Chasen' Every Wind

Saturday morning, I was driving down 13^th Street toward downtown DC, listening to the local Christian radio station.  A recent Toby Mac song came on titled “That’s Me Without You”.  I’m not a huge Toby Mac fan, but this particular song has a very catchy refrain. I’ve listened to it many times this summer and the lyrics brought to mind events of the past week.

Last week, a community of which my family is a part had members who made some inappropriate, immoral choices.  The behavior was dealt with by those in leadership.  Then the incident was discovered by the news, and the media descended.  I could not help but be saddened by the behavior and also to feel heartbroken for those involved.  While I’m sure they will recover, their lives will be forever changed due to their actions. 

In the song, Toby sings the following refrain to our Lord:

“Where would I be without you?”

“I’d be packing my bags when I need to stay,

“I’d be chasen’ every breeze that blows my way

“I’d be building my kingdom just to see it fade away

“It’s true

“That’s me without you.”

Although I’ve listened to this song dozens of times this summer, the lyrics came alive in the car. Were this young people “chasen’'” every breeze that blows their way” as they made the inappropriate choices? What could possibly have caused the individuals referenced above to make the decisions they did?  They definitely were only thinking of their own wants at the moment.  Not about how their actions would affect others or what consequences might occur with the behavior.    

This world and its riches are enticing, especially to the young. A lack of moral truth has allowed us to believe that we can get what we want, they way we want it, when we want it. And it can cause us to “chase every breeze that blows our way”.  Would these decisions have been made if they took an instant to pray about their actions? 

I’ll admit that I don’t take the time to pray before making the dozens of decisions that face me each day.  It is each to be busy “building my kingdom just to see it fade away”.  What might have happened if just one of the individuals involved stopped to pray and was given the courage to question the actions?

Later in the song, Toby sings about the fact that, “You rescued me.”  As we are in the early weeks of a new school year, I pray that the Spirit penetrate the hearts and minds and souls of the young (and the not so young) to realize that we should not “pack our bags when we need to stay”, but listening to His voice as we move through our days.