December 05, 2010
My Way
Frank Sinatra recorded a hit single called My Way, and he wasn't quoting Jesus Christ, who identified Himself as The Way. The lyrics depict a man nearing death. In a moment of reflection he boasts how he navigated life on his terms. No regrets. No remorse. No repentance.
For what is a man, what has he got?
If not himself, then he has naught
To say the things he truly feels and not the words of one who kneels
The record shows I took the blows and did it my way.
My Way is the anthem of pride and rebellion. Christ offers a better way – dying to self so we might live through Him – but most reject it. Even the Israelites spurned God to go their own way. In the Old Testament book of Jeremiah, the LORD punishes His covenant people for their open rebellion. He complains to the prophet, "They have not been humbled, to this day, nor have they feared; they have not walked in My Torah or in My statutes." What was one of their chief offenses? Worshipping the queen of heaven, also known as the fertility goddess Ishtar or Easter. The Israelites rebuke Jeremiah for calling out their sin: "We will not listen to you! But we will certainly do whatever has gone out of our own mouth." Sinatra provides the soundtrack:
I've loved, I've laughed and cried
I've had my fill, my share of losing
And now, as tears subside, I find it all so amusing
To think I did all that
And may I say, not in a shy way,
"Oh, no, oh, no, not me, I did it my way"
In His mercy, God gives man free will. We can go our way or His way. One road leads to death, the other life. As Christians we need to look in the mirror and ask tough questions. Which way are we going? How many of us, by our actions, are saying to God, "We will not listen to you!" Do we honor Him by observing the birth, death and resurrection of His Son on pagan holidays? Is it OK to replace Passover with Easter, the idol that ensnared the Israelites? Whose kingdom are we trying to build, ours or His?
Addendum – Dave Daubenmire has similar concerns. He says American Christians have deceived themselves. Here are excerpts from his online post How Great Is That Darkness:
The American Experience is in trouble because those who claim to be followers of Jesus really don't follow Him . . . . Christianity is the life of Jesus living through you. It is an exchange of your life for His, a living out of His nature instead of yours, a "putting on" on the life of Jesus, not a process where you "accept" Him, or "receive" Him, or "come" to Him. It is a death process, a dying of you and your old nature . . . . Everyone wants to "follow Jesus" until they find out where He is going. He is heading to a Cross and He asks you to take yours and follow Him . . . . Most church-goers are not followers of Jesus. They are merely members of a social club called "Christianity." How do you heal someone who doesn't know he is sick? How do you save someone who doesn't think he is lost?
Addendum – Brannon Howse is warning Christians not to be yoked spiritually with TV and radio host Glenn Beck (left), who promotes New Age Mormonism and universalism in his new book "Seven Wonders That Will Change Your Life." Howse writes that Beck is a committed and knowledgeable Mormon, and does not believe in hell, original sin or that Jesus is the only way. Beck admits on page 56 that he read Helen Schucman's New Age book "A Course in Miracles." Schucman, an atheist, claims the book was channeled to her by an "inner source." Read Howse's review of Beck's book here.