Josh Wilson: Striving To Be “Revolutionary” in Kindness

Since signing his first record deal with Sparrow in 2006, Josh Wilson has become a staple on radio, amassing multiple Top 10 hits on Billboard’s Hot Christian Songs chart, including “Savior, Please,” “I Refuse,” “Fall Apart,” “Carry Me,” “Before the Morning,” and “That Was Then, This Is Now.” His latest single “Revolutionary” (smart link) is making a steady climb as well.

He sat down and wrote a message to fans and readers about what it meant to him.
Here is Josh, in his own words about the track:

I wrote “Revolutionary” in October of last year, not knowing anything about what 2020 held. I never could have imagined that this year would bring both a worldwide pandemic and the racial tipping point we’ve experienced because of the murder of George Floyd and so many others.

All that I knew is that in the USA, 2020 was already set to be a divisive and polarizing year due to the upcoming presidential election. When I sat down with my friends James Tealy and Steve Fee to write these lyrics, we wondered if we could pen something that would inject a little bit of hope into the political situation we’d all be facing in the coming months. 

It seems natural, almost effortless, to focus on our differences with others rather than our similarities. Drawing attention to those differences keeps us glued to the news and social media because of the moral outrage we feel towards the “other.” I think there’s a better way though, and that’s the way of empathy and understanding, the way of kindness.

We started with the lines, “maybe you’re not like me, maybe we don’t agree, maybe that doesn’t mean we’ve got to be enemies.”

No matter what side of the political spectrum we’re on, deep down I know that we are not as different as we are led to believe. There is peace to be made, there are names to be learned, meals to be had, chasms to be crossed, and it all starts with kindness.

I didn’t intentionally write “Revolutionary” for the pandemic and for this specific moment of racial tension and reconciliation, but I’m so glad this is the song I get to sing during this time. As I listen to, learn from, and come alongside my brothers and sisters of color, my prayer is that I will proceed with courage, compassion, and kindness.  

I’m reminded of the words of the late Fred Rogers, who says “When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, ‘Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.’”

I want to be a helper. I want to strive for revolutionary kindness in each and every situation. I want to ask the question, “What would Jesus do?” And I want to remember that the answer is always, “He would love first.”