You know the song about the guy standing on a corner in Winslow, Arizonza, right? I stood on that corner once. No girl in a flatbed Ford, though.
C’mon baby, don’t say maybe, I gotta know if your sweet love is gonna save me. — The Eagles
Rolla May, psychologist and author of a number of books including Love and Will and Power and Innocence, wrote that throughout history men have harbored the idea that a beautiful woman will be their salvation.
They all didn’t understand the thought of that social philosopher from the early 60s, Jimmy Soul, who sang, “Never make a pretty woman your wife…she does things that causes his downfall.”
Think of the things you think will save you.
Everything will be alright if I can just get seven figures in my bank account, or if I just had that house in that neighborhood, or if I just had that car, or if I could have had that guy (or girl).
This isn’t new thinking.
More than 4,000 years ago a guy named Abraham had conversations with God. It wasn’t belief–he continued doing things that revealed a lack of complete trust in God. But he had those conversations where God spoke and he spoke back. It didn’t seem to surprise him that this special god spoke with him.
But he’d slip into these moments when he thought his own ingenuity would save him rather than dependence upon God.
Think of all the other heroes in the Bible–Adam, Samson, David, Solomon, King Saul–who failed at crucial times.
Is it time for a gut check? What thing or person have you been focusing on for salvation? Time for a change in focus?
July 6, 2017 at 8:14 am |
You ask some tough questions, Gary! Once again, your blog has got me thinking about things and asking questions of myself. Thanks.