Thoughts of Another Traveler…

So, in case you didn’t know, I am still stuck in the 80’s with most of my music playlists.  Specifically, I stick to the hard rockers and hair bands that made my wonder years go around.  (Side Note:  It is amazing to me how so many of the “Sex, Drugs, and Rock-N-Roll” heroes of the 80’s are now some of today’s most prominent pro-family, pro-America, middle-right spokespersons.  They weren’t all “Satan Worshippers” as many preachers of that decade wanted us to believe!)  But I digress from the thoughts I felt compelled to share in today’s blog.  One song that appears frequently in several of my playlists is a little known, short-lived single by one of my favorite 80’s dudes—the “Red-Rocker” Sammy Hagar.  (Another Side Note:  Not the Sammy Hagar who joined Van Hagar after David Lee Roth went off the ledge and went solo.  The “Red-Rocker” Sammy Hagar who only sold out to arena/pop-rock a few times in his solo career – most prominently with his biggest hit, “I Can’t Drive 55”).  Anyway, the song is titled “Give to Live” and I wanted to share the lyrics with you.

Oooh I can see that you’ve got fire in your eyes
And pain inside your heart
So many things have come
And torn your world apart

Oh baby, baby, baby
Don’t give up, Don’t give up, Don’t give up

If you want love, You’ve got to give a little
If you want faith, You just believe a little

If you want peace, Turn your cheek a little

Oh you’ve got to give, You’ve got to give, You’ve got to give to live

An empty hand reaching out for someone
An empty heart takes so little to fill
It’s so much easier to push instead of pull

Oh baby, baby, baby
Don’t give up, Don’t give up, Don’t give up

If you want love, You’ve got to give a little
If you want faith, You just believe a little

If you want peace, Turn your cheek a little

Oh you’ve got to give, You’ve got to give, You’ve got to give to live

Each man’s a country in his own right
Oh everybody needs a friend
One friend one God one country
No man can defend

Yeah, I believe in faith and destination
But so much of that ties in our own hands
But if you know what you want
Just go on out and get it

Oh baby, baby just don’t give up no, no
Ah don’t give up, yeah, yeah

Yesterday, after an extremely stressful day at work, I went on a long bicycle ride.  I find it a good way to exercise and de-stress at the same time.  Of course, I put on my old rock favorites playlist and went to work.  Somewhere around mile seven, “Give to Live” hit me hard and I began to sing out loud while riding.  This must have been interesting for all those walking and riding the trail since I had my earbuds in.  I really didn’t care; the song was doing its job.  I was reminded of why this song has always been a favorite of mine—because it is chalk full of good theology!  Sammy surely had some background with the Bible as this song is literally a Marshal Amp Red Guitar driven rendition of Jesus’ powerful teachings in Luke 6:27-38.

“But to you who are willing to listen, I say, love your enemies! Do good to those who hate you.  Bless those who curse you. Pray for those who hurt you. If someone slaps you on one cheek, offer the other cheek also. If someone demands your coat, offer your shirt also. Give to anyone who asks; and when things are taken away from you, don’t try to get them back. Do to others as you would like them to do to you.

 “If you love only those who love you, why should you get credit for that? Even sinners love those who love them! And if you do good only to those who do good to you, why should you get credit? Even sinners do that much! And if you lend money only to those who can repay you, why should you get credit? Even sinners will lend to other sinners for a full return.

 “Love your enemies! Do good to them. Lend to them without expecting to be repaid. Then your reward from Heaven will be very great, and you will truly be acting as children of the Most High, for he is kind to those who are unthankful and wicked. ³⁶ You must be compassionate, just as your Father is compassionate.

 “Do not judge others, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn others, or it will all come back against you. Forgive others, and you will be forgiven. Give, and you will receive. Your gift will return to you in full—pressed down, shaken together to make room for more, running over, and poured into your lap. The amount you give will determine the amount you get back.”

We sure don’t have enough people looking around and seeing that so many in the world today have ‘pain inside their hearts’ and the ‘fire in their eyes’ is gone.  Most of us don’t even need to look around—if we just look inside most of us will admit that ‘so many things have come and torn our worlds apart’ and left us feeling a bit hopeless and helpless.  Hell, Sammy was writing this in the 1980’s when the biggest issue tearing my world apart was cassette tapes getting destroyed by my stereo, and that my mom bought me a fake “Members Only” jacket instead of the real one.  Sometimes I don’t even recognize the world we live in today.  At 51 years of age, not only have I faced more loss of those I love more than I ever imagined—but I find myself surviving in a world that is absolutely consumed with selfishness, pain, hatred, anger, hopelessness, and worst of all total depravity of faith, morality, and the eternal principles God has provided to allow us to “…have life and have it more abundantly” (John 10:10).  Each of us individually and everyone around us is looking for Love, and Faith, and Peace—these are the pillars of life that keep that ‘fire in your eyes’.

I guess God and Sammy spoke to me yesterday while on my bike ride.  I was clearly reminded that if I just sit around praying and hoping that God will somehow bring revival to our nation, that people would somehow just turn back to God and the eternal principles of his Word, that people would just realize that we are not intelligent enough as human beings to outsmart God—then maybe we could turn this thing around—then I will simply continue to pull instead of push.  And although praying and hoping for change are important things to do, they certainly are not the endpoint.  I need to act, I need to move, I am called to do more than observe and hope.  I am called to “Give to Live!” 

If I want love, I need to give a little.  If I want faith, I need to believe a little.  If I want peace, I need to turn the cheek a little.  Sammy didn’t invent this concept.  Jesus did.  When Jesus taught the disciples to pray, the prayer included this line:

“Your Kingdom come, your will be done, on Earth as it is in Heaven” (Matthew 6:10)

Jesus knew that to fulfill this request in the only prayer he ever taught us to pray, His followers needed to live out Luke chapter 6.  God’s will can only be done “on Earth as it is in Heaven” when those of us who have the Spirit of God within us act—Give life, Give love, Give faith, and Give peace.  As important is the promise that if you want to ‘have life and have it more abundantly’ and if you want to live with ‘fire in your eyes’ and if you want life to be given to you in ‘good measure, running over’ you need to ‘Give to Live’!

God help me to renew my passion and resolve to “Give to Live”

Final note for those of you who haven’t already done it. 

For a bit of throwback to early MTV days, you can find an original music video of “Give to Live” here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xrdzTmUTtYU.  Oh, and by the way, for an even further appreciation of the passion and writing ability of the “Red Rocker” go ahead and search for another little-known favorite of mine— “Where Eagles Fly” you will not be disappointed!

May God bless His Word.  And May God bless the 80’s!