Do you drive and talk on the cell phone at the same time?
Some states have now banned this common practice. It’s not only distracting, but certain people just can’t do it safely. People like “Miss Crazy.”
A while back I was driving behind her car. First it drifted left toward the centerline. Then, just before crossing into oncoming traffic, it jerked right. Drifting right again it suddenly jerked left. Then it repeated the zigzagging all over again.
Concerned for the driver’s safety, I looked closer.
What I saw was a woman holding a cell phone to her ear with one hand. Her other hand gestured wildly as she talked. Occasionally she grabbed the wheel to adjust the car left or right. It was scary--the car was driving “Miss Crazy” and not the other way around!
We used to talk about drivers who drove their radio and adjusted the car. Now I see people everywhere driving their cell phones and talking to their cars. It’s just plain crazy!
But is it any crazier than going through life without direction? Many people do.
They live only for their next paycheck, next vacation or next night on the town. It’s as though their life is on perpetual cruise control with no destination.
Well hold on just a minute. Where’s YOUR life headed?
Many people are like John Lennon’s song Beautiful Boy when it says, “Life is what happens to you while you’re busy making other plans.” Some don’t even have a plan.
However, as Billy Graham often said, “God loves you. He has a plan for your life.”
Do you know where he gets that? The first part is from John 3:16. There we learn, “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”
The second part is in Jeremiah 29:11. God said, “For I know the plans I have for you… plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future.”
It’s amazing to think that the God who made the universe, who knows all about you, and loves you, has a special plan for your life. But the Bible says he does.
First you must turn from trusting in yourself to trusting in God. Trouble is, most of us think we can do better than God. Plus we don’t want to admit we’ve wrecked our lives.
Besides, who needs a road map when there’s such a nice wide highway to follow? It’s the one everyone else is on. You know, “Doin’ what comes naturally” and “Live and let live.”
Listen to Jesus. He says, “Broad is the road that leads to destruction and many enter through it. But narrow is…the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.”
Sounds to me like one of those GPS gadgets would come in handy! Or at least a map.
The good news is that Jesus gave us the map to follow. He said, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”
The choice is yours. You can pick any road you want to follow. But only one will lead you to the life full of love, joy, peace and purpose that Jesus promised--and Heaven, too!
So my advice to you is “Don’t be driving crazy. Follow Jesus.” You can trust him to lead the way. He’ll never fail you or give up on you. And he’ll keep you from wrecking your life. If your life is already a mess, he’ll forgive you and give you a fresh start.
Oh--and if you can’t keep one hand on the wheel and an eye on the road--hang up!
Listen to the Bible; it’s great for your soul!
Showing posts with label forgiveness. Show all posts
Showing posts with label forgiveness. Show all posts
Monday, March 10, 2008
Monday, February 18, 2008
Stuck In The Middle
Why do people act like they do?
I wish I had ten dollars every time I thought that, said it or heard someone else say it. If I did, I could probably retire somewhere warm, wet and beachy.
It amazes me when I see people who know better acting stupid. They make choices and do things to hurt themselves and the ones they love. And they’re the only ones who don’t see it!
How pathetic. And yet I just described every one of us.
You know and I know it’s true. Vainly we hope that no one else suspects. Yet deep down in our hearts we know. We are all hypocrites.
There. I said it. Hypocrites. Judging others with rules we don’t intend to keep.
Our predicament reminds me of the old Gerry Rafferty song, “Stuck in the Middle With You.” Do you remember it? “Stealers Wheel” recorded it back in the 1970s. The lyrics went, “Clowns to the left of me, Jokers to the right, Here I am, Stuck in the middle with you.”
That’s us! We’re surrounded by people just like us. And we don’t like it.
Author C. S. Lewis is reported to have said, "People are good at expecting others to live in a manner that they are not willing to live themselves." Ouch. That hurts.
Well, hold it right there for just a minute. If everyone does it, what’s the problem?
The problem is we’re blind to our own hypocrisy and complain about everyone else’s!
We need someone to slap us up side our head and say, “Doctor, heal yourself! If you’re so good at diagnosing other people’s problems, why can’t you see your own?” Indeed.
What’s the answer?
Listen to Jesus. He said, “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye. How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.’”
He nailed us, didn’t he? We’re super speck inspectors. Nit picking other’s failures and ignoring our own.
The problem is our unforgiving hearts. We’re all good at giving ourselves excuses but not allowing them for anyone else. We expect God to forgive us but we don’t offer others the forgiveness we think we deserve—even though they are just as deserving.
Face it. We’re all a mess of mistakes. Without God’s mercy we’re sunk. You can’t be good enough for even your own standards and you know it. It’s just a show. Inside you know.
So what should we do? Jesus said that we should first pay attention to our own shortcomings. That means humble ourselves and admit we make mistakes.
Turning away from the sin you love and asking God to forgive you is the way to remove the plank. Then when you experience his wonderful forgiveness through Jesus Christ, you can offer that same forgiveness to others who so desperately need it.
This simple prescription from Jesus will go a long way toward healing what’s wrong in our relationships. But as long as we think we know better, we’ll still be stuck in the middle of the clowns, the jokers and the hypocrites.
Listen to the Bible; it’s great for your soul!
I wish I had ten dollars every time I thought that, said it or heard someone else say it. If I did, I could probably retire somewhere warm, wet and beachy.
It amazes me when I see people who know better acting stupid. They make choices and do things to hurt themselves and the ones they love. And they’re the only ones who don’t see it!
How pathetic. And yet I just described every one of us.
You know and I know it’s true. Vainly we hope that no one else suspects. Yet deep down in our hearts we know. We are all hypocrites.
There. I said it. Hypocrites. Judging others with rules we don’t intend to keep.
Our predicament reminds me of the old Gerry Rafferty song, “Stuck in the Middle With You.” Do you remember it? “Stealers Wheel” recorded it back in the 1970s. The lyrics went, “Clowns to the left of me, Jokers to the right, Here I am, Stuck in the middle with you.”
That’s us! We’re surrounded by people just like us. And we don’t like it.
Author C. S. Lewis is reported to have said, "People are good at expecting others to live in a manner that they are not willing to live themselves." Ouch. That hurts.
Well, hold it right there for just a minute. If everyone does it, what’s the problem?
The problem is we’re blind to our own hypocrisy and complain about everyone else’s!
We need someone to slap us up side our head and say, “Doctor, heal yourself! If you’re so good at diagnosing other people’s problems, why can’t you see your own?” Indeed.
What’s the answer?
Listen to Jesus. He said, “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye. How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.’”
He nailed us, didn’t he? We’re super speck inspectors. Nit picking other’s failures and ignoring our own.
The problem is our unforgiving hearts. We’re all good at giving ourselves excuses but not allowing them for anyone else. We expect God to forgive us but we don’t offer others the forgiveness we think we deserve—even though they are just as deserving.
Face it. We’re all a mess of mistakes. Without God’s mercy we’re sunk. You can’t be good enough for even your own standards and you know it. It’s just a show. Inside you know.
So what should we do? Jesus said that we should first pay attention to our own shortcomings. That means humble ourselves and admit we make mistakes.
Turning away from the sin you love and asking God to forgive you is the way to remove the plank. Then when you experience his wonderful forgiveness through Jesus Christ, you can offer that same forgiveness to others who so desperately need it.
This simple prescription from Jesus will go a long way toward healing what’s wrong in our relationships. But as long as we think we know better, we’ll still be stuck in the middle of the clowns, the jokers and the hypocrites.
Listen to the Bible; it’s great for your soul!
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