The Woman & Her Church Seat

Posted on May 16, 2011 by russellmckinney

Dr. Lee Roberson served as the pastor of Highland Park Baptist Church in Chattanooga, Tennessee, for over forty years. After one Sunday-morning service in which several people got saved and others got baptized, he went out the back door of the large sanctuary and down the alley behind the church. He was met there by a dear lady from the church. He greeted her by saying, “How are you today, ma’am?” She answered, “Not very good. You know about it, don’t you?” Somewhat surprised, Dr. Roberson said, “No, I don’t know what you are talking about.” Incredulous, the woman said, “You mean you didn’t know about this?” Again, Dr. Roberson said, “No.”

The woman then launched into her story. “Dr. Roberson, you know that for 22 years I have sat in a certain seat in the balcony to your left.” “Yes, that’s right,” said the preacher. “Well, this morning I went to my place, and a man was sitting there. I told him that was my seat, but he just said, ‘It’s not yours today.'” After the man’s refusal to move, the woman had gotten mad, left the service, and stood outside to wait for Dr. Roberson.

And how did the venerable old pastor respond to her complaint? He said, “Ma’am, you have heard me preach again and again on dying to self. How long has it been since you died?” Then he got in his car and went on his way.

During the service that night, while the choir was singing, Dr. Roberson looked up to the balcony, but he didn’t see the woman in her usual seat. Finally, after scanning over the sanctuary, he found her sitting in a new seat in the lower section. When their eyes met, she just smiled. Roberson used to love to tell that story and end it by saying, “She died. And I haven’t had a problem with her since.”

In Luke 9:23, Jesus says, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.” Keep in mind now that nobody took up a cross and lived. And so, Christian, I’ll just ask you, how long has it been since you died? Have you died today? For that matter, have you ever died? You see, the only way that you can properly live for Christ is to attend your own funeral afresh and anew each morning as you die to your will and present yourself to live for His.

Posted in Attitude, Church, Church Attendance, Dying To Self, Forgiveness, Humility, Repentance, Revenge | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Revenge: It’s Not a Job for You

Posted on May 12, 2011 by russellmckinney

Back when Jimmy Carter was the President of the United States, news reporter Sam Donaldson was gaining a reputation for his aggressive, in-your-face, annoying style of questioning. During the height of the energy crisis, Donaldson was assigned to accompany Carter on a trip overseas to a small village near New Delhi. Carter went there to see firsthand how the citizens of that village threw all the cow manure from their herds into a large pit and then siphoned off the methane gas to create the fuel required to light their village lamps.

As Carter and Donaldson were standing there on the lip of that manure pit, inspecting the siphoning process, Donaldson couldn’t resist the urge to make a joke. He said, “If I fell in, you’d pull me out wouldn’t you, Mr. President?” To that, Carter dryly replied, “Certainly, ……… after a suitable interval.”

Oh, that craving for that “suitable interval” (that craving to exact revenge) comes so easily for us, doesn’t it? I’ve felt it, and so have you. But what does the Bible teach? (all references from the N.K.J.V.)

You shall not take vengeance, nor bear any grudge against the children of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the Lord. (Leviticus 19:18)

Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to wrath; for it is written, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,” says the Lord. (Romans 12:19)

For we know Him who said, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,” says the Lord… (Hebrews 10:30)

Tell me, is there someone who has done you wrong? Is there someone whom you’d enjoy seeing spend some time in a manure pit? Well, you’d better watch out for those hard feelings. Just let God deal with the person and do His repaying in His own way and timing. He doesn’t need any help from you.

Posted in Anger, Extending Forgiveness, God's Wrath, God's Judgment, Persecution, Personal Holiness, Revenge, Trusting In God | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

A Great Lesson For Your Kids

Posted on May 11, 2011 by russellmckinney

Toward the end of General Robert E. Lee’s life, he attended the christening of a friend’s son. The mother asked the aged leader to offer some words that would help guide the child into true manhood. But Lee’s answer probably wasn’t what she wanted to hear. He said simply, “Teach him to deny himself.”

Bruce Catton, a Pulitzer Prize winning journalist and Civil War historian, wrote the following about Lee’s words of wisdom:

To deny himself…..Unexpected words, coming from a great soldier? One wonders how the young mother felt, hearing them. Even more, one wonders how this advice would strike the average parent of today.

