PREACHING ALERT
Well, bless my heart!
Did your still small voice ever tell you exactly what your problem is?
My still, small voice is like a jackhammer, pounding away at my hard-headedness!
I have recently been shown that I have been struggling with three main things – Anger, Sloth, and Selfishness. Easy to remember – A.S.S. Hmm. My still, small voice has a serious sense of humor!
Most of my anger is against things that I have absolutely NO control over. I cannot control events or anyone’s actions, feelings, or attitudes but my own. I am a little bit of a control freak, so this is quite bothersome!
The other day, I heard a sermon on putting off sin. The basis was Ephesians 4 that talks of putting off your old self and be renewed into the likeness of God with righteousness and holiness. It’s not like I haven’t heard it before. Shoot! Back in the day, I wrote a song for a children’s musical with the words, “Put it off, keep it off, that mean old sinful man!” I must have forgotten that sage advice somewhere along the way.
The funny thing is, I don’t know that I ever thought about my ability to decide to forcefully ‘put off’ anything.
I decided I need to think of that mean, old sinful part of my nature as a big ol’ spider. I tell you what! I can swish a spider away in a heartbeat with rambunctious thrashing and flailing and screaming that bring the neighbors runnin’ to see what the ruckus is!
James 4:7 is the verse I am sticking with on this one! “Resist the devil and he will flee from you.” More importantly is the first part of the verse, “Submit to God!”
Bingo! Not that I have anger whooped (whipped in Southern lingo), but for the time being, I’m workin’ on it!
SLOTH! Now there’s a daily issue. Old age aches and pains can certainly become an excuse. Argh! I haven’t even come close to figuring out how to totally overcome sloth. When I looked up all the synonyms for sloth, those are definitely attributes I’d like to kick out the door. Still, my recliner is awfully comfortable!
Daily to-do lists, determination, and plain old spunk may help some, but I think God needs to kick me in the backside to get me movin’ in the right direction! And I need to work on the follow-through of my to-do lists. Every day! It’s a choice thing. I just need to have the gumption to make the right choice!
I’ll try to do better on that one for sure!
Selfishness. Argh! As I’ve said many times, every year my goal for the new year is to be totally selfish. Hasn’t worked yet. Oh, yeah. I need to go the other way with that anyway!
Mostly, I am selfish with my time. I am basically an introvert. I like being alone, thinking, writing, reading, crafting, whatever. I enjoy other people when they are around, I just don’t usually go looking for companionship.
I’ve figured part of the reason for that, I think. When I’m the only one I’m talking to, there is no one there to contradict or cross me! That sounds like a win/win. But God is always around, trying to get me to be more like Him.
And the funny thing about God is – He likes people. You can even say He loves them! Annoying rascals that we are, He still wants to be friends.
That boggles my mind!
Anyway, I am in process of renouncing my A.S.S. tantrums, tendencies, and tenacious transgressions. It’s a great feeling when I succeed. I am looking at the verses about freedom in Christ in fresh ways. The feelings of peace, the fruits of diligence, and the joy of sharing God’s love are wonderful.
As annoying as the song is from a recent Disney princess movie, letting go is a wonderful thing. Ha! I may be losing my A.S.S. but I am gaining great peace and freedom of spirit beyond my wildest imagination!
Blessings anyway.
KB
(Please do not take offense! I’m just havin’ some fun with some serious thoughts!)
James 1:22 Don’t just listen to God’s word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves.
