Bigger Than God

October 14, 2019

In his pride the wicked man does not seek him; in all his thoughts there is no room for God. Psalm 10:4

Jim Croce’s iconic song “Bad, Bad LeRoy Brown” tells the story of a Chicago man who lives life with what most would say is legitimate pride. He is known far and wide as the “baddest” man in town. He’s “badder than old King Kong, and meaner than a junkyard dog.” He does whatever he wants, and no one messes with him or dares to question him. He has wealth, power, fame. But the story says one day his cockiness took him over the edge.

Used to just going with his desires and emotions, doing whatever pleases him, LeRoy is shooting dice in a bar and his fancy turns to Doris, a girl at the bar. He assumes he gets what he wants as usual, and moves in. Then, the song says…

“Well he cast his eyes upon her
And the trouble soon began
And Leroy Brown learned a lesson
'Bout messin' with the wife of a jealous man
Well the two men took to fighting
And when they pulled them off the floor
Leroy looked like a jigsaw puzzle
With a couple of pieces gone”

His pride led to his downfall. In his self-absorption he failed to realize his own limitations and the significance of others, especially, as the song says, a jealous man. That husband was not about to share the object of his love with anyone else.

Several dozen times the Bible states clearly that God is a jealous God; not jealous in the sense that He feels angry, bitter, or envious. He is jealous in the fact that He created us for Himself, He is the King and Lord of all creation, and He will not share that first place with anyone or anything else. None of us would likely ever consciously think or say we are greater than God. We wouldn’t declare we are “the baddest man or woman” in the universe, but by our actions we convey who really has first place in our hearts and opinions. It’s us. We are so full of our own desires and opinions that we don’t seek God, we don’t look for Him—we don’t even consider Him. He rarely crosses our minds. But eventually God will not be ignored; He calls Himself a jealous lover and says that He “jealously yearns” over us. God will get our attention someday.

• Is there any area of life where you are ignoring God? Ask Him to help you become keenly aware of His presence and His will and to help you love Him completely.