We don’t emphasize self-denial very much these days, either for our children or for ourselves. Instead, we concentrate on our wants. We seem to have the notion that the world owes us all manner of good things, and we feel abused when we don’t get them. Self-discipline is a bore; and as a result, we are perilously close to winning an unwelcome fame as a land known for its spoiled children and discontented adults.

To learn to get along without, to realize that what the world is going to demand of us may be a good deal more important than what we are entitled to demand of it – this is a hard lesson. We have not been working very hard at it in recent years. Instead, we have developed a moral and intellectual flabbiness that could be fatal to us as individuals and as a nation.

For the world itself is really no easier now than it was in General Lee’s time. It offers rich opportunities; but above everything else, it offers a struggle, a struggle that will never be won by the self-indulgent. More than anything else, we need to relearn General Lee’s lesson.

To deny ourselves…That we may miss a good many of the nice, easy things that it is so pleasant to have. But we end up serving something bigger than ourselves. We can finish by attaining greatness.

If Catton’s words sound like they have a Biblical scent to them, there’s probably a reason for that. His father was a minister. And I can’t help but suspect that Catton knew the words of Jesus:

…whoever desires to become great among you, let him be your servant. And whoever desires to be first among you, let him be your slave – just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many. (Matthew 20:26-28, N.K.J.V.)

Posted in Attitude, Children, Contentment, Desires, Doing Good, Giving, Humility, Leadership, Parenting, Sacrifice, Seeking Advice, Youth | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

The Power of One

Posted on May 10, 2011 by russellmckinney

…one sinner destroys much good. (Ecclesiastes 9:18, N.K.J.V.)

Wow, you talk about a statement with truth to it! These words from Ecclesiastes punch us right in the face, don’t they? What a sad but very real fact it is that just one person, acting in an ungodly manner, can ruin a ton of “good.”

I’ll openly admit that I hate this about life. I mean, if God is really trying to fix this world, then He shouldn’t let one sinner destroy much good, right? We’re certainly never going to get a whole lot accomplished with that setup.

Ah, but right there is the foundational flaw in our thinking. You see, God isn’t trying to fix this world. The noted preacher and author Warren Wiersbe is the man who helped me understand this. He says that rather than trying to save this world, God is saving people out of this world. I have to say that once I got a hold of that idea, life on planet Earth made a lot more sense to me.

Listen, I’m always glad when some criminal is brought to justice. I’m also happy anytime I pull into a gas station and find that gas prices have dropped. And any news that the economy is recovering and employment figures are on the rise is welcome. Through it all, though, we must always remember that this world is still in an irreversible death spiral. Consider the following verses:

But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come… (2 Timothy 3:1, N.K.J.V.)

But evil men and imposters will grow worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived. (2 Timothy 3:13. N.K.J.V.)

Little children, it is the last hour; and as you have heard that the Antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have come, by which we know that it is the last hour. (1 John 2:18, N.K.J.V.)

I assure you that the Bible is crystal clear in its teaching that this world is headed for dark, dark times. The climax of these times will be a seven-year period commonly referred to as “the tribulation period.” Getting even more specific, the last three-and-a-half years of that period will be the worst of the worst. How bad will those days be? Jesus said that unless they are shortened no one will be left alive on earth (Matthew 24:22). In other words, if God didn’t put a cap (a time limit) on those days, mankind would be completely wiped off the face of the earth. Think about that!

You ask, “When will these perilous times begin?” Well, passages such as Hebrews 1:1-2 teach that the “last days” age actually began when Jesus came into this world. This means that the momentum for the closing years of the “last days” has been building for some 2,000 years now. Some day, perhaps today, Jesus will miraculously rapture His people away from this world (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18; 1 Corinthians 15:50-58; John 14:1-3), and sometime shortly after that moment in time, God’s official clock for the seven-year tribulation period will begin ticking. That clock will see the prophesied events of Revelation chapters 6 through 18 come to pass upon the earth, and the clock won’t stop ticking until Christ’s Second Coming at the famous Battle of Armageddon (Revelation 19:1-21). It is that battle that will finally signal the end of this “last days” age as Christ then establishes His one-thousand-year kingdom upon this earth (Revelation 20:1-6).

Now, tell me, does all of that sound like God is really working hard right now to fix the mess we have made of life on earth? No, it doesn’t. And that’s why He doesn’t always stop it when “one sinner destroys much good.” Please don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying that God always lets the troublemaking sinner get away with his deeds. Neither am I saying that God wants us to just throw up our hands and give up on trying to make this world a better place. But what I am saying is that we must always remember that this world has major Biblical prophecies hanging over it, and God isn’t going to cancel those out for any reason.

