Waxing Poetic!
Those who have spent time with me find out fairly quickly that my favorite band is The Moody Blues. Their music catalog is an eclectic assortment of rhythm and blues fusing the philosophical, psychedelic, spirituality, poetry, and more. I have seen them in concert five times, had most of their albums, and I even named my car after the band: MOODY BLUE. On several of their albums, they waxed verses of poetry that begin or finish a song. The most famous of these verses, found near the end of “Nights in White Satin,” is titled “Late Lament.”
The other day I was reminded of another of these poems titled “The Beginning” that leads you into a song called “Lovely to See You Again” Here is the text of that poem, which I have delineated as a script to help you see its flow.
[Human] “I think; I think I am. Therefore I am; I think.”
[Establishment] “Of course you are my bright little star. I’ve miles and miles of files; pretty files of your forefather’s fruit, and now to suit our great computer, you’re magnetic ink.”
[Human] “I’m more than that; I know I am. At least, I think I must be.
[The Voice} “There you go man, keep as cool as you can. Face piles and piles of trials with smiles. It riles them to believe that you perceive the web they weave,
“The Beginning” by The Moody Blues
and keep on thinking free.
The poem is a dialogue beginning with the perspective of a human becoming self-aware in a rather Cartesian way. The establishment quickly jumps in with flattery and deception, attempting to lure the man into its enslaving computation machine. The human pushes back and receives reinforcement from an inner Voice, which encourages the hearer to continue to discern, and to remain free.
This poem always reminds me that I (we) possess one of the greatest gifts a merciful and benevolent God can provide; FREE WILL. I am not a puppet, and neither are you. We are not carelessly cast aside by 42 without love and encouragement, and he doesn’t force us to do anything. Instead, 42 offers us opportunities to choose and worship the Creator of Life, the Universe, and Everything or to engage in the idolatry of exalting the things of life, the universe, and everything. When we select the latter, we are entrapped and enslaved, but when we choose the former, through Jesus Christ, there is true freedom to enjoy! So let us glorify the Triune God of Grace and enjoy him forever!
For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery. Galatians 5:1
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