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I like some country music; I like some bluegrass music; I don't like any sentiment that demonstrates contempt for God and/or contempt for general moral and ethical values. Almost any popular genre of music has its share of such debasing, degrading, and disgusting lyrics. A well know artist had a hit a few years ago entitled, If Heaven Ain’t a lot like Dixie, I Don’t Wanna’ Go. It will prove worthwhile to seriously think about the sentiment expressed by that song title.

First of all, there are but two destinations for the eternal soul of man, and the last time I checked, the Lord decides who goes where; not man. In fact, in the final day, man will have no choice in his destiny; that choice will have been sealed by the choices he made during life on this earth. To confirm these observations, all one has to do is read Jesus’ depiction of the judgment in Matthew 25.31-46. There are some people represented in that story that are surprised to find themselves without an invitation into glory, but none going in the other direction.

Secondly, heaven will be a place where no one will be reside by accident or against his/her will. Heaven is a prepared place for a prepared people and those who are unprepared need not fear being forced to go there against their will. Centuries and centuries ago, dating all the way back to creation itself, God honored man’s right to make such moral choices. In making man in His own image, He made him with free will and the ability to make choices that affect destiny. In the intervening years, God has not violated that design one single time; furthermore, He never will!

Thirdly, all accountable persons who inhabit those blessed eternal shores will be people who honor God’s will and acknowledge it to be better than their own! The attitude conveyed by the song title is one which indicates that the writer knows better where he ought to be than God does. In other words, God’s determinations are of inferior quality to those of his own! While this might have been said and sung in jest, there is really nothing to be laughed at in these lyrics. This is especially true when one realizes that the besetting sin of most people will be their failure to subject their own will to the will of God!

Fourthly and finally, it is for certain that no one will be in heaven who fails to trust God implicitly and completely. If God is omniscient, He certainly knows what is best for me in every circumstance. He knows my every need; He knows my every want! Since that is the case, we do not have to worry about God putting us somewhere we shouldn’t be! The author of the song might find it ironic, but every person in heaven will want to be there, and no person in hell will want to be there! The roles are quite reversed as depicted in the song lyrics!

When man puts himself on God’s throne, calamity is not far away! God’s thoughts are so far superior to man’s thoughts as to defy comparison (read Isaiah 55.8-9). Likewise, heaven’s beauty and blessings are so far superior to those of earth as to be beyond any meaningful comparison. Whether I am from the north, south, east, or west, there is no place like heaven, and my heavenly Father ALWAYS knows best!

Questions:

1. What, if anything, is wrong with joking about things like the title of the hit song mentioned?

2. Who or what determines where we will spend eternity? Will we be assigned to a place where we should not be? How about a place we don’t want to be?

3. According to Isaiah 55.8-9, what is the basis for comparison between God’s thoughts and our thoughts?

4. Neither Dixie nor West Virginia are “almost heaven.” What earthly comparison is there which will allow us to understand the glories of that eternal shore?

"Point of Reference" from Fred Price

Called To Brokenness