Friday | Wayfarer

A couple of weeks ago Wendy and I were driving home from Des Moines and the song Knights in White Satin came on the radio. Within a split second I’d changed the channel.

“Okay,” Wendy exclaimed in a bit of a shock at the speed with which I’d freed myself from that horrible noise, “I guess we’re not listening to that song.”

No. No we were not. And, it prompted a conversation about the songs that are like fingernails on a chalkboard to you; the songs that come on the radio and you can’t get to the Tune button fast enough to change the channel.

So, for “Top Five Friday” here are my Top Five songs I can’t stand:

Tears of a Clown. John Wayne Gacy. I’m just sayin’.
Whiter Shade of Pale. Haunting, drug induced weirdness. [gag]
Knights in White Satin. Again.
Wildfire. My sister, and every radio station, played this insipid horse song non-stop back in 1975. Thank God it’s founds its way to the musical scrap heap.
Philadelphia Freedom. Does SiriusXM have a contractual obligation to play an Elton John song continuously across their channel line-up? I swear I can’t surf the channels without running into multiple Elton John songs playing at all times. Ironically, this song is also from 1975. I guess I was going through a nine-year-old phase.

There you go. Now, it’s your turn. What songs make you want to hurl?

Mordecai the Jew became the prime minister, with authority next to that of King Xerxes himself. He was very great among the Jews, who held him in high esteem, because he continued to work for the good of his people and to speak up for the welfare of all their descendants. Esther 10:3 (NLT)

Mordecai was held in high esteem. He was considered great and in the end his life was marked by triumphant success. The reason given for this was simple: he looked out for the needs of others. The story of Esther is the story of deliverance for an entire people, but it would never have happened if Mordecai had not been diligent in being aware of all that was going on around him. It would not have happened if Mordecai had not loved Esther, taken her under his wing, and mentored her. It would not have happened had Mordecai not been willing to stand in the face of persecution when everyone else bowed in fear and appeasement. It would never have taken place had unless Mordecai considered the greater needs of his people more important than his own personal security.

As I read this morning, I was reminded of this passage from Paul’s letter to Philippian believers:

Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves. Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too.

You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had.

Though he was God,
    he did not think of equality with God
    as something to cling to.
Instead, he gave up his divine privileges;
    he took the humble position of a slave
    and was born as a human being.
When he appeared in human form,
    he humbled himself in obedience to God
    and died a criminal’s death on a cross.

Therefore, God elevated him to the place of highest honor
    and gave him the name above all other names,
that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
    in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord,
    to the glory of God the Father.

Mordecai was a living example of this attitude that all followers of Jesus are told we must have.

It is Friday as I write this post. It was on a Friday that Jesus obediently hung on the cross for our sins as described above. In the deep tradition of Jesus’ followers, each Friday is a day of introspection and confession as we think about our own sins and shortcomings. As for me, I couldn’t help but feel a pang of sorrow as I read about Mordecai this morning. I confess that my life is so marked by thoughts of self. My attitude is so seldom about others and so often about me. My bad.

Lord Jesus Christ, son of the living God, have mercy on me, a sinner.