If ever there was somebody who could tell you how to make your mark in music, Willie Nelson sure could. And, even though I’ve never been a fan, I don’t deny he’s had a lot of influence and staying power. One of his cowboy songs came to mind this morning as I thought about events taking place in the world right now. You probably heard it more than once: “Mamas Don’t Let Your Babies Grow Up To Be Cowboys.”

But you probably never heard about some of the initial drafts to the lyrics of that song. One draft really stood out. And it was almost prophetic. I’ll only share the first line to the chorus:

Hamas, don’t let your babies grow up to be Hebrews.

Yeah, you could really make your mark, in music, with that version.

OK, surely you realize I’m using tongue-in-cheek dark humor to initialize a point. If you’ve followed my musings for any length of time, you understand I don’t do that just to pass the time or try out new stand-up material.

Nope. That fictional line of lyric came out of my mind. Not Willie Nelson, and not the songwriters of the original song, Ed and Patsy Bruce. And all of them would probably not like my lyrics because they’d consider them to be mean-spirited and/or bigoted.

That’s not true, of course. But when feelings rule the day, facts have to sit in the back of the bus.

Anyway…

Back to what I’m talkin’ about today.

I believe it’s important to make your mark in this world. Because anonymity is almost like cowardice. But when you make your mark by murdering innocent people, you also declare where your heart is. And that’s an exercise in futility that ultimately leads to an eternity of barren pointlessness.

Case in point.

This snippet from a recent news blurb:

“Hamas – or in some cases its military wing, the Izzedine al-Qassam Brigades – has been designated a terrorist group by Israel, the United States, the European Union and the UK, as well as other powers. It has fired, or allowed other militant groups to fire, thousands of rockets at Israel, and carried out other deadly attacks. Iran backs the group, providing it with funding, weapons and training.”

Yeah, you know you’re gonna leave a mark, or make your mark, when you used missiles and bombs on unsuspecting civilians. When you can stoop to that low level, you deserve the worst possible retribution. And it appears that Israel will dish out a dollop of destruction, to say the least. But you see the difference between Hamas and Israel when you read how Israel has warned the people in the Gaza strip to evacuate.

People who just want to inflict pain and destruction don’t warn their enemies.

Sadly, this all has been going on since way before our great-great-great-great-grandparents’ days. And it really isn’t just a matter of Jews versus Jew-haters. It always boils down to individuals who choose selfish ideology over  “love your neighbor” theology.

That’s why I wrote a song about that notion, back in 1997, and recorded it in 2000.

It’s called, “You Just Don’t Get It.”

And I use the lyrics to point out how so many people just wanna live life THEIR way. They wanna be their own king or queen. Because they believe they’re powerful enough or “good enough” to handle anything. And they believe they can leave a legacy based on their “good deeds” and philanthropy.

But there’s no human being who will ever be good enough to live in a perfect, pure place forever. No human being has any chance of ever getting to Heaven. Not one. Not even YOU or ME. Gasp! Can that be true?!

Yeah, there’s only one Way into Heaven. And that Way is the one who created you and me and everyone else. Jesus said He’s the only way. So, without Him, you just don’t get it.

But you should get your copy of the Amen Songbook Journal, today. And check out the rest of the song lyrics. Then, look for the secret link and download all the songs (one download file) that go with the lyrics. And maybe use the journal to write down your ideas for how you’ll tell others how to avoid this situation:

You can’t submit to any higher will.
You’d rather live in the dark.
Well, you can have exactly what you say.
Look where you’re making your mark.

Stay tuned,