“The Way I Am” by Merle Haggard
— Friday, April 8th, 2011 —
I hope you love your job. I hope you bound out of bed every morning with excitement about what you get to do every day. But, even if that’s so, I guarantee you there are those around you who hate their jobs. They are living with a bleak disappointment that things just didn’t turn out the way they planned.
For men, this problem is especially acute. What we term a “midlife crisis” is often simply a man waking up to see that his life isn’t going in the direction of all the dreams of his youth. This can have real, and perilous, spiritual consequences.
On this week’s episode of “The Cross and the Jukebox,” we look at this kind of disappointment. We’ll listen to Merle Haggard’s song “The Way I Am,” and then talk about how the gospel addresses the despair the Hag sings about. Even if you’ve never felt this kind of despair, I wager there’s a man somewhere in your life who has.
Russell,
This is the first time I have joined you on this site. Love it! I think you are on to something. Glad you have the boldness to share your love for music and use it to share the gospel.
Blessings!
Ralph
They tell me I look like Merle Haggard…
… (and sound a lot like David Allan Coe)
This may be my personal favorite song by Haggard. Rather than seeing only a message of despair in the characters not being able to live out his dreams though, I’ve always appreciated the message of character it contains. When he sings ” some would run, but that ain’t like me” I’m reminded of my need for a character containing the virtues of steadfastness, dependability, responsibility, resolution, and the strength to delay gratification. I’ve always loved the Hag this song contains some of my favorite reasons for doing so.
Having never heard of him or this song, I appreciate the background here. As for loving my job, I’ve been out of work for the last few months, so I’d really like to FIND a job to see if this song applies to it… :)
Another great choice and, yes, it’s hard to argue with Hag as a favorite. He may be the most all-around talented country artist of all time…or since Hank, Sr. As ironic as it sounds, this is one of a few of his songs that have made me pause and think about God, us, and the big issues of life. A few other of his songs have made me do that include, “Are the Good Times Really Over,” “I Wish I Could Be 30 Again,” “Misery and Gin,” and “Sing Me Back Home.” Thanks for sharing and for the insights.