Recently, we talked with Zack Zegan, lead singer of the Lancaster, Calif., band Dizmas about living faithfully in a world full of tension. Not-so-coincidentally, Tension is the name of the band’s latest album. Zack had a lot to say about faith, hope and love.
Breakaway: Sometimes when we’re dealing with a trial or disappointment in our lives, we begin to have nagging doubts about our faith—especially if we think that becoming a Christian was supposed to make everything better. We can think, Hey, wait a minute! Why do I still have these struggles and doubts and temptations? What would you say to guys wrestling with these issues?
Zack: There’s a little phrase that I’ve come up with. It’s kind of a paraphrase of what I’ve heard a bunch of other godly men say in my life. Here it is: Misunderstanding can and should be the beginning of faith.
I once heard a buddy talk about it this way. A silversmith melts down silver to purify it. He melts down the silver, and all the impurities float to the top. Then he pulls out all the impurities. The way that the silversmith knows the silver is pure is that he sees his reflection in it.
My buddy and I were talking and realized, Hey, that’s just how Christ works in our lives, isn’t it? He melts us down to where we’re like, “This hurts! I don’t want to do this!” But the whole process means that at the end, Christ can see His reflection in us. That, ultimately, reflects the glory of God in our lives.
On the song “Playing It Safe,” which is the first single from Tension, a line says, “Faith prevails where belief fails.” A lot of people might use faith and belief interchangeably. But you obviously think they mean something different in the context of this song. Can you tell us more about that?
Zack: You can walk around in any average church or even on the street, and if you ask somebody if they believe in God, they’ll be like, “Yeah, of course I believe in Him.” OK, then let me ask you another question: Are you willing to have faith in Him regardless of what happens to your life? Would you be faithful enough to live and still believe in Him even though it hurts? That’s kind of what those lines mean. That kind of faith is more than just intellectual assent to the idea that God exists.
On the song “Jealousy Hurts,” you sing, “We don’t love like we should.” Could you flesh out that idea?
Zack: I’ve found that my definition of love from an earthly, logic-based point of view is that if I love someone, I would make much of her and focus on making her feel good about herself. But when I read the Bible, God’s definition of love is that we would focus on God in other people’s lives. So that’s what I mean when I sing, “We don’t love like we should.” If life is all about people, then of course we’re going to love them and lift them up. But it’s not. Love is all about God and the glory of His kingdom and who He is. God’s definition of love is not that we focus so much on each other, but that we make much of Him in each others’ lives. And sometimes that’s hard. There’s tension in that.
Do you have any other messages for Breakaway’s teen guys to consider and wrestle with?
Zack: A lot of the tensions we talk about are tough to deal with in life. When you really dig in to hard stuff, it’s like, “Oh my gosh, this is heavy! This hurts!” One thing I’ve learned through writing this record is the importance of honesty. So I’d say, be completely open and honest about what God is doing in your life and how you feel. If it hurts, be honest about it. I think if we’re honest with ourselves and others, that’s one of the first steps of getting through these tensions and moving on in a godly manner toward righteousness. 
READ MORE FROM DIZMAS IN BREAKAWAY’S JANUARY 2008 PRINT EDITION.
