I Won't Back Down

Back in the late 1980s and early 1990s I did a series of sermons based around some the great rock songs of the era.  I used Billy Joel's I Go To Extremes and We Didn't Start the Fire, as well as Don Henley's The Heart of the Matter- among others. But my favorite "sermon song" of the period was Tom Petty's I Won't Back Down.  

While I don't claim to know how TP feels about Jesus, or about faith in general, I do know that this is an incredibly spiritual song.  Or at least it is to me.  Check out the opening lyrics:

Well I won't back down, no I won't back down

You could stand me up at the gates of hell

But I won't back down

Gonna stand my ground, won't be turned around

And I'll keep this world from draggin' me down

Gonna stand my ground and I won't back down

That is the kind of faith I have always prayed for- the kind that stands firm in the face of adversity. The chorus reminds us that while it is possible to stand our ground, "there ain't no easy way out."  And if you listen closely the second verse speaks even more clearly as to how we have such faith.  Again, read carefully...

Well I know what's right, I got just one light

In a world that keeps on pushing me around

But I'll stand my ground, and I won't back down

In a world that asks us to deny Jesus every day, do we realize that we too have just ONE LIGHT?  We may get shoved.  We may be persecuted.  We may feel totally out of step with society.  Our friends may find us to be a little strange.  No one ever said following Jesus was easy.  But it can be done.  We must look the world straight in the eye and repeat after TP- I won't back down.  

Just a word about he video.  Not only does it feature TP, but also Ringo Starr and the late George Harrison of The Beatles, as well as Jeff Lynne, the former lead singer of ELO.  Enjoy. 

Because of Jesus,