his faith and witness to others the things that Jesus showed him. In the same way, we 21st-century believers commit to “growing up” in the faith, following Jesus more closely all the time, pledging to “find” Jesus just as he seeks us out. But often our faltering words of commitment are simply “words from the mouths of babes,” far too fickle on our own to trust Jesus when the storm surrounds us.
“When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I gave up childish ways” (1 Corinthians 13:11).
We are not meant to live as Peter, the child from Neverland — never growing up, never diving deeper into the faith that has sustained us and made us new. Let us only empathize with the disciple Peter’s fear of full allegiance to Jesus and not follow in denying the Lord even in times when our heavenly association leads to a painful sentence. If our faith acknowledges what Christ has done, then we cannot remain infantile. To love Christ is to keep his commands, and his commands call us out of childishness and into the adventure of adulthood.
Kilker is the opinion editor for the Liberty Champion