I love the old boogie-woogie and swing type music of the 30’s and 40’s. Obviously, I’m not the only one. In 1932 just 10 million records had been sold in the US. But with the birth of swing music, by 1939 that number had jumped to 50 million. It was a music that was purely for entertainment and targeted those people under the tremendous pressure spurred by the Great Depression. I’m guessing that involved most everyone – some worse than others.
When I saw a female group called “America’s Sweethearts” announcing a concert locally this month, I itched to go. The quartet promised to take us back to the Andrew Sisters and the era of beautiful harmonies. The ad said tickets could be purchased at the door but it didn’t say how much they were. I had to find out. An immediate call to the chamber office provided me with a number to call to obtain the answer I sought.
“The price is $40.00 but you are buying tickets for the entire concert season,” the nice man on the other end of the line said. He explained that there were four concerts left; two had passed. Not a bad price for concerts if you liked the line up. But I had no idea if I would so I told him I probably would not do that. Then he remembered I had a Wyoming phone number. “I don’t know where you are in Wyoming, but if you are more than 75 miles, you can buy individual tickets at the door for $10.00.”
“Nice!” I thought. This was more inline with my budget. Only one problem. I no longer lived in Wyoming. I was less than 15 miles to the concert location.
Anyone that knows me, knows I love a bargain and in my thought processes, this fell into that category. Ten dollars for a great concert – that’s hard to beat. Oh my, this made it extremely difficult and very tempting. My mind kept flashing back to the ad picture in the paper – the girls in their bright red dresses with short white gloves and big smiles. I stuck one foot into the beckoning circle of desire before I regained my balance and managed to say, “I just don’t feel right about that since I now live close.”
Living as a person of faith, isn’t always convenient or easy…but it is right. It matters what God thinks. (Galations 1:10) Maybe no one else would have known any different, but I would and God would. And what if the ticket seller, or the person in front of me or behind me knew I lived close and here I was playing the game of letting my cell number from years past get me in for a reduced price. What kind of a Christian witness would I be? Definitely not the kind that asks WWJD ( what would Jesus do).
This matter of the ticket may not seem like a big deal in the scheme of things, but if we don’t do what’s honest in small matters, we’re not likely to do what’s honest in the big ones. The time to decide how we will handle these situations isn’t when we are about to step off into the quicksand of temptation but long before they occur. Max Lucado ( Christian author and pastor) puts it this way: Decide now what you will do then. I’ve never regretted my decisions to step away from temptation, but I have fallen flat when waltzing with it.
This was a great reminder to me just how easy it is to compromise on our convictions. In the heat of the moment I was just about to justify a less than desirable choice. I may have seen a great concert but God would not have been applauding.
I know the Great Depression was one of the hardest times in American history. But let’s face it – these last couple of years haven’t been any walk in the park for us either. I’m thinking a little jitterbug might help us all.
Until next month – keep on readin’ and I’ll keep on writin’.