“I understand why sinners sin.” Mylon LeFevre

Alvin Lee, Mylon, Steve Winwood & George Harrison

We had such a great time with our friend and brother, Mylon LeFevre, last night on our BlogTalkRadio show, but what stood out to me was this one simple statement: “I understand why sinners sin.” Why is that important?

The comment came out of Mylon’s story about growing up in a gospel-singing Christian family. Mylon’s first recorded song, “Without Him,” was recorded by Elvis Presley and became one of Elvis’s most loved spiritual songs. It speaks of a strong personal knowledge of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

    Without Him I could do nothing
    Without Him I’d surely fail
    Without Him I would be drifting
    Like a ship without a sail

    Without Him I would be dying
    Without Him I’d be enslaved
    Without Him life would be worthless
    But with Jesus thank God I’m saved

    Jesus, oh Jesus
    Do you know Him today
    Please don’t turn Him away
    Jesus, my Jesus
    Without Him how lost I would be
    Without Him how lost I would be

with Eric Clapton

It’s obvious that Mylon knew the Lord at an early age, but his sudden success that drew him into the company of major rock and roll superstars, and subsequently, a lifestyle of sex, high living and drugs from which he almost overdosed, made him mindful of the lures of sin. “I understand why sinners sin,” became an important part of Mylon’s road to recovering his faith, and a newfound personal compassion for the lost.

with Pete Townsend

If we ever get upset at sinners for sinning, it’s a red flag — a Pharisee alert — that something is wrong in our thinking. You can judge other people’s sin only when you are blind to your own. If we get upset at anyone’s sin, it should be our sin that upsets us.

It’s interesting to watch the debate that has been going on in Christian circles about Katy Perry’s alleged comment that God encouraged her before her Super Bowl halftime performance with the message: “You got this and I got you.” The people who are decrying that this could not possibly have been God speaking, of necessity have to comb through her songs, actions and statements to find enough undeniable evidence of Katy’s sin and rejection of the God of her childhood (she also came from a devout Christian family) to convict her of never being able to hear from God. Hey, I know what it’s like to wonder if you have what it takes to get up in front of a hundred people, much less the largest live viewing audience in the history of the world where one misstep can brand you with a “malfunction” for the rest of your life. I have no comment on Katy’s sinful life because I’d rather not bring up my own, but I will say that if she got an encouraging word from the Lord before her performance, then “Bless you, Katy.” I understand.

with Elton John

Mylon understands, too. He understands why sinners sin because he understands his own sin, and that’s precisely why he loves sinners so much, and can’t wait to tell them about Jesus. He knows they, like him, need the Lord, and that’s as much as any of us need to know about anyone else’s sin.