Posted in Christ's Second Coming, Christ's Return, Coming Judgment, Current Events, God's Timing, God's Wrath, God's Judgment, Human Life, Influence, Prophecy | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Year by Year

Posted on May 9, 2011 by russellmckinney

As the story in 1 Samuel chapter 1 begins, a woman named Hannah is barren. She has a husband, Elkanah, who loves her very much, but she cannot give him children. Perhaps that is why he has a second wife. Her name is Peninnah, and she and Elkanah do have children. But as is typical in Old Testament stories in which the man has more than one wife, there is jealousy and rivalry between the wives. Because Peninnah knows that Elkanah loves Hannah more than her, she takes great delight in verbally abusing Hannah concerning Hannah’s barrenness. 1 Samuel 1:6 says of Hannah:

And her rival also provoked her severely, to make her miserable, because the Lord had closed her womb. (N.K.J.V.)

Peninnah’s cruel taunts are even thrown around during the family’s annual trips to Shiloh to worship and offer sacrifices at the Tabernacle, Israel’s central place of worship in those days. 1 Samuel 1:7 says:

So it was, year by year, when she went up to the house of the Lord, that she provoked her; therefore she wept and did not eat. (N.K.J.V.)_

Please notice those three words: year by year. How many years did Hannah endure the vicious taunting of Penninah? We can’t say for sure. All we know is that God didn’t come riding in with the calvary and fix the problem overnight. He let things go on for years!

This brings me to the core message of this post. How long have you been waiting for God to do that certain something? How long have you been waiting for Him to grant that specific request? How long have you been waiting for Him to deal with that one problem? If you can truthfully answer, “For years,” you are in the good company of Hannah.

The difference between you and her is that you know how her story turned out. God did eventually open her womb and grant her Samuel, who would grow up to become one of Israel’s greatest leaders. But as for the end of your story, well, right not that’s still in doubt (at least in your way of looking at things). Understand this, though: All those years of what you might classify as silence or inactivity on God’s part are no indication, in and of themselves, that He isn’t still going to do what you’ve asked Him to do. Remember the words of Psalm 27:14:

Wait on the Lord; Be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart; Wait, I say, on the Lord! (N.K.J.V.)

Posted in Disappointment, Encouragement, Faith, God's Love, God's Timing, God's Provision, God's Will, Impatience, Needs, Patience, Perseverance, Prayer, Prayer Requests, Problems, Trusting In God, Waiting | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

The Foolish Man & His Diamond

Posted on May 5, 2011 by russellmckinney

A wealthy man sold all his possessions for cash and bought an incredibly expensive diamond. Then he put the diamond in his pocket and took a voyage from England to America. On the deck of the ship, he pulled out the diamond and began flipping it in his hand. Some of his fellow passengers warned him not to be so careless with something so valuable, but he took great delight in seeing how much they worried over his actions. So, to increase that worrying, he walked to the ship’s railing and started flipping the diamond there. It was there that, during one flip, the ship lurched forward unexpectedly and the diamond went down into the sea.

True story? I’d be shocked if it was. No one would be so foolish, right? But the fact is that millions of individuals around the world act even more foolishly every day as they take the ultimate gamble with the ultimate prize: their soul. What I mean is, they walk around literally one breath out of Hell.

Oh, there I went and used that inconvenient word, didn’t I? In this modern era, we aren’t supposed to say, “Hell” unless it is for the purposes of profanity or explaining where despicable people such as Adolph Hitler and Osama bin Laden go in the afterlife. That doesn’t change the fact, however, that the Bible is still God’s written word, and it still teaches that the souls of all those who die without Christ as Savior go to Hell.

The New Testament’s Greek word for this place is Hades, and in Luke 16:19-31 Jesus describes Hades as a place of torment, flame, separation, remembrance, and regret. In Matthew 13:42, He calls it “the furnace of fire” and says that it produces “wailing” and “gnashing of teeth.” Obviously, Jesus didn’t shy away from letting people know just how gruesome Hell is.

