For some reason, I’m hearing Bob Dylan in my head as I write.
“You’re gonna have to serve somebody…”
That could be because that’s what’s playing on Spotify right now, as I write.
Yes, that might be it. 😁
But if you close your eyes, concentrate and listen intently, with your whole post-hippie heart, I bet you can hear him, too.
“It may be the devil, or it may be the Lord…” Ah, those dulcet tones.
Preach it, Mr. Poet Laureate.
Truth be told, though, the reason I’m thinking of the song is actually because of something that I heard on the radio as I was waking up this morning. Can’t get that one on Spotify, but here’s the quote, from another deep thinker, Ravi Zacharias:
“We’re all in ministry, whether we like it or not.”
Oh, how I miss that Ravi (he passed away in May… but fortunately, left behind a few gazillion hours of his brilliance, in case you want to check him out here).
And there it is. You. Me. That uptight guy you think represents religion. The free spirit you think represents non-religion. All of us. Ministers. Yes.
How so, you say? Well, in my little Misfit Mind, Bob and Ravi are essentially saying the same thing. We are ALL in ministry of one kind or another, if you strip the term “ministry” down to its essential meaning, which is basically “service”. We’re all compelled to serve something… ultimately, and more accuarately, somebody. The question is, who?
Who are we serving?
Who are you serving?
Who am I serving?
And before we say, “I’m serving others!”… it might serve us well (see what I did there?) to ask “ok, but why am I serving others?”, and see what scary places that takes us.
Of course, I only dare attempt to tackle that last question, as the other two are beyond my pay grade/none of my beeswax, and frankly, I’m not sure I even want to get that honest with myself.
But whether I, you, or anybody answers it or not… the question’s still out there… and it’s not going anywhere. How annoying.
Cause like it or not… acknowledge it or not… believe it or not… we really are all in ministry…
We’re all serving somebody.
Can’t escape it.
You may be an ambassador to England or France
You may like to gamble, you might like to dance
You may be the heavyweight champion of the world
You may be a socialite with a long string of pearls
But you’re gonna have to serve somebody, yes
Indeed you’re gonna have to serve somebody
Well, it may be the devil or it may be the Lord
But you’re gonna have to serve somebody
You might be a rock ‘n’ roll addict prancing on the stage
You might have drugs at your command, women in a cage
You may be a business man or some high-degree thief
They may call you doctor or they may call you chief
But you’re gonna have to serve somebody, yes you are
You’re gonna have to serve somebody
Well, it may be the devil or it may be the Lord
But you’re gonna have to serve somebody
You may be a state trooper, you might be a young Turk
You may be the head of some big TV network
You may be rich or poor, you may be blind or lame
You may be living in another country under another name
But you’re gonna have to serve somebody, yes you are
You’re gonna have to serve somebody
Well, it may be the devil or it may be the Lord
But you’re gonna have to serve somebody
You may be a construction worker working on a home
You may be living in a mansion or you might live in a dome
You might own guns and you might even own tanks
You might be somebody’s landlord, you might even own banks
But you’re gonna have to serve somebody, yes
You’re gonna have to serve somebody
Well, it may be the devil or it may be the Lord
But you’re gonna have to serve somebodyYou may be a preacher with your spiritual pride
You may be a city councilman taking bribes on the side
You may be workin’ in a barbershop, you may know how to cut hair
You may be somebody’s mistress, may be somebody’s heir
But you’re gonna have to serve somebody, yes
You’re gonna have to serve somebody
Well, it may be the devil or it may be the Lord
But you’re gonna have to serve somebody
Might like to wear cotton, might like to wear silk
Might like to drink whiskey, might like to drink milk
You might like to eat caviar, you might like to eat bread
You may be sleeping on the floor, sleeping in a king-sized bed
But you’re gonna have to serve somebody, yes
Indeed you’re gonna have to serve somebody
Well, it may be the devil or it may be the Lord
But you’re gonna have to serve somebody
You may call me Terry, you may call me Timmy
You may call me Bobby, you may call me Zimmy
You may call me R.J., you may call me Ray
You may call me anything but no matter what you say
Still, you’re gonna have to serve somebody, yes
You’re gonna have to serve somebody
Well, it may be the devil or it may be the Lord
But you’re gonna have to serve somebody
Isle of misfits 