FALLING OFF THE WAGON

Y'all try not to be jealous, but … I am the Queen of Klutz.  Most of my acquaintances know that I accidentally knock elbows, knees, and forehead all over my house, into walls and into furniture.  I’ve fallen off chairs, off my bicycle, off my front porch into a rose bush, and I even fell into an open grave once.  Don’t ask.

I’ve also learned that it’s possible to fall in other ways.  Falling off the proverbial “wagon” means, in my case, falling off a carefully-constructed diet plan.  This year I’ve been eating almost exclusively healthy food.  Yet when confronted with a huge chocolate cake, I tripped over its 6-foot shadow and fell face first into that pile of gooey wonderfulness.  That’s certainly not MY fault.  Is it?  Surely, being klutzy, and falling off things into other things, can be blamed upon The Fall!?  Good, we agree, now I feel better.

HowEVer … it’s occurred to me that sometimes, maybe, perchance … I don’t just fall off the wagon, nor am I pushed off by enablers with ornery tendencies.  I hate to say it out loud, but there are those rare times when instead of falling, I actually dive into temptations and sins headfirst, whooping with glee all the way down, like extreme bungee-cord jumping.  I hear certain people (sometimes just my own voice) chirp to me, “ya gotta have fun sometimes!”   And shoving away any common sense at all, I yell, “okay!!” and off I leap into my sin du’jour where wallowing commences.

I don’t think there’s anything in Scripture specifically against pastry sin (well, okay, there’s gluttony).  There’s plenty about using discernment in hanging out with (alleged) friends who may enjoy leading me astray (Proverbs 22:24-25; 1 Corinthians 15:33).  Isn’t it interesting how we want to blame somebody else?  How about Eve!  Because just as she saw and lusted, then dove headlong into sin, I’m also prone to leaping off my sanctification wagon.  Yeah, it’s all her fault.

My loving, patient Lord Jesus, although it’s depressing to know that sometimes I obstinately choose to sin, it’s so mega-comforting to know that You understand.  You were tempted because You shared in flesh and blood, yet without sin (Hebrews 2:18).  My Jesus, please cause me, on a daily (sometimes hourly) basis to choose NOT to dive into sin, but into your grace.  Help me not to walk according to the flesh, but by the Spirit (Galatians 5:16-26).  And how I praise You for the blessed reminder that there is now no condemnation in You, because You have set me free from the law of sin and death (Romans 8:1-2).  Just as the Holy Spirit intercedes for me from within, so do You intercede for me from above (Romans 8:26, 34).  As I walk with You through the rest of my days, I anticipate less spiritual klutziness, so no more blaming allowed!

STOP, DROP, AND ROLL

Recently, as I walked through a parking lot, I was entranced by someone else’s unusual display of disobedience. A car pulled into a parking space with a large sign specifically designating that this space was for the convenience of pregnant women. And when the car doors opened, 4 teenage boys emerged. I must say, I’m quite proud of myself for not chasing them down to ask when their “due date” was. I also wondered if they perpetually ignored signs on the roadways. Scary, scary thought.

It has been many decades (5 exactly) since I first learned the rules of the road in high school Driver’s Ed. As every one of us knows, there are certain behaviors expected by those who bestow driver’s licenses upon us. Mostly, the directional signs are not that difficult to comprehend. “YIELD” means slow down and watch out. A picture of a BICYCLE means do not run over the helmet-headed bicycler. And “STOP” means ... stop! There are 2-way stops, 4-ways stops, stop-then-proceed, but there’s no getting around it, it means stop.

The most intense sign I observed recently demands: STOP, WRONG WAY, DO NOT ENTER. And instantly, it occurred to me -- Scripture is loaded to the brim with the Lord’s loving warnings, to beware, watch out, don’t indulge in “deeds of the flesh” (Galatians 5:19-21). Don’t go there! Why? Not to ruin all my fun, but because ignoring His “signs” can trip me up in my walk with Him, because it causes me to be a bad ambassador, because it doesn’t glorify Him.