You say, “Okay, Russell, I’ll go along with you that Hell exists and that the souls of certain people go there in the afterlife, but God only sends murderers, terrorists, pedophiles, rapists, and all the other ‘worst of the worst’ there, right?” Well, that certainly sounds logical and reasonable to our modern mindsets, but it simply isn’t correct theology. There are so many verses that I could cite here, but I’ll just use a few (all from the N.K.J.V.) from the third chapter of the gospel of John:

Jesus answered and said to him, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” (John 3:3)

For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.” (John 3:16-18)

He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and he who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him. (John 3:36)

And so, you see, the only way for you to escape the horrors of Hell is to place your belief in Jesus as your personal Savior. Such believing involves you turning from your sins and turning to Jesus, the divine Son of God who died on the cross as the eternal payment for all your sins. Anything less than you placing saving belief in Him is just you continuing to flip up the priceless diamond of your soul as you stand next to the ship’s railing of the afterlife. But why be so foolish? Jesus, the one who said, “…the one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out” (John 6:37), stands ready to save you right now.

Posted in Belief, Coming Judgment, Death, Eternity, God's Wrath, God's Judgment, Hell, Salvation | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Happy Birthday, Mom

Posted on May 4, 2011 by russellmckinney

Today is my mother’s birthday, and I’d like to use this post to recall just one of the many fond memories that I have of her. Please understand that I could also speak of innumerable meals prepared, loads of laundry done, beds made, appointments kept, trips to church, Christmas and birthday presents, and whatever else it took to get me raised. But writing about all that would take the rest of my life and turn into an encyclopedia set. So, instead, I’ll just run with this one memory.

Back in the day, at my middle school, shorts were still pretty taboo. There was no written rule against wearing them, but everybody usually wore pants no matter how hot it was. Of course, I realize that things are different now in that my two sons wear shorts to school half the year. But this was the late 1970s and I’m simply telling you how it was.

Anyway, one spring day I decided, for whatever reason, to become a trendsetter and boldly wear a pair of shorts to school. Even as I write these words, I can’t explain to you what possessed me to step out of the herd. Call it a temporary lapse of sanity. So, off to school I went, wearing a nice pair of shorts, no doubt showing legs white enough to blind someone.

But once I arrived at school and began to mix and mingle, it didn’t take me long to realize that I had made a major mistake. My fellow classmates weren’t brutal, but a few little remarks were certainly made. Mainly, however, my embarrassment came from within, a fact that didn’t make the pain any less real. Needless to say, after a couple of hours, I was ready to go find some pants.

This is where my mother comes into the story. Fortunately for me, she worked in the Clerk of Courts office right up the street from the school. So, I went down to the school office, called her, and told her to come get me. I didn’t know how she would respond, but I was very grateful when she picked me up within minutes. She took me home, where I changed into a pair of my favorite jeans. Then she took me back to school, where I had a much better afternoon than morning.

I don’t know why, but as I thought about today being her birthday, that experience came to my mind. It was just one of those deals for which a parent never hears, “Thank you,” but the kid never forgets the love and kindness. So, as a birthday present to you mom, I say a long overdue, “Thank you,” not just for bailing me out that day but also for the countless other acts of loving kindness over my forty-four years on this earth. I know that this coming Sunday is Mother’s Day, and that’s the day normally set aside for talk such as this, but I thought you might enjoy this as a birthday present. I love you, and never doubt that I do remember all the good stuff.

Posted in Children, Doing Good, Dress and Appearance, Motherhood, Parenting, Personal, Thankfulness, Youth | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

My One Word For Osama bin Laden

Posted on May 2, 2011 by russellmckinney

Last night brought the news that every American has longed to hear for almost a decade: Osama bin Laden has been killed. Countless words will be written today about the story, and numerous questions will be raised. How could the world’s most wanted terrorist be living just an hour away from the capital of Pakistan, a country to which the U.S.A. has given millions of dollars in aid? Why was bin Laden’s body given a secretive burial at sea? Will this finally put an end to all the speculation that President Obama is a closet Muslim? Don’t ask me. To use a line from the President, such answers are above my pay grade.

