I had my “Christian Rock” station playing on Pandora, and some random bit of melody reminded me of Paul Simon’s “50 Ways to Leave Your Lover,” one of the ol’ 70s songs.

The song is about a man who feels trapped, entangled in an unhealthy relationship. My synapses immediately connected some dots: This scenario reminded me of the New Testament passage advising us to “lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us…”

Say…. I could put faith-based lyrics into that catchy tune.
I don’t normally spend my Bible study time laughing, but here we are.

With nominal apologies to Paul Simon, I give you…

“50 Ways To Dodge Temptation”

I trusted Jesus’ sacrifice and asked him to come in,
And now I stand forgiven for my past and future sin,
I still mess up, but God will help me to escape the mess I’m in,
There must be 50 ways to dodge temptation:

Don’t be deceived, Steve
Don’t fall for the lie, Ty
The devil plays tricks, Rick
Stay out of his trap.

Turn off the TV, Lee
Steer clear of those drugs, Doug
Stop scrolling the web, Deb
It’s not gonna help.

What would Jesus do, Sue?
Let his Spirit guide you
Say no to the hate, Kate—
Treat people with love.

See others as friends, Ben
Use words full of grace, Trace
Let love guide your heart, Bart
It’ll brighten your mood.

No fear of the dark, Mark
The Lord is our light, Dwight
His Word is our guide, Clyde
Just read it and see.

So, learn how to trust, Gus—
Remember God loves us!
He’s working a plan, Anne
For everyone’s good.

–Based on Hebrews 12:2-3, 1 Corinthians 10:13, Romans 7:21-25, 2 Timothy 2:22, Ephesians 6:11-12, 1 Peter 5:6-9, Galatians 5:16, Colossians 4:5-6, Psalm 119:105, Romans 8:28.

Thanks for reading!

Jan