“This story has no moral this story has no end.
This story just goes to show that there ain't no good in man.
He was her man and he's done her wrong.”
These are the last lines of the song ‘Frankie and Johnny’ made famous in 1929 by Jimmie Rodgers. The story in a nutshell? Man cheats on woman, woman shoots man. Inspired by true stories, it is said that the folk song was heard as far back as the American Civil War. The first recorded version was made in 1912 by Gene Greene.
The theme of love gone wrong is timeless. ‘Frankie and Johnny’ has been recorded by dozens of great artists including:
• Elvis Presley
• Sam Cooke
• Bob Dylan
• Stevie Wonder
• Jack Johnson
• Doc Watson
• Pete Seeger
• Lena Horne
• Les Paul
• Burl Ives
• Van Morrison
• Taj Mahal
• Dinah Shore
• Leadbelly
• Fats Waller
The song comes to this conclusion: “there ain’t no good in man.” In other words, we WILL fail. Our destiny is evil.
I submit that the message poses a deeper question about the morality of man: if mankind inevitably chooses sin and, as the song reveals, sin begets sin, are we all doomed to this fate? Are we stuck in a cycle of imperfection and poor choices? If mankind is inherently evil is there any hope?
Let’s start answering those questions by focusing on the phrase: There ain’t no good in man.
The Bible, the commonly known baseline for wrong vs. right, 100% agrees with the songwriter’s conclusion in the following Bible verses:
“For ALL have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” Romans 3:23
“The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?” Jeremiah 17:9
“For out of the heart come evil thoughts- murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander.” Matthew 15:19
“But no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison.” James 3:8
“People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of good.” 2 Timothy 3:2
“People’s hearts are filled with schemes to do wrong.” Ecclesiastes 8:11B
The word sin is an archery term meaning “to miss the mark”. According to the Bible we have all therefore “missed the mark” of perfection and subsequently cannot rightly claim to be equal with God.
You may or may not be aware that God, as we read about God in the Bible, is perfect in every way: omniscient, omnipresent, omni powerful. All knowing, all being, all able. An eternal entity with the capability of knowing all, accurately judging good versus evil, and capable of carrying out punishment or reward based on those judgements. If you can’t do those things then you are not able to be a proper judge of who is good or evil. Humans simply don’t have the scope or ability. If you judge God rather than accepting His judgment for you, you do so in error, because you are only human.
Will mankind inevitably choose sin?
We all have sinned at some point. Even those who try will fail periodically when they lose sight of the goal. Others will continue to choose sin even when given the option not to.
“This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but people loved the darkness instead of the light because their deeds were evil.” John 3:19
“He did evil because he had not set his sight on seeking the Lord.” 2 Chronicles 12:14
“Salvation is far from the wicked, for they do not seek your decrees.” Psalms 119.155
“But the way of the wicked is like a deep darkness; they do not know what makes then stumble.” Proverbs 4:19
“Haughty eyes and a proud heart – the unplowed field of the wicked – produce sin.” Proverbs 21:4
“The fool says in his heart “There is no God.” They are corrupt and their ways are vile; there is no one who does good.” Psalms 14:1
Why do we sin? Can we avoid sin? Can we improve?
In our flesh, our base self, or own desires, we tend toward sin. Human beings are a fallen race. Our entire nature is corrupted by imperfection, and it can become such a deeply engrained yearning within that we instinctively choose based on personal desire rather than greater good. Even those who practice choosing to “be a good person”, and I count myself among those, can still choose incorrectly at times. We are NOT all knowing, all being, all able. We are at liberty to sin so, apart from God, we often do so. That said, the Bible makes the case that we have the option to NOT choose sin.
“Do good, not evil, that you may live. Then the Lord God Almighty will be with you, just as you say he is.” Amos 5:14
“Jerusalem, wash the evil from your heart and be saved. How long will you harbor wicked thoughts?” Jeremiah 4:14
“Deceit is in the hearts of those who plot evil, but those who promote peace have joy.” Proverbs 12:20
“Do not repay evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everyone.” Romans 12:17
“Therefore, get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent and accept the word planted in you, which can save you.” James 1:21
“My flesh and heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.” Psalms 73.26
“I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you.” Psalms 119:11
“The way of the Lord is a refuge for the blameless but is the ruin of those who do evil.” Proverbs 10.29
This last verse begs the question: Who are “the blameless”?