Rather than me try to write the first, middle, and last word on the story of bin Laden’s death, I just want to focus on a simple one: hypocrisy. Whatever else you might call bin Laden (and that could surely make for a long list), call him a world-class hypocrite. I mean, think about it, here was a so-called “leader” who thought nothing of expecting his “troops” to live in hiding in deserts, caves, mountain fortresses, dingy apartments, and such, but he himself spent his time holed up in a grandiose (by Pakistan standards), three-storied, fortress home. While his men went for extended periods of time without seeing their families, he was caught with his youngest wife and one of his sons at his side. And you can bet he wasn’t living on cold beans and saltine crackers, either. As a Reuters news story put it, “It was a far cry from the popular notion of bin Laden hiding in some mountain cave on the rugged and inaccessible Afghan-Pakistan border…”

So, in the end, it seems that the mad zealot bin Laden proved himself to be just as susceptible to the life of ease and comfort as the average American he claimed to despise. Ironic? Yes, you could say that, but I’m going with hypocritical. Listen, it’s easy to sit back in your comfortable home, out of harm’s way, and dispatch orders for your men to happily die for the great cause. In that sense, bin Laden wasn’t one bit different from seemingly countless kings, czars, dictators, and rulers who came before him. I mean, if you are going to attempt world domination, at least get out of the house every now and then and mingle among your faithful! Personally, I don’t think that’s asking too much of a guy who claimed that the ultimate way to leave this world and set yourself up in the afterlife was to become a martyr.

Posted in Current Events, Hypocrisy | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Me & My Bird

Posted on April 29, 2011 by russellmckinney

At our house, we’ve been dealing with an interesting problem for the past couple of days. Well, “interesting” is one word for it. “Annoying” would be another. “Maddening” would perhaps be best. A certain bird has been pecking away at two of our bedroom windows. This morning it woke me and Tonya up at first light. Our son, Royce, has the bedroom right next to ours, and the first thing he said when he got up was, “Something was trying to get in my window!”

It was yesterday, around lunch, when I first noticed the bird. It kept heaving itself into my bedroom window. When it wasn’t doing that, it was incessantly pecking away at that window. At first, I worried that the poor little thing would hurt itself. As the day wore on, though, I worried that it was going to crack the window. But along about dawn this morning, I just wanted the thing to ram into the window one last time and die.

So, after Tonya and the boys headed off to school, I turned my full attention to what had now officially become “a bird problem.” (Think Bill Murray going up against that gopher in the movie Caddyshack.) My first attempt involved me walking outside and seeing if there was any way that I could catch the thing. You know, maybe I could throw an old sheet over it, get it on the ground, keep it loosely trapped in that sheet, drive it a few hundred miles away, and then release it so that it could torment some other family in that area. But the bird was having none of it. I barely got within ten yards of it before it flew off to safety. Of course, as soon as I got back in the house, it returned to the window and started up again. So much for plan #1.

Next, I tried running hard at the window from the inside while the bird was pecking away at it. That did create the scare I was hoping for, but the bird just moved down to Royce’s window and started pecking away at that window. So then I ran at that window. That got the bird to fly off to a tree in my neighbor’s yard. Unfortunately, however, the bird didn’t stay there long. Just a few minutes later it was right back at my window, back on the job. That ended plan #2.

At this point, I decided to seek some professional help. I went to the internet and did a google search on “how to keep a bird from pecking at a window.” Of course, I had to begin by working through the old superstitious nonsense about such a bird meaning that someone in the house is going to die soon. Supposedly, the bird is actually the soul of a deceased loved one who has come back to escort another soul into the afterlife. Yeah, right, and I’m the Easter bunny. The only way that bird was going to be associated with a death in our home was if I fell off a ladder and broke my neck while trying to deal with it. Clearly, more research was in order.

In the end, I was somewhat surprised to learn that birds pecking at windows is a common problem, especially during this time of year. What the bird is actually doing is protecting its nesting territory from a rival bird. When it sees its reflection in the window, it thinks it’s seeing another bird from its species, and it deals with that by aggressively attacking that other bird. I guess it’s a price we pay for keeping our windows relatively clean.

Okay, so how do you stop a bird from attacking its reflection? The popular answer was to get some pictures of a cat and tape those pictures on the outside of the windows the bird visits. So, I printed out some pictures of cats and taped those pictures to the windows. As I was doing that, I kept thinking what a wonderful environmentalist I was. I mean, you have to be a true animal lover to go to such extremes not to harm a bird, even if it does require scaring the thing to death by way of a cat picture. But, alas, my little friend paid absolutely no attention to those cat pictures. It just parked itself on the ledge right beside one and started hammering away again at my window. So much for plan #3. Evidently, I should have gone to a taxidermist and rented a stuffed mountain lion.

