Carly Simon was right about mankind, our culture and, unfortunately, the church when she wrote \u201cYou\u2019re So Vain\u201d.\u00a0 We do think the song is about us, don\u2019t we?<\/p>\n
God is wonderful and humans are depraved.\u00a0 Any other worldview, to whatever degree it departs from this, moves away from fundamental reality.\u00a0 The Church is supposed to be God\u2019s means of sharing truth with the world.\u00a0 It is tragically unfortunate that we think His song is about us.<\/p>\n
Carly’s song always puzzled me because it was obvious it had enough specifics to be about someone or even more than one.\u00a0 Wouldn\u2019t they recognize themselves?\u00a0 Would that be vanity?\u00a0 I got to thinking about God\u2019s love as manifested in what we call the Gospel.\u00a0 He loved us (though we have no merit or value except what He assigns to us) and sent his Son to die for us.\u00a0 When we acknowledge the truth of our need for a savior (we have no merit) and accept His sacrifice as a substitution to pay for our sin, we receive His salvation.\u00a0 It is entirely a gift (free) of His great love and grace.\u00a0 We do nothing but receive.\u00a0 There is nothing we can do; we are powerless to deal with who we are.\u00a0 All we can do is recognize Him and receive what He has done.<\/p>\n
Since God has done it all, you\u2019d think we would understand that the Gospel and in fact all of life is about Him.\u00a0 It is for His glory.\u00a0 It doesn\u2019t take us long, however, to usurp the central place for ourselves.\u00a0 We think that since God said it was about us, that it is about us (insert song here).\u00a0 Wrong we are.\u00a0 God\u2019s love and grace extended to us is an indication of how great, loving and gracious He is.\u00a0 Our unworthiness (further illustrated by our usurpation of the central place) is proof of His greatness.<\/p>\n
Like spoiled children, we expect His good gifts and even demand them.\u00a0 The greater tragedy is that many churches have made this vanity a part of their teaching.\u00a0 The truth is God is not there for us, we are here for Him.\u00a0 We are unworthy, and any blessing or gift is a token of His great grace.\u00a0 We have attempted to lure people to God by telling them lies about themselves.\u00a0 The realization of who He is, who we are and what He has done is the only thing that can set us free from the vanity of life.\u00a0 Once free, we humbly give all glory to the Lord, expecting nothing in return.<\/p>\n
When it is about us, it is not about Him!\u00a0 Carly was right, but truth can set us free.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Carly Simon was right about mankind, our culture and, unfortunately, the church when she wrote \u201cYou\u2019re So Vain\u201d.\u00a0 We do think the song is about us, don\u2019t we? God is wonderful and humans are depraved.\u00a0 Any other worldview, to whatever degree it departs from this, moves away from fundamental reality.\u00a0 The Church is supposed to … Continue reading Carly Simon Was Right!<\/span>