Years ago I used to record at a studio owned and operated by a guy named Steve Clayton. Now, I didn't know Steve in his wild rock and roll days, but I know he had 'em. When I met Steve he was much like me, an old rocker that had settled into a way of life that suited his faith and sobriety. One of the most laid back people I have ever met, Steve had a pet phrase for any and every difficulty or challenge in life. When faced with a blown take on a recording, an equipment malfunction, or the crippling medical condition that ultimately took his life a couple of years ago, I can't count the number of times I heard Steve say in his southern-fried drawl, "Ain't no thang but a chicken wang!"
Way before the Outkast song of the same name, Steve lived that expression. He was a treasure. Steve gave so much to so many people. He had a remarkable impact on my life, and the lives of many of the young people (including my own kids) who spent time in the studio with him, and nothing I could write here would begin to do justice in describing what a warm, caring, giving Christ-follower he was. But perhaps the thing I remember most about him was that attitude that said, "Stuff may come my way, stuff I don't like, stuff I don't even understand, but at the end of the day, it's all in God's hands and God loves me."
That's the kind of attitude that Paul is talking about in 1 Corinthians 15, where he writes, "But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourself fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain".
Steve never let anything move him. After all, if you're trusting God...everything else is just "wangs".
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