Make It Easy On Yourself
Have you ever heard of John Maus, Noel Scott Engel, or Gary Leeds? If, like me, you are a fan of the music of the 1960’s you probably have heard at least one of their songs.
“Make It Easy On Yourself” was recorded in 1962 by Jerry Butler, but the version of that song that is more well known was recorded by a group known as The Walker Brothers in 1965.
Until recently, I assumed that The Walker Brothers were similar to the Osmond Brothers, The Jackson Five, The Cowsills, The Carpenters, and some other similar groups whose members were actually all from the same family.
I’ve just recently learned (kind of by accident) that the members of The Walker Brothers were not related, were from different parts of the county, and that not one of them was named Walker. They were the three men whose names were in the question at the beginning of this post. By the way, their “stage names” were John Walker, Scott Walker, and Gary Walker.
The song itself is about a romantic break-up and the message is intended for the other person in the relationship. I suppose that is a somewhat noble concept. It is at least considerate to think of the other person during the dissolving of a relationship. It is also probably rare.
I’m wondering, though, if some of us may have adopted “make it easy on yourself” as a philosophy of our own lives. Could it be that we want our own lives to be as easy as possible without giving any thought to the needs of others? Could it even be possible that we could desire a life of ease at the expense of others?
I’m wondering also if that could be a problem for those who profess to follow Christ. Are we looking to make what might pass for “Christianity” as easy on ourselves as possible?
It has been said before and by people who are much smarter than I am that…
Christians are people who have been saved to serve, not saved to sit.
Maybe we need to be reminded about the words of another song. Those words might help us to remember the fact that Jesus did not make it easy on Himself when He came to earth.
He left the splendor of heaven,
knowing His destiny
was a lonely hill of Golgotha,
there to lay down His life for me.
It might be helpful, also, to remember that Peter was discussing the sacrifice made by Jesus when he wrote that the Lord was…
leaving you an example, so that you might follow in his steps. (1 Peter 2:21, ESV)
AUTHOR: Jim Faughn
