Do it my way?

Dear Friends,
Apparently, ‘I did it my way’ by Frank Sinatra is one of the most popular songs chosen for funerals, according to a recent survey. Well, yes, it’s happened on a number of the funerals I’ve conducted, but I do wish that those who choose it in memory of a loved one, would check all the lyrics first!

‘Do it my way and you’ll never regret it’, I wonder how many in business or politics and so on, have been caught in this particular web. I wonder how many traps for the unwary have been sprung by this offer or that. ‘What’s in it for me? ‘What do I get out of it?’. Well possibly hefty profits, fame, honours. We are now in the season of Lent in the Church calendar and quite often, though not always, those who lead worship begin the season by looking at the temptations Jesus faced in the wilderness. Although, Lucy, I’m not a mind-reader, you may choose not to, and lead us in another appropriate way.

The devil came to Jesus and said to him, ‘If you are the son of God command these stones to become loaves of bread’ – do it my way!

‘If you are the son of God, throw yourself down, he will give his angels charge over you lest you strike your foot’ – do it my way!

But Jesus didn’t ask ‘What’s in it for me then?’, or ‘What do I get out of it?’ He knew what was required of him, and the call to ‘do it my way’ fell on deaf ears. God’s way was for him the only way, however difficult it might be, and so it should be for us his followers today’ However, let’s be fully aware that the same sort of temptations can still confront us, in our relationships, our work, our politics, our leisure interests and so on. Yes, sometimes decisions can be very difficult to make. Could I live with my conscience if I follow the path that seems to be such a pleasant one to follow?

‘I did it my way’ is not the song for those who’ve committed their lives to God’s Son as their Lord and Saviour and are trying to follow him in whatever situation they find themselves. Remember he was content to do God’s will and seek only God’s glory.

David Netherwood