Bible Reading: Genesis 4:1-7
If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must master it. Genesis 4:7, NIV
SOMETIMES A HIT song becomes so identified with a singer, it becomes that person’s “theme song.” For example, Elvis Presley had a lot of hits, but “Hound Dog” is probably the song most strongly identified with him.
A generation or two ago, “Thanks for the Memories” was Bob Hope’s theme song, and “R-E-S-P-E-C-T” has always been Aretha Franklin’s song. These days, Boyz II Men are associated with “Motown Philly” more than any other single song. And say the name Sheryl Crow, and most people will think of the song, “All I Wanna Do.”
The song “El Shaddai” is pretty much associated with Amy Grant, who made it a hit. “Awesome God” will always be Rich Mullins’s signature song, and “Friends” has become Michael W. Smith’s theme song.
Well, one of the most famous singers of all time, Frank Sinatra, had a hit song called “My Way.” Even though he’d had many hits before that, “My Way” became his unofficial theme song, maybe because it summed up Sinatra’s life: “I did it my way!”
Actually, though, “My Way” could be almost anyone’s theme song. We all want to have things our own way and do things our own way. None of us likes taking orders from someone else. We’d rather do it “my way”!
Of course, that’s the attitude that got Cain in trouble, way back in Bible times. He wanted to worship God his own way. Then, when Cain got mad because God accepted the sacrifice of his brother, Abel, and not his, God said, “If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door” (Genesis 4:7, NIV). But even then, Cain refused to listen to God and obey him; he wanted to vent his anger his own way—by killing poor Abel!
Of course, it’s easy to see how foolish Cain was for wanting everything his own way. But we do the same thing. When we make wrong choices, it’s usually not because we didn’t know which way was right; it’s usually because we wanted to do things our own way instead of God’s way.
“My Way” may have been a hit song for Frank Sinatra, but it’s not a very good theme song for a Christian’s life.
REFLECT: Think back on a wrong choice you’ve made. Did you make the wrong choice because you didn’t know which way was right or because you wanted to do things your own way? Why? Does doing things your way instead of God’s way have bad results? Why or why not? Whose way do you want to follow from now on: your own way or God’s way?
PRAY: “Lord, I know you’ve shown me the right way, but sometimes I choose to go my own way, even when I know it’s wrong. Please help me to follow your way from now on, especially when I’m tempted to___________.”
