for KING & COUNTRY – Fix My Eyes

For King & Country (stylized as for KING & COUNTRY) consists mainly of two blood brothers: Joel and Luke Smallbone.  They were formerly known as Austoville and Joel & Luke before settling on their current name.

They released seven albums and three EP’s under for KING & COUNTRY:

• For King & Country: The EP (2011)
• Crave (2012)
• Hope Is What We Crave: Live (2013)
• Into the Silent Night: The EP (2013)
• Run Wild. Live Free. Love Strong. (2014)
• The Live Room Sessions at RCA Studio A (2015) (EP)
• Christmas: Live from Phoenix (2017)
• Burn the Ships (2018)
• A Drummer Boy Christmas (2020)
• What Are We Waiting For? (2022)

for KING & COUNTRY received four Grammy’s, thirteen Dove’s, and one Billboard Award, including New Artist of the Year (2013), Best Contemporary Christian Music Album (2015 and 2020), and Contemporary Christian Artist of the Year (2015 and 2016).

Also, check out my reviews of Joy, God Only Knows, and Burn The Ships.

Throughout this review, I will refer to this artist as “4K&C”.

Lyrics can be found at https://genius.com/For-king-and-country-fix-my-eyes-lyrics.

Note to new users: This is a different kind of review site!  Read About the Berean Test and Evaluation Criteria prior to reading this review.

1. What message does the song communicate?

4K&C, in a roundabout way, repents of their previous transgressions.  They offer wise advice to their audience in the form of redoing their life.  This includes:

• Fearless love for others
• Generous giving to those who don’t deserve it
• Spend time with family
• Defend those who cannot defend themselves
• Proclaim freedom
• Receive faith amid turmoil
• Stand up for your convictions
• Fix your eyes on “You”
• Live consistently
• The earthly pale in comparison to “You”

Who is “You”? “fixing our eyes on Jesus” is a well-known phrase in Christian circles.  My test for this sort of thing is, “If I didn’t know anything about this song or artist and heard it at Wal-Mart, what would I think it was about?”  In this case, “fix my eyes on You” would be a clear nod to Jesus.  Also, Bridge borrows from part of Helen Howarth Lemmel’s hymn Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus, which some Christians will recognize.  These clarify “You” as Jesus.

Score: 10/10

2. How much of the lyrics line up with Scripture?

The whole thing is Scriptural.

[Verse 1]

Lines 1-6: 4K&C contemplates going back in time and making different choices than the mistakes they made.  Chorus lists said choices.

[Chorus]

Line 1: 4K&C is not afraid to show love to others.  This is consistent with Jesus’ second commandment in Matthew 22:39, Mark 12:31, and Luke 10:27, which He quotes from Leviticus 19:18.

Line 2: This concept of unfair giving is cemented in Matthew 5:38-48.  Jesus gives us several examples of giving while we’re wronged including:

• Extra stuff when losing a lawsuit
• Going the extra mile when forced to go one
• Avoiding retaliation
• Praying for and loving our enemies

Lines 3 and 4: See commentary on line 1.

Line 5: Borrows from Psalm 82:3.

Line 6: That is, freedom in Christ (Psalm 119:45, Isaiah 58:6, Isaiah 61:1, John 3:16-21, John 8:31-36, John 10:10, Acts 13:38-39, Romans 6:1-23, Romans 8:1-4, Romans 8:20-21, 1 Corinthians 6:12, 1 Corinthians 7:21-23, 2 Corinthians 3:17, Galatians 2:4, Galatians 3:13, Galatians 3:22, Galatians 5:1, Galatians 5:13, Colossians 1:21-23, Hebrews 2:14-15, and 1 Peter 2:16).

Line 7: Trials and tribulation stretch our faith (Psalm 66:8-12, Acts 14:22, Romans 5:3-5, James 1:2-4, and 1 Peter 1:5-9).  Some people find faith amid such turmoil.

Line 8: That is, stand firm in the faith (1 Corinthians 16:13).

Line 9: Directly quotes from Hebrews 12:2 (NIV) with the understanding that “You” is Jesus.

[Verse 2]

Lines 1-6: 4K&C have a general sense of right and wrong, but the road that leads to life (Matthew 7:14) is narrow for a reason: it is the more difficult path to take.

[Bridge]

Lines 1-3 4K&C stops focusing their our problems, worries, and concerns.  They are counted as loss compared to knowing Christ (Philippians 3:8).

Side Note: Lines 1 and 2 are borrowed from Helen Howarth Lemmel’s hymn Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus.

Lines 4-6: Essentially repeats Chorus, line 9.

Score: 10/10

3. How would an outsider interpret the song?

Unbelievers will think it’s religious based on Bridge, specifically, the words “glory” and “Heaven”.  Unless they happen to be familiar with “fixing our eyes on Jesus” or the hymn Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus, it’s difficult to know if they will think this song is Christian based solely on the lyrics.  However, they will likely interpret this song as a collection of advice by 4K&C which the world would agree with.

Score: 8/10

4. What does this song glorify?

It glorifies Jesus as the object of 4K&C’s affection, alongside Biblical wisdom offered to those who listen.

Score: 10/10

Closing Comments

for KING & COUNTRY’s Fix My Eyes is great.  It is a litany of wisdom learned through making mistakes.  We should spend more time with our family, love well, give generously, and above all, focus intently on Jesus, to whom such things glorify.  Unbelievers will draw similar conclusions for the most part, though the specific identity of “You” is potentially hazy.  Yet, if they do what is stated, they will be better people for it.

This song is inspirational, but not appropriate for corporate worship.

Final Score: 9.5/10

Artist Info

Track: Fix My Eyes (listen to the song)

Artist: for KING & COUNTRY

Album: RUN WILD. LIVE FREE. LOVE STRONG.

Genre: Pop

Release Year: 2014

Duration: 3:36

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