I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. Now if I do what I do not want, I agree that the law is good. But in fact it is no longer I that do it, but sin that dwells within me. For I know that nothing good dwells within me, that is, in my flesh. I can will what is right, but I cannot do it. For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I do.
Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I that do it, but sin that dwells within me. So I find it to be a law that when I want to do what is good, evil lies close at hand. For I delight in the law of God in my inmost self, but I see in my members another law at war with the law of my mind, making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members. Wretched man that I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! Romans 7
Solomon Burke sings about this very frustration in the song, Like Anyone Else, which he performs with the Derek Trucks Band.
Is there any truth, is there any doubt
This song presents the confusion and frustration Paul describes: we don’t do what we should do or want to do. We fail. Life as a Christian is a struggle. But as Paul notes, thanks be to God—we have Jesus Christ—our redeemer, our deliver.
Solomon Burke, a member of the rock and roll hall of fame since 2001, described as the best soul singer of all time by Atlantic Records producer Jerry Wexler, was born in a church in Philadelphia on March 21, 1940, and has kept his faith strong over his 70 years. Solomon describes his approach simply and straightforwardly: “but there I was, born in grace, and it was always easy for me to understand the goodness of God. I strived never to be too overwhelmed or overbearing with it and do what the Lord said to do.”
Like Anyone Else
