'What Condition My Condition Was In'

The song, "Just Dropped In (To See What Condition My Condition Was In)" was written by Mickey Newbury and first recorded by Jerry Lee Lewis in 1967, but became a hit when The First Edition recorded the song in 1968 when Kenny Rogers was lead guitarist. Newbury wrote the song to inform listeners of the dangers of using the psychedelic drug LSD.

People seek pleasure in many ways and often abusing the means of how they obtain the pleasure they seek. Some people seek pleasure in order to camouflage or hide the pain they are going through, such as: broken relationships, lost jobs, domestic violence, sexual abuse and the list could go on.

Folks need to take a good hard look at the condition they are in and why they are in the condition they are in. Often, people find themselves in a pitiful condition just by the choices they made and often those choices have serious consequences.

God never intended that His prize creation (human beings) would stoop as low as many are today. But, He has provided a way out of the mess they find themselves in and the way out is simply by faith - believing who and what Jesus has done for humanity.

The Bible says that the "wages of sin is death" (Romans 6:23) but it also says, "the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus."

When someone gives you a gift, it is something given to you simply because someone cares for you. On the one hand, if you earned it, it would not be a gift. You worked for it therefore, it was given as an act of compensation for a job well done similar to a "merit raise." But on the other hand, if someone gave you a gift which you did not deserve, worked for or earned, the gift would be truly a gift.

The interesting thing about a gift is that someone must give and someone must receive the gift. If someone receives a gift knowing that they did not deserve it, a sense of awe and wonder baffles the mind and touches the heart because an undeserved gift simply means that someone cares for them.

God gave mankind a gift even though mankind did not deserve it. His gift is unconditional, it can not be earned or worked for. It is only received by grace believing by faith in Jesus (Ephesians 2:8-9). The sad thing about God's great gift is that many will choose not to receive it. People's condition is not in the condition their condition should be in. The abuse of pleasures on this earth persuades and conditions many to think of themselves more than others. Therefore, we have the givers giving to themselves. And the self indulgences have conditioned people to think, "I'm worth it." But, you are worth more than you think. Not in the sense of gaining material wealth, but in the sense of gaining a relationship with God that has eternal benefits.

John 3:16 says, "For God so loved the world (you and me) that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal live."

May I ask you, What condition is your condition in?

-- Albert Vacek is pastor at Valley Springs Baptist Church.