Killing My Old Man...

Okay, seriously, anybody remember that old Petra song?

I cut my Christian musical teeth on Petra (man, what a weird metaphor... anyway) - the "trilogy" of Never Say Die, More Power To Ya and Not of This World. Great stuff, for the time anyway...

So, it's twenty something years ago and I'm listening to the song "Killing My Old Man" one day. The chorus goes:

Killing my old man

You may not understand

He's a terrible man

Got to make a stand

And kill the old man

So - I'm listening to that, and my dad walks by my room. Then he walks by again. Then he comes in the door, "What kind of song is that?" (had he only lived long enough to hear song lyrics today, he wouldn't even have been fazed...but I digress). I explained that it's a Christian song about letting the old man in me - the flesh, the sinful me - die so that I can live in new life in Christ - and it's a play on words, you know, to get the listener's attention. Okay, I was like 15 so I probably wasn't very articulate, but I did my best. Still, he said, "I don't like it at all."

Possibly not the best witness of Christ to my dad, musically...

Anyway, the reminisce isn't the point of this. It's the point of the song that is the point of this (wait, lemme check that last sentence...yep, that's what I mean).

I just had someone do something that hurt me - semi-anonymously, no less (what does "semi-anonymously" mean? Well...it's complicated - and also NOT the point...)

I really wanted to attack the person. I had all kind of ammunition in my arsenal ready to go (okay, it's, you know, words - but I can be pretty nasty when I try to be). I think it's natural when we are hurt to lash out and try to hurt in response.

I also think it's wrong.

So I didn't do what I really, really, really wanted to do. I apologized. You see, there was truth in what was said - but it was done in a very (probably intentionally) hurtful way. It wasn't the content that was the problem - it was the delivery. Kind of like an elephant gun to shoot a flea, you know?

And I'm not here to dish any details and "get my revenge" or whatever here - I'm intentionally leaving it vague because that also is not the point.

The point is growing in Christ - to grow MORE Christlike. To kill my old man - and grow in new life.

I need to do a lot more growing - and I covet any prayers anybody wants to send my way.

Moving on to perfection...