Condition of My Condition

I woke up this morning with the sun out shining in

I found my mind in a brown paper bag but then
I tripped on a cloud and fell eight miles high
I tore my mind on a jagged sky
I just dropped in to see what condition my condition was in

I pushed my soul in a deep dark hole and then I followed in
I watched myself crawling out now, as I came crawling in
I got up so tight I couldn't unwind
I saw so much, I broke my mind
I just dropped in to see what condition my condition was in

Somebody painted April fool in big black letters on a dead end sign
I had my foot on the gas as I left the road and blew out my mind
Eight miles out of Memphis and I got no spare
Eight miles straight up downtown somewhere
I just dropped in to see what condition my condition was in

Do you remember this old Kenny Rogers and the First Edition song? It was written by Mickey Newbury. It was said that the song reflected the LSD experience; the song was intended to be a warning against the danger of using LSD.

I don’t know for sure, but I do know that as crazy as the words are I liked the tune. I like the line, "I just dropped in to see what condition my condition was in.” I thought it was a clever way of saying that the author was so out of it that he felt it necessary to take some time and steps to see just what shape he was really in. In other words it was time to take some inventory.

Now and then we need to drop in and see what condition our spiritual condition is in. I find it can be easy to take for granite that we are OK. Regular check-ups are needed to by both our-selves on a personal level and by a trusted friend or confidant. We might not be so “adrift” as to find our mind in a brown paper bag or discover that we dripped on a cloud and fell eight miles high, but we can discover if we are veering off the track spiritually.

What does it mean to take spiritual inventory?

It means sitting down and taking a serious look at our strengths and weakness… and then planning a course of action to correct that which is lacking and a strengthening of that which is good. Evaluate your time alone with the Lord

“The cross is laid on every Christian. As we embark upon discipleship we surrender ourselves to Christ in union with his death–we give over our lives to death. The cross is not the terrible end to an otherwise god-fearing and happy life, but it meets us at the beginning of our communion with Christ.” (The Cost of Discipleship, Bonhoffer, p.99).

Gospel-driven Disciples need to periodically drop in and see what condition their spiritual condition is in. Just my opinion. 

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Join me each Saturday for an editorial piece. An editorial is an opinion piece written by the senior editorial staff or publisher of a newspaper or magazine. Editorials are usually and are supposed to reflect the opinion of the periodical, or in this case Gospel-driven Disciples.Typically, an editorial board evaluates which issues are important for their readership to know the blog's opinion. Editorials are typically published on a special page dedicated to them, called the editorial page. I shall publish these opinions of Saturday's page, called Saturday's Segments.