““This is the way; walk ye in it.””
I have a belly button. Do you have one? Oh, yes, you do! Everybody does. It’s standard equipment: men, women, boys, girls, everybody has one. They’re all over the place. Have you ever thought about this? I mean, we are SURROUNDED by belly buttons! Thank goodness they don’t have sirens blaring all the time. Thank goodness they don’t ache and hurt. I mean, if there are so many all over the place and, if they're causing problems, then there would be a lot of what the old folks called “bellyaching” going on.
Well, boys and girls, this may appear strange for a February blog, which should be about love, hearts, flowers, chocolate, and sentimental stuff. But in truth, sometimes we must consider this reality: though it’s February, the month of Valentine’s Day, and though we know we also have a heart, the fact is, each person still has a bellybutton.
You think I've gone off the deep end. Not quite. I need to say, no matter your reason, no matter how great your excuse for having done something inappropriate, excuses are like belly buttons – everybody has one. But having an excuse is not the same as having the right or a license to use it to beat people over the head. An excuse is an excuse. A reason is a reason. Circumstances are circumstances. But regardless of the excuse, the reason, or the circumstance, we are held accountable to a higher standard of behavior, which is: “This is the way; walk ye in it.”
Photo by Brett Jordan on Unsplash
I have a friend who says, “I hate it when you tell me this: ‘You don’t have that option.’” My dear friend, I didn’t say you didn’t have justification to misbehave. I said it is not one of your options to exercise. In spite of how you feel. No matter what someone else has done to you. Irrespective of your indignation. You don’t have that option. You are a Christian. Christians are held to a higher standard. “This is the way; walk ye in it.”
One of my “pet” sermons to my children when they were growing up was along these lines. (I don’t remember the sermon number, but I am sure even as grownups they can recite it for you, if you ask!) Do your knees hurt? Don’t take it out on me. It is not an excuse for you to batter me over the head with inappropriate behavior, simply because you have an excuse. You have PMS? My dear, that is a PERSONAL problem. It is not your license to lash out at society, other drivers, or whomever has the misfortune to cross your path on certain days of the month. You have a lot of stress from responsibilities right now – with a lot of pressure and not enough hours in your day? Well, welcome to the world of the living. You don't have the right to explode all over anyone who places the last straw on your camel’s back. And you are restricted from expecting others to make allowances for you.
You want to make concessions for pain? Next time you think one and all should tolerate your grief, think about Christ’s pain, bearing the cross that all humanity should be saved. You want all people to make exceptions for you because you’re crushed beneath a load of unrealistic expectations? Think about the crush of humanity that constantly followed Christ with expectations of healing, sight, freedom from demons. You’re feeling stressed out and unnerved with no time to accomplish your plans? Think of making an entrance into a ministry of redemption and restoration and salvation and sanctification in a hostile milieu of self-centered sinners knowing you have three years to accomplish your goals. And then you die.
How do you think saints are made? From reasons? From excuses? From always having wonderful circumstances? Saints come from hardship and trials and pain and suffering and misunderstanding and humiliation. And they come from these things without taking it out on everyone else around them. They come from bearing those crosses without murmuring and complaining. They come from a total and complete acceptance of a higher way; it can be taken, and they are exhorted to walk in it. No excuses. No reasons. No circumstances. No allowances. "This is the way; walk ye in it."
Want a hearts and flowers, Cupid, and valentine blog? Not this year. Not this time. Not this writer.
And, no, I'm not contemplating my navel. I just feel the need to share this message with you.
And so, I did. 😉 No excuses.
But please know, I do wish you a very happy Valentine’s Day.
Love,
Katy
Photo by Denise Johnson on Unsplash