You may be familiar with the classic jazz song that begins like this: “How come you do me like you do do do? How come you do me like you do? Why do you try to make me feel so blue? I’ve done nothing to you.” Although it was written nearly 100 years ago, this song pops into my head far too often these days.
There are many things happening on the world stage and in our nation that make me wonder why corrupt people with nefarious intentions do us like they do do do, but plenty of smaller things closer to home also have me wondering. I’ll proceed to offer two examples.
Litterers. Every time I pick up discarded beer cans, Bojangles bags, dirty Pampers, and other assorted nastiness on our road frontage, I wonder why litterers do us like they do do do.
To make matters worse, these littering nitwits have upped their game to a whole new level. In recent months, I’ve seen a toilet, recliner, couch and kitchen sink along two rural roads near me. One has been there so long now it has kudzu growing on it.
What kind of seared conscious does one need to possess in order to think it’s okay to dump junk like that on the side of a scenic country road when there’s a trash/recycling center less than 10 minutes away?
Another incident that has me shaking my exasperated head happened recently when my husband drove off and inadvertently left two prescription medications in a shopping cart at Publix.
He quickly realized he’d forgotten them, but in the very few minutes it took Joe to turn around and go back to the cart drop-off, someone had already stolen the medications. The thief obviously had no idea what he or she was getting when they nicked those pills and I sincerely hope they were hugely disappointed when they opened the bag.
Why do thieves do us like they do do do?
I’ve always been fascinated with why people do what they do, but these days I can often only shrug my shoulders and attribute abysmal behavior to the Apostle Paul’s warning to his protégé, Timothy: “But realize this, that in the last days difficult times will come. For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, revilers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, unloving, irreconcilable, malicious gossips, without self-control, brutal, haters of good, treacherous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, holding to a form of godliness, although they have denied its power …” (2 Timothy 3:1-5a).
Are we in the “last days”? Well, if first-century Christians felt they were living in the last days, as the Scriptures seem to indicate, then we certainly are, too.
The more optimistic (or unobservant) among us may imagine humanity is evolving and changing for the better over time, but Paul’s words seem to indicate otherwise. God certainly wants to help each of us grow and change, but even if we’re committed to His path of sanctification, it’s a battle every day to die to ourselves and live for Him.
After all, Paul also wrote, “I find then the principle that evil is present in me, the one who wants to do good” (Romans 7:21). And in the verses immediately preceding this one, it seems like the apostle is essentially asking, “Why do I do what I do do do?”
Thankfully, God has offered mercy and forgiveness through faith in Jesus Christ when we sin against Him and others through our poor, destructive choices. As long as we have breath, He gives us a chance to get back on His path of life.
From lazy litterers, to thieves, to me and everyone included on Paul’s list of last-day sinners, Jesus is the only answer for all the sinful things we do, do, do.