Gotta Serve Somebody

Gotta Serve Somebody

There are some things in life that we can control, or at least we THINK we can control them. Then there are other things over which we have absolutely NO control. We can’t control the weather, government, or what people think. Sometimes we have a tough time controlling our own behavior.

Some of the stuff we can’t control is quite subtle, yet strangely profound in our lives. For example, we like to believe that we can establish and control our own destiny. Maybe life is working just the way we want it to work for a while, but then some event or circumstance flies out of left field and ruins all our carefully made plans. We, or someone we love, gets cancer. The stock market collapses and all our investments go down the tubes. Some idiot terrorist flies a plane through a building that houses the business we’ve worked so long to build. We make one dumb decision to drink and drive, and tragically end up taking someone’s life because we can’t control our vehicle. On and on the list could go, but you see what I mean. The bottom line is that no matter what we’d like to believe, we simply are not in control of our destiny.

Another thing we can’t control is the fact that we all have to serve someone in authority. While we cannot control the reality of having to serve someone, we can control who we will serve. Bob Dylon wrote a song about this back in 1979. There are lots of verses to the song, but here are my favorite three:

You might be a rock 'n' roll addict prancing on the stage,
You might have drugs at your command, women in a cage,
You may be a business man or some high degree thief,
They may call you Doctor or they may call you Chief.

You may be a preacher with your spiritual pride,
You may be a city councilman taking bribes on the side,
You may be workin' in a barbershop, you may know how to cut hair,
You may be somebody's mistress, may be somebody's heir.

Might like to wear cotton, might like to wear silk,
Might like to drink whiskey, might like to drink milk,
You might like to eat caviar, you might like to eat bread,
You may be sleeping on the floor, sleeping in a king-sized bed.

Basically, Dylon attempts to name many occupations and stations in life. He also mentions specific behavior patterns and even diet preferences. The point of the song, though, hits home in the chorus:

But you're gonna have to serve somebody, yes indeed
You're gonna have to serve somebody,
Well, it may be the devil or it may be the Lord
But you're gonna have to serve somebody. *

Ultimately, there are only two choices of who we will serve . . . the devil or Jesus. Some folks say, “Well, I just serve myself!” Yup, but that’s exactly what the devil wants us to believe because he knows that serving ourselves is really just serving him. Serving Jesus means to surrender the rights to my own life and allow him to be in charge. But it really isn’t difficult to serve him when we realize just how much he loves and accepts us.

Not all truth is comfortable, but it’s still true. Accepting the truth that we have to serve somebody is to embrace a profoundly important part of life. Making the right choice as to who we will serve is even more important. Who have you chosen to serve?

Derryck McLuhan

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