More often than not, Christ’s big warning against anxiety (Matthew 6:25-34) is often the biggest problem for me. It is so incredibly easy to dwell on the past, which is anxiety in reverse. It’s easy to fixate on possible trauma in the future. And yet, He says, if you’re about to worry, don’t start. If you’re already worrying, STOP. Just knock it off, don't go there!

I work well with visuals. So this particular STOP sign in my mind’s eye has proven to be very effective. But I’ve learned to take it a couple of steps further. Thankfully, I’ve never found myself on fire. But we’ve all heard of the infamous “Stop, Drop, and Roll” maneuver to extinguish flames. STOP running, DROP to the ground, and ROLL around, thus quenching the flames.

So now, when I find myself in danger of being “on fire” with anxiety, envy, anger, whatever my flesh decides is fun, I STOP. Then I DROP to my knees in prayer, confession, repentance, and praise to my Lord and Savior Who took these very sins upon Himself. And finally, I ROLL ... in His grace, mercy, love, forgiveness, and yes, even His necessary discipline.

My loving and compassionate Father, “You are a shield about me, my glory, and the lifter of my head” (Psalm 3:3). I thank You for the permanent gift of the Holy Spirit causing me to want to be obedient to Your warning signs. And I am daily thankful for Your Word as my “instruction manual” to drive through my life in a way that is pleasing and glorifying to You.  

MURDER, SHE WROTE

Cute little guy, isn’t he? Happy face, bright smile, dainty little feet?  He told me his name is Gerard.  Yeah, he looks cute, but I must confess that I have a great ... unlove ... for buggers, for just about anything remotely resembling crawling-creeping-many-eyed creatures. My husband’s particular un-love is something called “bore-bees” because they bore into deck wood, thus causing said deck to implode like a bad soufflé. And being the manly man that he is (much like Rambo), he’s highly protective of his deck, charging after them with a can of spray in one hand and his tennis racket of death in the other, sending them sailing to smithereens.

I know ... ecology, food chain, global stuff ... sorry, just play with me here. I enjoy griping about bugs, and I enjoy setting them “free.”  Sorry, bug-huggers, I do. If they infiltrate my castle, they’re buggy-toast. I zero in on them with a shoe, or a fireplace shovel, or a rock-hard stale pop tart, if necessary. BAMMO, off to buggy heaven they go, thus rendering my abode creepy-free. (But never fear, Gerard still lives outside, free to hop to his heart's delight.)

There really is a point here, more than just mindless joyful destruction of critters who probably really do have a reason to live … outside my house. As He’s prone to do, the Lord has caused me to consider this:

What if I expended as much energy, creativity, and single-mindedness to sin-murder as I do in bug-murder?

What if I actually walk with the Spirit, live in such a way, that I’m putting to death the deeds of the body (Romans 8:13)?

What if I consider the members of my earthly body as dead to [everything] that amounts to idolatry (Colossians 3:5)?

Just as bugs are seldom as cute as the little guy above, so are my sins not cuddly and adorable. They're nightmarishly hideous and deserve to be thoroughly slaughtered.

My Father, once again, You have graciously lobbed your Word at my heart with the same tenaciousness that I should exhibit towards my own residual creeping sin. And even more, I’m thankful every day that You, my Jesus, were my personal sin-bearer (1 Peter 2:24), reconciling me to my God (Romans 5:10) for eternity.  And the reason for murdering my sin daily, taking up my cross and following You, my Jesus (Matthew 16:24), is to be a fruit-producing, light-bearing ambassador for You, drawing others to You. Just as I want my home to be creepy-bug-free, so should I desire my life for You to be creepy-sin-free.  I praise You, my Father, for Your divine power to live as You would have me do, honoring You (2 Peter 1:3-4).  You truly are a compassionate God.