“Seek Yahweh while He may be found. Call upon Him while He is near. Let the wicked forsake his way and the unrighteous man his thoughts and let him return to Yahweh, and He will have compassion on him. Turn to our Elohim, for He will abundantly pardon.”
Isaiah 55: 6-7
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Yahweh Holds Us to the Things We Say Even in Jest
Disney+ is streaming a new series titled “The Beatles: Get Back”. I haven’t seen it and don’t plan to watch it, but since I see ads for it so often, it got me thinking. At what point did The Beatles decide to sing music from their hearts, and by the time they decided to sing from their hearts, were their hearts corrupted beyond repair?
Those are not simple questions. They get to the heart of the matter. I’ll explain.
At first, The Beatles sang songs to get noticed. They wanted to be rich and famous, so they sang songs that they thought would be popular with the masses. They succeeded beyond their wildest dreams. In 1966 during their heyday, John Lennon famously said that The Beatles were “more popular than Jesus”. That statement created a furious backlash, and as far as I know, no one with The Beatles ever made a mistake like that again.
You can’t unring the bell, though. Once spoken, words take on a life of their own. John Lennon was speaking from the heart. He told the world exactly what he was thinking. In his mind, The Beatles were not just a cut above the rest. They had reached the pinnacle of success. In Lennon’s mind, The Beatles had become the best of all time. They were so special that the rules didn’t apply to them. They could say and do anything they wanted with impunity, and they did.
Was Lennon speaking for himself or for the band? I don’t know, but not long after that statement, The Beatles fell apart. Like all relationships, The Beatles didn’t come unglued in a day. The band’s official breakup didn’t occur until 1970, but the seeds for its destruction were sown much earlier than that, maybe in 1966 when Lennon thought The Beatles had it all.
I wondered at the time if Lennon and others in the band knowingly made a deal with the Devil, a Faustian bargain as it were. Did they trade their souls for success, adoration, money, power, and the things that come with them? I don’t know the answer, but they do. Others have made that mistake, and they will suffer for it eternally.
Katy Perry said that she started out singing gospel music, but she didn’t obtain the acclaim she desired. Thus, she “sold her soul to the Devil”. Those are her words, not mine. You can listen to her saying it by clicking here.
I am positive that Perry is not alone. Did Lennon make that mistake, too? Again, I don’t know the answer, but it wouldn’t surprise me if he did.
In Matthew 16: 26, the Messiah asked these questions:
“For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?
In Matthew 16: 27, the Messiah answered those questions and gave us a warning:
“For the Son of Man will come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and then He will reward each according to his works.”
People who trade their souls to the Devil will get exactly what they deserve. Don’t make that mistake. All the money in the world can’t buy a drop of water in hell. The decisions we make on Earth will determine where we spend eternity. I’m sure Satan laughs when he thinks about how little it cost him to fill his domain.
Life is fleeting. Make the most of it, but never forget Whose you are. Don’t trade your relationship with Yahweh for anything.
Esau made that mistake. He traded his birthright which included being in the Messiah’s lineage for a bowl of soup. I’m positive that Esau wasn’t serious when he made that deal, but Yahweh held him to it and hated him for it:
“I have loved you,” says Yahweh. “Yet you say, ‘In what way have You loved us?’ Was not Esau Jacob’s brother?” says Yahweh. “Yet Jacob I have loved; but Esau I have hated, and laid waste his mountains and his heritage for the jackals of the wilderness.” (Malachi 1: 2-3)
Yahweh holds us to the things we say even in jest. Don’t forget it.
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“I am the good shepherd. I know My sheep and My sheep know Me — just as the Father knows Me and I know the Father — and I lay down My life for the sheep. I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also. They too will listen to My voice, and there shall be one flock and one Shepherd. The reason My Father loves Me is that I lay down My life — only to take it up again. No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down of My own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from My Father.”
John 10: 14-18
