Jesus is for Losers: A Gospel for the Stiff-Necked

After the sharp rebuke of "Smug," Steve Taylor brings Squint to its emotional and theological center with "Jesus is for Losers."

The self-assured mask falls away. The posing stops. What remains is the simple, unsettling truth that the gospel is not for winners, not for the polished or the proud. It is for the broken.

"Jesus is for Losers" opens with a confession.

Taylor does not point the finger outward here. Instead, he looks inward, questioning his own motives. Was his pursuit of noble ideals really about something higher, or was it driven by self-interest? When did the vision become corrupted, when was it sold? These questions are uncomfortable because they are honest. They reveal the slow, unnoticed drift of the human heart away from grace and toward self-reliance.

The chorus strikes at the core:

"Just as I am, I am stiff-necked and proud."

It is a direct reference to the classic hymn "Just As I Am," often associated with moments of surrender in evangelical tradition. Taylor twists the phrase gently but powerfully. Instead of coming humbly, he admits to coming stiff-necked and proud, still trying to impress a crowd that cannot save him. His compass is off by a hundred degrees. His heart is misaligned, even while he sings the right words.

Even in the middle of this confession, Taylor refuses to leave the listener in despair.

In a brief but important bridge, he sings of God's love tugging him along, dragging him forward when he would otherwise fall back. It is not his own strength that keeps him moving. It is grace at work, undeserved and unstoppable. "Your love makes me strong" is the quiet answer to all the failures the song names.

The later verses deepen the imagery.

Taylor describes himself as bone-weary from every climb, blindsided at every turn, dry and desperate in a desert crawl. The proud mask has been stripped away completely. He admits his thirst without shame. The plea is simple: "Lord, I’m so thirsty, take me to the waterfall." It is an image of sheer dependence, of a soul that has nothing left to offer except its need.

Near the end, the song opens outward.

Taylor is no longer only speaking for himself. "Just as you are, just a wretch like me" makes the invitation universal. The gospel is not for the strong, the smart, or the successful. It is for all who are broken at the foot of the cross, where grace flows not because of what we deserve but because of what Christ has done.

Musically, the song is slower and more reflective than the earlier tracks.

The melody carries a wounded quality, almost like a prayer that has run out of polished words. The arrangement leaves space for the lyrics to breathe, which gives the song a sense of vulnerability that matches its message.

Theologically, "Jesus is for Losers" could hardly be more central to the Christian faith.

The kingdom of God is for the poor in spirit, not the self-sufficient. Grace is for those who know they cannot earn it. Salvation is not a reward for the strong but a rescue for the weak. Taylor names what so many prefer to hide. In doing so, he invites the listener to stop pretending, to stop posing, and to fall into the arms of a Savior who knows exactly what kind of people we are.

Placed after "Smug," this song deepens Squint's trajectory.

Where "Smug" exposed the disease of pride, "Jesus is for Losers" points toward the cure. Honest confession is the only road to healing. Taylor does not soften the blow, but he also does not leave us in despair. Grace meets us precisely where we finally admit we need it.

The next track, "The Finish Line," will extend this movement even further, offering a vision of perseverance, hope, and the final rest that awaits those who lose their lives to find them.

This post is part of my series walking through Steve Taylor’s album “Squint.” An album that still speaks to the absurdities of our culture contrasted by the grace being offered us.