Does anybody not remember this song? Here's the rude version, NOT played on local radio during my teen years, of one of the greatest Nashville songs of all time.
Charlie Daniels has publicly stated that he wrote it for fun, as a joke. I think it has more layers of meaning than he realized at the time.
Suppose, for the sake of argument, that the Evil Principle has enough personal consciousness to appear to humans in human shape, for no other purpose than getting them to do foolish things like betting their salvation on a contest of skill. Suppose, further, that it's allowed to do that without having any superhuman ability to win the contest; that it's possible for a human being to get into a contest with the Devil and win.
If that were the case, whyever would the Devil propose such a contest?
Because, whatever the outcome of the contest might be...the odds would still be in his favor. The human who beat the Devil in any kind of contest would be tempted by the Deadly Sin of Pride.
In the rude version it shows up even more plainly than in the version most of us know. Johnny utters a slur on the Devil's mother. But the Devil never had a mother. It was a spirit created by God, until it fell into the Deadly Sin of Pride and rebelled against God. Its only "parent" was God. So when Johnny is boasting and full of himself, he not only claims to be "the best that's ever been," but he directly insults God. Let's just say that he is not in a state of grace.
I think, if that kind of Devil existed, it might well "throw" contests just to tempt people into the Deadly Sin of Pride.
Now that he's got that shiny fiddle made of gold, can we imagine Johnny going home and meekly obeying his parents, or in-laws? Will Johnny go back to his day job? Will he sell the farm, go to the city, and end up deserting his family so they can at least get welfare while he drinks himself to death, on a street corner, telling people that he used to be "the best that's ever been"? I think the Devil could safely bet on an outcome like that.
May all of us succeed in doing something beautifully well this week, Gentle Readers. And may we bear in mind that, however good our work or our talents are, we are not "the best that's ever been." God is.
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