Who is worthy of Heaven?
If, as the Bible says, the human heart is deceptive and evil, how can any human be seen as blameless, upright, or righteous? How can unworthy, imperfect beings become worthy of achieving a Heaven which requires perfection?
We can be seen as blameless by God due to the sacrifice Jesus Christ made on the cross. When we accept that sacrifice, we accept God’s perfection and wear it like a spotless robe. God forgives our sins because Christ covered those sins when he died on the cross in place of our sins; in place of you and me.
“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.” John 3:16-17
“All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God. God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” 2 Corinthians 5:18-21
“When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: “Death has been swallowed up in victory.”” 1 Corinthians 15.54
For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 6:23
How does one “accept” God?
It begins with sincerely seeking to truly know God… then finding and accepting God.
“But if from there you seek the Lord your God, you will find him if you seek him with all your heart and with all your soul.” Deuteronomy 4:29
“’For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you,” declares the Lord.” Jeremiah 29:11-14A
“First seek the counsel of the Lord.” 1 Kings 22:5B
“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.” Matthew 7:7-8
“Flee the evil desires of youth and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace, along with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart.” 2 Timothy 2:22
“If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” Romans 10:9
This is why those saved / redeemed by Jesus Christ can say…
“The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts him, and he helps me. My heart leaps for joy, and with my song I praise him.” Psalms 28:7
“My shield is God Most High, who saves the upright in heart.” Psalms 7:10
“I delight greatly in the Lord; my soul rejoices in my God. For he has clothed me with garments of salvation and arrayed me in a robe of his righteousness.” Isaiah 61:10A
“Many are the plans in a person’s heart, but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails.” Proverbs 19:21
“And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” Romans 8:28
“For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.” Colossoans:13-14
“Let the redeemed of the Lord tell their story— those he redeemed from the hand of the foe.” Psalms 107:2
Summary
A challenge: Stop living with the conception that you cannot change. Your destiny does not have to be terrible or evil. It is true that on your own, you cannot overcome your sin nature; apart from God’s intercession you are bound to sin and failure. However, a transformation takes place with God welcomed in your heart, ruling your heart. When you are sincerely seeking to do things God’s way instead of your own way, the decisions you make will begin to hit the mark rather than missing it. Try this: For each decision you make, take a moment to check with the truth within you, AKA the Holy Spirit.
“This is how we know that we belong to the truth and how we set our hearts at rest in his presence: If our hearts condemn us, we know that God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything. Dear friends, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence before God and receive from him anything we ask, because we keep his commands and do what pleases him. And this is his command: to believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and to love one another as he commanded us. The one who keeps God’s commands lives in him, and he in them. And this is how we know that he lives in us: We know it by the Spirit he gave us.” 1 John 3:19-24
Jesus said: “But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.” John 14:26
The Bible is the Word of God, the guideline for doing good, the owner’s manual for living a blessed life. It takes practice to aim so high, and you will miss when you take your eyes off God, but the more you practice doing God’s will rather than your own, the more it will become natural to you. Like muscle memory, but of the spirit. Exercise your spiritual muscles. Sculpt and refine.
“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.” Hebrews 12:1
“Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize.” 1 Corinthians 9:24
“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!” 2 Corinthians 5:17
“The law of their God is in their hearts; their feet do not slip.” Psalms 37:31
“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” Matthew 6:19-21
“Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.” Philippians 4:8
Remember that when you miss the mark, God is willing and able to forgive, all you need to do is let him know you messed up and ask for forgiveness.
“Therefore, confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.” James 5:16
Set your eyes again on living the lifestyle Jesus displayed for us: love, seek truth, sacrifice, forgive. Above all, love.
“Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind’. This is the first and greatest commandment.”” Matthew 26:36-38
In conclusion: There ain’t no good in man, but there IS good in God.
“May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.”2 Corinthians 13:14
By Royce Waxenfelter
1/25/23
Sources:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frankie_and_Johnny_(song)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kNq532Cyhu0
https://www.biblegateway.com/
