It Ain't Always Bad

There’s a song written by Bruno Mars, Phillip Lawrence, and Ari Leving, and recorded by Mars, called “Count On Me.” There are a few different versions with minor deviations in the first verse, but the one I heard first was sung by The Sea Chanters, which is the vocal group that is part of the U.S. Navy Band. It is out there on YouTube, along with several hours of music performed by the band.

The first line of the chorus is this:

    “You can count on me like one-two-three

        I’ll be there”

If we look at the song as if God and we are having a conversation, how would we look at it? Now, on first glance it is easy to assume that this is God talking to us, promising us. But, if you look at the next line, you might come to a different conclusion:

    “And I know when I need it

    I can count on you like four-three-two

    And you’ll be there

    ‘Cause that’s friends are s’posed to do, oh yeah.”

Now the critical question is which part of the two parts of the chorus is you talking to God and which is you listening to what God has to say to you? How about both?

In good times and bad, and even in between, there is God’s promise to us to be there when we need him and there when we don’t think we do. Yes, he is always there for us, of course. Sometimes we may feel we can do whatever it is on our own. For some reason, it usually doesn’t turn out quite the way we envisioned it. God is always there for us, helping even though we don’t think we need it. We must not try to cut him out by trying to go it alone. That is God’s message in the first line of the chorus.

But don’t we also have a part to play in that line? Certainly our role to play is to let God know he can count on us to do his work, follow his teaching, obey the rules he gave to us thousands of years ago. Whether we do so by becoming one of his ministers and spreading his word to others or by just living the way he wants us to live, to show by example how he is an integral part of our lives, it is our role to play.

The second line of the chorus is our declaration of faith. We are saying that we believe he is there for us at all times and in all ways, that we can always count on him to be forever in our lives.

That line of the chorus is also God’s statement of having faith in us to live our lives according to his desires, as spelled out in the book he gave to us. Knowing that he counts on us is not a burden, but rather a source of joy in knowing we are doing his work, furthering his desires to bring everyone to him.

So, yes, we do what is needed for each other, are there for each other, give out of love what we each can give, and know without doubt we are both loved in return.