MY WAY Most of us like it when things go our way, don’t we? The following story speaks to the downside of that desire..
On May 14, 1993, Frank Sinatra died of a heart attack at age 82. Like most of the rest of us, he was an enigma. But, maybe he was one even more so.
He could sing a tender love song in his impeccable style and make a generation swoon, but he could treat the women in his life as objects to be used only for his pleasure. He was the leader of the so-called “Rat Pack” and had ties to the mob, and yet he was the friend of presidents and was awarded the Medal of Freedom by President Reagan. He could be generous to a stranger in need, but he could also have someone savagely beaten for making fun of him in a comedy routine.
It is no wonder that the columnist John Leo once described him as “an astonishing, sensitive artist and an unusually crude, violent jerk.”
Why was he this way? Perhaps a line in his signature song explains it best. He sang, “I did it my way.”
I think people are singing the same song today. The sentiment may sound good to us, but it just doesn’t work.
Look around. Many are doing whatever they wish, whenever they wish, and with/to whomever they wish. Consider the results. Anarchy! Violence! Disregard for the rights of others! Moral depravity! And, the list goes on.
The sad thing is that people are trying the same approach to religion. I am here to say that the religion of Christ must be done His way and not our way. It is not like eating at a smorgasbord. We are not free to pick and choose, set our own parameters, and follow our own course.
A couple of Scriptures come readily to mind. “O Lord, I know the way of man is not in himself; it is not in man who walks to direct his own steps” (Jeremiah 10:23). “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of my Father in heaven” (Matthew 7:21).
Frank’s way may be popular, but God’s way is safe and sure and will lead us to heaven! Going forward on our journey, let’s be sure to do it His way.
On May 14, 1993, Frank Sinatra died of a heart attack at age 82. Like most of the rest of us, he was an enigma. But, maybe he was one even more so.
He could sing a tender love song in his impeccable style and make a generation swoon, but he could treat the women in his life as objects to be used only for his pleasure. He was the leader of the so-called “Rat Pack” and had ties to the mob, and yet he was the friend of presidents and was awarded the Medal of Freedom by President Reagan. He could be generous to a stranger in need, but he could also have someone savagely beaten for making fun of him in a comedy routine.
It is no wonder that the columnist John Leo once described him as “an astonishing, sensitive artist and an unusually crude, violent jerk.”
Why was he this way? Perhaps a line in his signature song explains it best. He sang, “I did it my way.”
I think people are singing the same song today. The sentiment may sound good to us, but it just doesn’t work.
Look around. Many are doing whatever they wish, whenever they wish, and with/to whomever they wish. Consider the results. Anarchy! Violence! Disregard for the rights of others! Moral depravity! And, the list goes on.
The sad thing is that people are trying the same approach to religion. I am here to say that the religion of Christ must be done His way and not our way. It is not like eating at a smorgasbord. We are not free to pick and choose, set our own parameters, and follow our own course.
A couple of Scriptures come readily to mind. “O Lord, I know the way of man is not in himself; it is not in man who walks to direct his own steps” (Jeremiah 10:23). “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of my Father in heaven” (Matthew 7:21).
Frank’s way may be popular, but God’s way is safe and sure and will lead us to heaven! Going forward on our journey, let’s be sure to do it His way.
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