At this point, I transitioned from being Bill Murray in Caddyshack to being Chevy Chase in Christmas Vacation. I went down into the basement, gathered up a bunch of box lids, found our step-ladder, and headed outside to basically “board up” the windows. It wasn’t until I was literally up on the step-ladder that I figured out that I had miscalculated the number of lids I would need to do the job. So, to make the best of a bad situation, I decided to cover just the bottom halves of my window and Royce’s window. Since the bird had been fixating only on those bottom halves, I thought that might do the trick.

Well, guess what happened: The bird literally hopped up onto the top of one of the box lids and started pecking away at the upper half of my window. I thought, “You’ve got to be kidding me. Is this bird from hell or what?” Whereas I had originally thought it was the dumbest creature on earth, I now began to see a sinister brilliance to it.

But, of course, by now I wasn’t going to be outdone. Things had gotten way too personal. So, I went back downstairs, found some more box lids, climbed back up the step-ladder, and boarded up every inch of those windows. And I have to say that the effort finally did produce peace in the house. At last the bird was beaten, beaten that is until a gust of wind blew down two of the box lids and left one corner of my window exposed. Sure enough, not long afterward, the bird was sitting on the ledge, slamming away at that one corner. Plan #4 had proved temporarily successful but needed a bit of tweaking.

Now it was time to bring out the heavy artillery, the one thing that no home project can be completed without: duct tape. I grabbed a roll, went back up the step-ladder, and taped the troublesome box lids to the side of the house. And that, at least for now, seems to have driven the final nail in the coffin of the epic struggle between me and the bird. Yes, the side of our house now looks like a bunch of lunatics live here, but at least we are lunatics who can sleep in on Saturday morning. How long will those box lids have to remain in our windows? I have no idea. It will probably involve the life span of that bird.

Okay, so now I come to the spiritual application of all this. Are you ready? It is two-fold and it goes like this: Like that bird, some people devote their entire lives to attacking themselves, and such people make life very, very hard not just for themselves but for others. Now, could it be that you can find yourself somewhere in that two-fold application? Maybe you are the bird who is constantly hurting yourself with your foolish behavior. Or, maybe you are me, the person who is having to deal with the fallout of someone who makes a habit of harming himself or herself. Whichever role you might be playing, believe me when I say that it is not a pleasant one. And here’s one other thought on the subject: God doesn’t intend for any of us to live life through boarded up windows.

Posted in Choices, Disobedience, Influence, Personal, Rebellion, Sin | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

The Young Man and His Condition

Posted on April 28, 2011 by russellmckinney

A young man went to the doctor and said, “Doc, sometimes I get headaches, my eyes burn, and I can’t get my breath.” After an examination, the doctor said, “My diagnosis is that your brain isn’t getting enough oxygen. I expect you to eventually become completely unconscious and lapse into a coma. Sadly, there is no surgery or medication that can help your condition. Therefore, I suggest that you quit your job and spend what few days you have left enjoying yourself.”

Naturally, the young man was devastated by that diagnosis, but he decided to take the doctor’s advice and make the best of the days he had left. So he quit his job, withdrew all his savings from the bank, and booked himself for a flight around the world. That trip would require him to purchase a new wardrobe.

The day before he was to leave, the young man went into a men’s shop to buy the new clothes. As he was being fitted for his shirts, the salesman asked him, “What size do you wear?” “15 neck and 33 sleeves,” was the answer. Doubting that claim, the salesman slipped a tape measure around the young man’s neck and said, “Looks to me like you wear a 16.” “No,” said the young man, “I wear a 15, always have.” To that the salesman replied, “Okay, I’ll sell you 15’s but they’ll be too tight, and that will cause headaches, burning eyes, and shortness of breath.”

The moral of the story is that sometimes our stubborn refusal to make an appropriate change creates unnecessary pain and difficulty for us. The old line has now been used so much that it has become a cliche, but it still rings true: “It is a form of insanity to keep doing the same thing over and over again and expect different results.”

So tell me, where does this post find you? Are you beating your head against the same wall day after day and expecting that wall to eventually fall? Are you plugging in “1 + 1” each week and anxiously awaiting the time the total comes back “3”? Pardon me for saying it, but maybe it’s time you changed your shirt size. Why don’t you talk to God and ask Him if there are any changes (little ones or big ones) that He wants you to make? And if He burdens you to make one, do it promptly. After all, life is hard enough without you making it harder than it has to be.

Posted in Change, Choices, Decisions, God's Will | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment