A. M. U.
Du It
Friday, December 31, 2010
Sunday, December 26, 2010
Responsibility, Repentance, and Susie Sneezing on Me
"...if anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for members of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever."
~I Timothy 5.8 (ESV)
_____
The past year has included times that I would rather forget than think upon. That would be largely irresponsible. A choice that is mine to make or not, but a choice nonetheless.
If I would choose (and truely I have chosen this path numerous times), to attempt to disregard the past year as fiction or otherwise fantastical, I would be left to pick up pieces from a puzzle that I refuse to acknowledge exists.
If I would set my eyes upon seeking a resolution to what has happened, say... take responsibility as I am able and as is appropriate, the facts of the situation will not change. But the outcome of my life, my sanity, my health, my faith, my relationships will be significantly different, profoundly healthier and more positive.
_____
Allow me to use an example to illustrate what I am trying to share...
A few years back, my dog Susie and I were chilling in the front yard. Sun shining, muscle shirt on (oh yeah!), and dog by my side. Well, to capture the beauty of the moment, I was video taping with my digital camera. And wouldn't you know it, Susie sneezed on me. Of all the times, with the camera rolling. Priceless. Evidenced as follows...
_____
I know little about dog mucus. Or about how human flesh reacts to dog mucus. But I do understand the sensation of having dog mucus on my human flesh.
Possible reactions to this occurance may include:
~disgust;
~proclaiming the dog to be disgusting;
~a look of disgust upon ones' face;
~a gander in a mirror to discover the disgustingness of dog mucus upon human flesh;
~washing the disgustiness of dog mucus off ones' human flesh.
Whatever the plan of action includes for said human, it must be decided upon and acted upon. Even the decision of doing "nothing" (i.e. remaining with the dog on the grass) is a decision and an action (or inaction). But decisions have been made and consequences dealt out.
_____
Now, worse things in my life have happened. It's true. As the pictures show, I smiled and continued being with Susie. I enjoyed the precious moment that it was.
This situation... real-life as it was... strange as it was... funny as it was... was a decision to take responsibility for my self in life. I could not rewind time and move 5 feet away from Susie moments before she sneezed. I couldn't encourage her to turn her head the other way and try again. I could not change her actions. I was left to deal with life as it stood before me.
_____
Perhaps you have been royally jipped in life. Ripped off. Felt the world, the church, whoever... screwed you over to the point where responsibility, never mind forgiveness, was completely out of the question.
Well... the onus is on no one else. The person that hurt you--intentionally or not, whether they realize it or not--truely has nothing to do with how you react. As I have been taught in recent years, there is not a single person or event in history or currently, that has or will ever "make me mad". Does the holocaust bother me? Certainly. Does starvation bother me. Yes. Does abortion bother me? It really does. But those are my decisions to become angry. No one makes me, or you, angry. I feel this is an important truth: we absolutely must take responsibility for our actions and inactions. Whether we have been hurt or blessed. This is no way around this.
Because if we will not step up and deal with life, we will only fall further and further down. And, I imagine that chances are high... that we will drag others down with us.
_____
The ESV study notes on I Timothy 5.8 include: "Provision for one's own family is a spiritual issue of utmost importance" (italics mine).
We may not think our actions or inactions carry consequences. But they will, and they do. If you are old enough to read these thoughts, I will assume you are mature enough to contemplate them. They might sting, but so do the final 5 reps in your workout. And we all know that is where muscle growth comes from. So sweat it out.
~I Timothy 5.8 (ESV)
_____
The past year has included times that I would rather forget than think upon. That would be largely irresponsible. A choice that is mine to make or not, but a choice nonetheless.
If I would choose (and truely I have chosen this path numerous times), to attempt to disregard the past year as fiction or otherwise fantastical, I would be left to pick up pieces from a puzzle that I refuse to acknowledge exists.
If I would set my eyes upon seeking a resolution to what has happened, say... take responsibility as I am able and as is appropriate, the facts of the situation will not change. But the outcome of my life, my sanity, my health, my faith, my relationships will be significantly different, profoundly healthier and more positive.
_____
Allow me to use an example to illustrate what I am trying to share...
A few years back, my dog Susie and I were chilling in the front yard. Sun shining, muscle shirt on (oh yeah!), and dog by my side. Well, to capture the beauty of the moment, I was video taping with my digital camera. And wouldn't you know it, Susie sneezed on me. Of all the times, with the camera rolling. Priceless. Evidenced as follows...
_____
I know little about dog mucus. Or about how human flesh reacts to dog mucus. But I do understand the sensation of having dog mucus on my human flesh.
Possible reactions to this occurance may include:
~disgust;
~proclaiming the dog to be disgusting;
~a look of disgust upon ones' face;
~a gander in a mirror to discover the disgustingness of dog mucus upon human flesh;
~washing the disgustiness of dog mucus off ones' human flesh.
Whatever the plan of action includes for said human, it must be decided upon and acted upon. Even the decision of doing "nothing" (i.e. remaining with the dog on the grass) is a decision and an action (or inaction). But decisions have been made and consequences dealt out.
_____
Now, worse things in my life have happened. It's true. As the pictures show, I smiled and continued being with Susie. I enjoyed the precious moment that it was.
This situation... real-life as it was... strange as it was... funny as it was... was a decision to take responsibility for my self in life. I could not rewind time and move 5 feet away from Susie moments before she sneezed. I couldn't encourage her to turn her head the other way and try again. I could not change her actions. I was left to deal with life as it stood before me.
_____
Perhaps you have been royally jipped in life. Ripped off. Felt the world, the church, whoever... screwed you over to the point where responsibility, never mind forgiveness, was completely out of the question.
Well... the onus is on no one else. The person that hurt you--intentionally or not, whether they realize it or not--truely has nothing to do with how you react. As I have been taught in recent years, there is not a single person or event in history or currently, that has or will ever "make me mad". Does the holocaust bother me? Certainly. Does starvation bother me. Yes. Does abortion bother me? It really does. But those are my decisions to become angry. No one makes me, or you, angry. I feel this is an important truth: we absolutely must take responsibility for our actions and inactions. Whether we have been hurt or blessed. This is no way around this.
Because if we will not step up and deal with life, we will only fall further and further down. And, I imagine that chances are high... that we will drag others down with us.
_____
The ESV study notes on I Timothy 5.8 include: "Provision for one's own family is a spiritual issue of utmost importance" (italics mine).
We may not think our actions or inactions carry consequences. But they will, and they do. If you are old enough to read these thoughts, I will assume you are mature enough to contemplate them. They might sting, but so do the final 5 reps in your workout. And we all know that is where muscle growth comes from. So sweat it out.
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