Wish You Were Here
This Lent let us cast off the spirit of the world and be filled with the Spirit of God’s love. Here are some words from a song that speak of the danger of addiction.
“So . . . so you think you can tell . . . Heaven from Hell, blue skies from pain? Can you tell a green field from a cold steel rail, a smile from a veil? Do you think you can tell?” These are lyrics from the Pink Floyd song, “Wish You Were Here.”
What’s it about? It’s a sad song about a tragedy in the life of Syd Barrett. Syd Barrett was a phenomenal bass guitarist. He was initially, a big reason for Pink Floyd’s enormous success. He was coordinated, smart and creative. Unfortunately, Syd became chronically addicted to LSD. He would lace his coffee cup in the morning with it. He became so addicted that everything else was insignificant except getting that fix. So, a blue sky, pain, a green field, a cold steel rail . . . or even Heaven or Hell, were all the same to him. Whether he saw a breathtaking portrait of the mountains or a portrait of a dead cactus in the desert, it was the same to him. All that mattered was his addiction. Fortunately, he later lived on a farm where he rehabilitated but didn’t want to return to the high life. I believe there he found some happiness. He has since passed away. Sometimes we think of sin as freeing us from the rules, and the commandments as restrictive, but it’s really the opposite. The commandments are like precious jewels that set us free, free to love with our whole beings, while sin enslaves us with addiction.. Jesus said that through the commandments, our joy would be complete. Complete! Wow. Pretty powerful. Let us look at the commandments as rubies, emeralds, or sapphires. Through obedience, we open up to a wider view and begin to live life truly wild and free. Obedience places us in an open field of gold with the warm wind blowing against our faces and the sun showering down on us. This Lent let us choose obedience and trust in God’s strength.
This Lent let us cast off the spirit of the world and be filled with the Spirit of God’s love. Here are some words from a song that speak of the danger of addiction.
“So . . . so you think you can tell . . . Heaven from Hell, blue skies from pain? Can you tell a green field from a cold steel rail, a smile from a veil? Do you think you can tell?” These are lyrics from the Pink Floyd song, “Wish You Were Here.”
What’s it about? It’s a sad song about a tragedy in the life of Syd Barrett. Syd Barrett was a phenomenal bass guitarist. He was initially, a big reason for Pink Floyd’s enormous success. He was coordinated, smart and creative. Unfortunately, Syd became chronically addicted to LSD. He would lace his coffee cup in the morning with it. He became so addicted that everything else was insignificant except getting that fix. So, a blue sky, pain, a green field, a cold steel rail . . . or even Heaven or Hell, were all the same to him. Whether he saw a breathtaking portrait of the mountains or a portrait of a dead cactus in the desert, it was the same to him. All that mattered was his addiction. Fortunately, he later lived on a farm where he rehabilitated but didn’t want to return to the high life. I believe there he found some happiness. He has since passed away. Sometimes we think of sin as freeing us from the rules, and the commandments as restrictive, but it’s really the opposite. The commandments are like precious jewels that set us free, free to love with our whole beings, while sin enslaves us with addiction.. Jesus said that through the commandments, our joy would be complete. Complete! Wow. Pretty powerful. Let us look at the commandments as rubies, emeralds, or sapphires. Through obedience, we open up to a wider view and begin to live life truly wild and free. Obedience places us in an open field of gold with the warm wind blowing against our faces and the sun showering down on us. This Lent let us choose obedience and trust in God’s strength.