I Won’t Do It My Way

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 showsI took the blows

And did it my way

Not long ago, I attended a funeral and one of the songs was Frank Sinatra’s “My Way”. However, as the soloist belted out this classic loved by many, I listened keenly to the lyrics as he sang “For what is a man, what has he got? If not himself, then he has naught.” This is a beautiful song, but the lyrics above are not God’s truth. The truth is if we don’t have Jesus, we have nothing. I want to add here also that it is not just secular songs that have lyrics that are not aligned with the Word of God, but also some popular Christian songs are not scripturally correct. Therefore, we should always be careful of what we are listening to because then we will find that we are doing things our way thinking that our good works will bring us closer to God and take us to Heaven.

For not knowing about God’s righteousness and seeking to establish their own, they did not subject themselves to the righteousness of God. For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes. Romans 10:3-4

There are many of us who are making our own rules and doing what is right in our own eyes which may be very wrong in God’s eyes.  But we are no different from the Israelites when they had no king and they decided to do things their way. They forgot that God had given Moses laws for them and how He had kept their ancestors in the wilderness. However, their forefathers’ disobedience kept a generation out of the Promised Land. They left the ways of the God who is above all other gods to do what they felt was right.

In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes. Judges 21:25

They were of course wrong in doing this and they had to face the consequences when they sinned and turned to other gods. However, not seeking God in decision making was nothing new. Many decades before Joshua who should have known better did not seek God and fell in the trap of the Gibeonite deception. The Gibeonites heard of the Israelites victory over Jericho and Ai, hence they were understandably scared. Therefore, they set out to hoodwink the Israelites into believing they were travelling from a distant land to make a covenant with them when in fact they were from one of the areas in the vicinity where God had instructed Joshua to destroy. But He failed to consult the Lord and so made a pact with impostors.

So the men of Israel took some of their provisions, and did not ask for the counsel of the Lord. Joshua made peace with them and made a covenant with them, to let them live; and the leaders of the congregation swore an oath to them. Joshua 9:14-15

Joshua and the men of Israel did things their own way and not long after that had to defend the Gibeonites against their attackers. But God being ever merciful gave Israel victory over five kings when He made the sun stand still.  And as the sun stood still, we should stand still and seek the counsel for the Lord then wait for Him to answer and not try to control whatever situation that we are in by making moves which are not ordained by God. If we try to make our own plans without involving God, they could come to naught.

Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, and spend a year there and engage in business and make a profit.” Yet you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow. You are just a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away. Instead, you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and also do this or that.” But as it is, you boast in your arrogance; all such boasting is evil. Therefore, to one who knows the right thing to do and does not do it, to him it is sin. James 4:13-17

The right thing to do is to follow God’s plan and do it His way. It doesn’t matter what other people may think and it is not about our reputation. So, I have made the decision that I won’t do it my way as I have learned from experience that I move away from God’s protection and blessings when I take matters in my own hands. But even when I stumble while carrying out His plans, I won’t fall because He upholds me. Therefore, I want to do it God’s way or no way at all.