Sing with me!!! Ooooohhhh!!!...
of for those so inclined...WPS!!!
Mac Davis (Tuesday's Musical Notes - "I Believe in Music" (Gallery/Mac Davis)) is one of those under-the-radar artists in the history of music whose imprint can be felt all over the musical landscape. He had one #1 hit, the 1972 smash, "Baby, Don't Get Hooked On Me" and only 3 Billboard Hot 100 top 40 hits. However, his songwriting credits are lengthy as he penned some of the lyrics for some of music's biggest names. He wrote, "In the Ghetto" and "A Little Less Conversation" for Elvis Presley (Tuesday's Musical Notes - "Suspicious Minds" (Elvis Presley)). He was part of Nancy Sinatra's Boots Enterprises and played on several of her recordings, and wrote songs for BJ Thomas (Tuesday's Musical Notes - "Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head" (BJ Thomas), Tuesday's Musical Notes - "Hooked on a Feeling" (Blue Swede/BJ Thomas) neither written by Davis, but we wanted to "humbly" plug them anyway...) as well as many others.
Mac Davis saw his biggest success in the Country music world where he became a certified star. With the success of "Baby, Don't Get Hooked On Me", he parlayed himself into a 1974 Entertainer of the Year Award by the Academy of Country Music. Also in 1974, Davis saw his album Stop and Smell the Roses scorch the Country charts all the way to #2, his biggest charting full-length record. His successes in 74 also brought about 2 years of a variety show on NBC, aptly title The Mac Davis Show.
In the 80s, he segued to Casablanca Records (which touted artists like Donna Summer and KISS) and brought about a song that would soon become recognized as one of his "signature" titles.
"It's Hard to Be Humble" went to #10 on the Country charts and crossed over to #43 on the Hot 100. It would be his highest-charting single on the Hot 100 in the 80s. With his variety show experience, Davis also saw the 80s bring about a burgeoning acting career. "Hard to Be Humble" provided him the face time he needed to score guest spots on variety shows like The Muppet Show, and movies like North Dallas Forty with Nick Nolte.
"It's Hard to Be Humble" was quickly adopted into the sports world. Specifically, at the University of Arkansas, where the Hogwild band (the Basketball pep band..aw the days before the DJ, but I digress) debuted the song in the early 80s as a part of the repertoire for Razorback Basketball games. The song became so popular with students and fans that the Marching Razorbacks adopted it as a part of the post-game set-list for games in which the Razorback football team was victorious. There have even been some years where the entire football team comes to the band side of the field and sings it boisterously with fans and the band after a win...for me that is Mac Davis' legacy because "...It's hard to be humble when you're an Arkansas Razorback fan, GO HOGS!!!"
Sadly Mac Davis, as well as Kenny Rogers (Tuesday's Musical Notes - "Just Dropped In (To See What Condition My Condition Was In) (Kenny Rogers and The First Edition)) featured in today's video, died in 2020. Davis left behind a legacy of music that is still played on oldies stations and lyrics that today's songwriters find difficult to emulate... Mac Davis' 15 Best Songs, For Himself and Other Artists: Staff Picks By Melinda Newman and Andrew Unterberger 9/30/2020 billboard.com
"It's Hard to Be Humble" is one of those classic "novelty" songs that really have much truth interspersed amongst its tongue and cheekiness. It also brings up a characteristic that many today need to remember...it truly is hard to be humble...
Noah was a righteous man (Genesis 6:9 New American Standard Bible/The Amplified Bible/King James Version of the Bible parallel). Abraham was a faith-filled follower (Genesis 12:1-4 NASB/AMP/KJV) Moses was humble. Numbers 12 NASB/AMP/KJV
The stress and strain of traveling in a wilderness had already begun to take their toll on the traveling nation of Israel. Now, Moses' brother, Aaron, and sister, Miriam, begin the process of questioning Moses' leadership and jockeying for position among the leaders of Israel. What was the source of their difficulties? Aaron and Miriam had a problem with the fact that Moses' wife, Zipporah, was not of the Abrahamic bloodline. These hackles of culturalism raised in them a sense of entitlement and arrogance towards Zipporah. While Miriam and Aaron's attitudes are the focus of this passage, the Bible says something parenthetically here that is missed many times in the reading of this particular passage of Scripture. It says, "Now the man Moses was very humble, more than any person who was on the face of the earth." Why is Moses' humility important?
The Gospel of Jesus Christ is the most important message anyone can hear. It has the power to change a person's eternal destination and make for them a very different life in this existence. Sometimes the difficulty lies in the people that God uses to promote His Gospel. "I can't wait to look in the mirror..." God can make all things happen, but sometimes The Gospel has difficulty permeating through the "Hard to be Humble" persona of the messenger. (umm...did you just picture someone in your mind that fits that description???). That's why it was so important for Moses to be a man of humility. The message he has will have a better chance at resonating if the presenter has credibility among those who are recipients.
Yes, Moses initially made many excuses as to why he was not the man for the job of delivering the nation of Israel to the promised land. Many times this comes off as a weakness on Moses' part. I would suggest that this is attributable to the fact that Moses' humility at times was so great that it came off as insecurity or "looking for a way out" of doing God's plan. After Moses' accepts his role in God's plan we never see him becoming egotistical or arrogant in his dealings with Pharaoh and the court of the Egyptians. Moses was confident in who God was yes, but this confidence never came across as boastful. In fact, we see that Moses' approach caused him to find favor among many in Pharoah's court. Exodus 11:3 NASB/AMP/KJV
Through the remainder of the Bible, humility becomes a theme among those who claim God's authority in their lives. It becomes a characteristic that God commands us to have. It becomes the main weapon against our self-centeredness.
Why is this? Because one who is humble has a much better opportunity to attract folks with the Gospel than those who treasure their own company. We should behave in such a manner that folks are drawn to us, not put off by us. This gives us the credibility in their eyes to listen to God's Gospel. Because of our humility, not our expository, exegetical prowess, we stand out in the crowd. Then we again, must get out of God's way and allow Holy Spirit to do His job in the convicting of their sin and leading them to repentance. We report, He convicts and leads, they decide...
Our role? We're the background, we're Moses...and we're doing the best that we can.
'Til Tuesday,
Serving HIM by serving You,
randy
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