Bobby McGee

Some time ago I was listening to Janis Joplin's song, Me And Bobby McGee. There is one line in the song that I remember always being a bit confused about: Freedom's just another word for nothing left to lose. It almost sounds as if freedom is not important or that it is something casual. I decided to look up the lyrics to the song and see if I could figure out what the song was referring to.

I think that I was thrown off by thinking out of context. When I think of freedom, my first thought is political. We live in a free country and talk a lot about freedom. That is a high value for Americans and our country was founded upon that ideal.

But, this song isn't about that at all. In the song, Janis and Bobby are footloose and fancy free, hitchhiking and wandering aimlessly around the country. She's talking about another kind of freedom that was such a topic in the 60's in the US, and almost sounds romantic in some way. It's great not being tied down, free to do whatever you want, to roam wherever you want. What a life they were having! No cares, no worries, no entanglements.

But, at some point, Bobby decided that this wasn't what he wanted. Probably he tried to convince Janis to settle down and make a home. But, she wouldn't consider that and he decided to get off and settle down. As the song says, "...I let him slip away. He was looking for that home, and I hope he found it." But, the result was not what she thought because she goes on to say, "...But I would trade all my tomorrows for a single yesterday." And that's the context for the line, "Freedom's just another word for nothing left to lose."

By hanging on to and striving for freedom, she lost all that was truly valuable. Life was meant to be lived in community, from the larger community down to the family and to that one person to whom we are to be joined for life. And yet, we often continue to chafe at the restrictions that we face when were are tied to and committed to another. The teen can't wait to get away from home some day and as time goes on, the list of things or people that tie us down gets ever longer, but none of those are as binding as marriage. There are times that any of us consider--even if it's only for a fleeting moment--just giving up and running away, and the high divorce rate points this out so clearly.

The writer of this song was actually pretty smart. How sad to think of the pain here. She kept her freedom, but in doing so, she lost it all. And now, in retrospect, she'd be willing to die to get back just one of those yesterdays with Bobby McGee.


We were not created to be alone. All of us, whether married or not, need the company of others, and more than just company, we need to be bound by commitments. We need the chance to make some sacrifices, some adjustments in our lives. We need to be in community with others.

In some ways this applies to the church as well. Christianity admits that life was never meant to be just an individual striving for God, for heaven, or for nirvana. We are meant to be in community, and it's not good to walk away from that community just because problems or tensions arise. We lose more than we gain when we are not willing to make the sacrifices needed to stay together.

Obviously it's not always possible to preserve a relationship, but what do others think of this? Do we not tend toward giving up too soon?

A Picture of Ministry

Today, in a meeting, I saw again the “Team Hoyt” video . You may not recognize that name, but many of you have probably seen the video of the man with the handicapped adult son competing together in a triathlon (if you haven't, here is one version ). For the running part, the father is pushing a special wheelchair with the son strapped in, for the swimming part, the father is swimming and pulling the son along in a rubber raft, and they have a specially made bike with the son strapped in above the front wheel and the father pedaling behind.

It’s pretty hard to watch this without some tears appearing in your eyes. The father is so committed to the son, and so obviously loves the son. He certainly has had to work on it and train well, and is in the kind of shape that I wish I could be in (well, sort of, since if I wished for that enough, I’d probably put out a little more effort to that end). But, what also strikes me is that, even though the son is not pedaling, not swimming, not running, he seems to be just as excited or more than the father. Even though he is just sitting there while his father does all the work, the look on his face and the uplifted arms seem to be an expression of victory.

It hit me that this is a good picture of ministry, but I’m probably not going in the direction you think I’m going in. I’m not talking about the servant attitude of the father, even though that is a beautiful picture of a heart of service and ministry to others. I’m talking about the son.

The longer I minister, the more I’m convinced that the only way that ministry is effective is as the spirit works in people’s hearts. It’s not because of my great skills or a great process, or a great plan. It’s because God is at work. The picture I am trying to draw is of God who works and lets us be along for the ride. He gives us the joy and satisfaction of being able to participate in his vision for the world. We get some of the honor when we have actually done almost nothing, but the Spirit has been at work and used us.

What a wonderful thing and what freedom that gives. That’s how much God loves me. He gives me the privilege of service, even when I can do nothing, and even when I think I’ve accomplished something special, in reality it was Him, and I get just to enjoy accomplishment. We need not fear failure, inadequacy, lack of talent, etc. He’s back there pedaling, doing all the work.

Isn't that a true picture of what it means to serve as a Christian?