By the seat of your pants

Hey Everyone,

I’ve been listening to “The Guitar Song” a new double album by Jamey Johnson. It is really good on many levels. The first song on the second disc is called: By the seat of your pants. The words, at least to me, are a reflection of how covenant life works:

He said ‘crickets catch more brim but worms ull get more bass And it really ain’t those brand new shoes that make you run so fast He said, ‘you better finish buddy, even if it’s last; Life has a way of teaching us these things’

He said, ‘sometimes hunting ain’t all about the kill Sometimes that woman of your dreams can be a little bit too real Sometimes you’ve gotta go to work no matter how you feel; Life has a way of teaching us these things’
He said,’this hurts me more than it hurts you but it’s the only way to find the truth You see life ain’t no rehearsal boy, you only get one chance; You’ll learn that by the seat of your pants.’

Whether Jamey Johnson knows it or not those things are simply a restatement of the words of Paul from 1 Corinthians (I think it’s in chapters 8 and 10 or 6 and 9 maybe it’s 6 and 10; I can’t remember) where he says: All things are permitted but not all things are profitable. Most of the translations have turned the truth into a lie by rendering that verse ‘all things are lawful but not all things are profitable’. That statement is a complete lie. All things are not lawful. Murder is never lawful, theft is never lawful, adultery is never lawful but because we want all things to be lawful there has been no outcry that so called bible scholars have massacred the word of God with good intentions and bad theology.

Perhaps we are more uncomfortable with the truthful concept that all things are permitted. It is a scary thought especially from the comfort of our sovereignty of God cocoons that protect us from doing anything except what God has planned. But scripture is clear: You can do anything you want to do BUT there will be consequences. Consequences are the way that God made the world, even before we mutinied. God gave us the freedom (from our perspective) to jump ship any time we wanted but he made it clear: You will die. There will be consequences. You’ve got enough rope to hang yourself if you want to. And so we put the noose over our heads.

The ability to learn to avoid bad consequences is an act of grace. It may not be saving grace; even mobsters try to avoid actions that lead to bad consequences. Saving grace is learning not just to avoid bad consequences; it is learning to walk where things produce good consequences or learning to walk where things are profitable from a covenantal perspective.

Learning to walk the path of life and run the race until you finish takes a lot of work. It is graceful work that comes as a result of the graceful application of the lawful work of Christ, but it is still work, the hard painful work of grace applied to brokenness. Grace makes consequences profitable. It makes all things work to the good (the word translated to the good can also mean: to the upright). What that tells me is that the work of grace works everything toward righteousness. Grace causes you to want to abide in the path of life more and more.

Now the truth of the matter is that many of us are just plain stubborn. Even if we are in Christ Jesus we go kicking and screaming toward righteousness as if it were death while spending most of our time getting cuddly with death as if it were the best thing since sliced bread. That is why God set up life with consequences.

You see when your cuddliness turns to enough heartache then maybe the pain of grace will open your eyes to changing your behavior. Maybe when you get sick and tired of bill collectors calling and threatening you, you will learn to go to work 6 days a week like you’re commanded instead of when you feel like it.

Maybe. The truth is grace calls everybody but few take heed. We get all theological with that verse and say many are called but few are chosen but the reality is it is just as scriptural to say many are called and those that want to change. You can make it repent if you prefer. The scripture is clear that anybody that wants to can be changed but when push comes to shove or the rubber hits the road very few, both in the church and out, want to change. If you want that in religious words you can once again substitute repent for change.

Why is it that we kick against the goads so badly when it comes to giving up the things that are destroying us? Why do we want Jesus to save us from the easy stuff but the minute grace becomes difficult we turn in to Amy Winehouse and say: they try to make me go to rehab but I say no, no, no.

What is it about the path of life that scares hell into us?

If you figure that out let me know will ya?

Grace and peace,
Brad