As a boy I wanted to play the guitar. Dad surprised me with an expensive guitar he purchased from a client. It was slightly used but a real bargain. I still remember him smiling as he shared this direct quote, “Mr. Jack I needs to get rid of this thang. We had a revival at church and I got religion. I keep trying to play church songs but the blues just natch’ly comes through so I got’s to sell her.” I was only a boy but the quote stayed with me as the years passed because I often identify with the struggle with my own shortcomings.
I would love to own a Harley. However, I haven’t driven a motorcycle in years. I probably wore out several guardian angels not having the discipline to drive slowly. I often think John Newton writing Amazing Grace added the verse; “Tis Grace that brought me safe thus far” just for me. I even walk fast today but my two legs do not have enough horsepower to get me into trouble. I really learned my lesson during one of my many mid-life crisis times (I stopped calling them mid-life because I am now 57 and don’t think I will make 114 at my pace). I bought a used Porsche. I got my first ticket four days later. My local police chief told me red sports cars were ticketed more than any other. I thanked him for the tip, after the fact! Anyway, I was on my way to an out of town conference. It was a beautiful day. I put in my driving music and hit the road. A car with a radar detector (fuzz buster as some call them) zoomed past me. I thought, “I’ll hang with you & let you run interference & we’ll enjoy the road today.” I turned up the volume, dropped the peddle and we were off. I was thoroughly enjoying weaving through traffic with my high speed ‘escort’ when I noticed buildings that seemed unusual. I had become so captivated with my enjoyable drive that I was in the wrong city (not only does time fly by when you are having fun but evidently so do exit signs), but “Man, I made great time!” God truly convicted me. So…”I got’s to sell her.” I now drive an 11 year old economy truck ("old man truck" according to my girls).
Whether it is ‘playing the blues’, which I still enjoy by the way or being undisciplined in other areas of life. Each of us has our own primary avenue that more easily leads to disaster and destruction. Usually they can be categorized in the famous triad of PRIDE (vanity), FEAR or SLOTH (we are simply too lazy to do the work to improve or better ourselves).
One does not have to look much farther than the mirror to find Robert Lewis Stevenson’s inspiration for the classic, ‘Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde’ where the good Dr. Henry Jekyll experiments with his evil curisoties until he is overcome by them. Paul, the Apostle, wrote of this in Romans 7, “I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good. As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it.”
All of us struggle with our weaknesses. Jesus tells us, in the Sermon on the Mount, “If your right eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to go into hell.” Obviously he is not advocating bodily mutilation but leaving those things that cause us trouble. This is why I don’t go down the cookie isle in the grocery store. There are Double Stuff Oreos on the shelf! I can hear them calling me!
God created us to live an abundant life (John 10:10). We cannot do so if we are slaves to the things that cause us to stumble. Jesus gives us the power to say no. Each of us knows our own primary avenue that more easily leads to disaster and destruction. To get the most joy out of your life, go ahead and give the culprit a name (confession) and realize it is time when “I gots to sell her.” (repent)and give it up. The power of the Holy Spirit can allow you to go in a different direction and really enjoy the music!
