My Own Worst Enemy

Album: Come to The Well (2011)
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Songfacts®:

  • This track from Casting Crowns' fifth album Come to the Well finds frontman Mark Hall cautioning Christians about falling back into past behavior. He explained to New Release Tuesday: "Every believer knows what it feels like to grapple with the flesh. We all struggle with the desires welling up within us that if acted upon would lead us away from God. Sometimes, it feels as if we're our own worst enemy. This may be the hardest rocking song we've ever played, which is fitting because it's about dealing with our dark side. The Apostle James says we are tempted because each of us is lured and enticed by his or her own desire. These desires come from the fallen nature within us. Though we've been made new through redemption in Jesus Christ, as long as we're wrapped in our fallen flesh we're going to have a fight on our hands. Even the Apostle Paul in Romans 7 makes it clear he endured a daily battle within himself. He says he still didn't do things he knew he should do, and the things he didn't want to do were the very things he wound up doing. He called himself a wretched man. I know the feeling too well.

    The song's opening verse talks about seeing an old familiar face - like I caught a glimpse of my old self even though I never wanted to see him again. The visual I can't get out of my head is the children's story of Peter Pan and his wandering shadow with a mind of its own. The second verse says, 'I feel like my shadow is dragging me around.' It recalls those times when it feels like your old life sneaks back in on you. The answer to the dilemma is found in Paul's conclusion in Romans 7: 'Who will deliver me from this body of death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!'"

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