I don’t do New Years Resolutions but one thing I promised myself this year was to write more. In life past, I used to write a lot and I’ve found when I can get it out of my own head and onto paper it helps me to process and understand. Sometimes it’s no more than a letter to God, sometimes it’s to one person or various people and sometimes I think it’s something God puts in front of me to write. Often God speaks to me in themes. Different people, different scenarios but same theme. Pictures lay out that repeat over and over with central theme to be analyzed, the be thought through, to be chewed on until understood.
This weeks theme: We live in a society that stresses to us that we have choice. Choice of the right brand of coffee made the way we want it … 1/2 Caf, Full Foam, 3 Pumps, Soy Milk ….
Brewery’s on every corner and certainly filling up semi-empty industrial parks with 36, 42, 99 choices of beer – so you can choose the best.
Go to a foreign country’s grocery store for crackers and you may get one, two, three choices of crackers … we have an aisles.
We don’t even have enough dogs, so now we have intentional crossbreeds – cockerdoodles, beaglier, labradoodle, schnoodle and coming soon hybrids – makes me wonder if they run on electric instead of Dog Chow?
I think it all started with Burger King – Have it your way – so we can pretty much blame the fall of society on one hamburger chain, just sayin’
So choice. And then there is God. Don’t like the bible? Write your own. Don’t like “traditional” religion, start your own. Like the bible, but not parts – pick and choose. Even if you are a believer, a follower … feel free to pick and choose. Is that how it is? Like the beers at a brewery – there are 66 books, 1189 Chapters and 31103 verses in the bible. Surely we aren’t meant to follow all of them?
In this society of free choice. In the era of be all all you can be – have it you’re way, there are some things that we don’t get choice.
If you are married – you are married every day, every minute, every place – it’s not a pick and choose.
If you are a parent – you are a parent, every day, every place – you made the choice when you became a parent, you don’t get to unchoose.
If you have a job, you are an employee and are there to serve the needs of the company. You have a choice … Don’t like it? Move on. If you accept the paycheck, serve well, with all of your ability, with grace and with loyalty.
And if you are a follower of Christ, if you have given your life, you are a child of God and yes all 31103 verses apply to you – you don’t get to choose.
I occasionally find myself disappointed in people. I know we all fall short, but I find myself discouraged when I see people not even trying to stay on course. 31103 verses.
No you can’t move in with your boyfriend. 31103
No you don’t bad mouth your boss/company. 31103
No you don’t omit the truth or even shave it a bit. 31103
No you don’t gossip or back room talk. 31103
We all fall short but we have a great guidebook with 31103 verses to keep us straight. But it’s all or nothing. We don’t necessarily get it our way, we do get it His way.
My rambling thoughts this week.
