Fit for Use

Posted on December 1, 2013 by Margaret

The morning after Thanksgiving, while unloading the dishwasher, I noticed that nearly every piece of flatware we owned had been used the day before. The silverware basket was bulging with its load and represented about 10 pounds of knives, forks, and spoons nestled together in close quarters. But when I slid them out of the basket, each piece was sparkling clean.

Since one of my sister’s 30-somethings and one of mine had signed on for Thanksgiving “clean-up”, they had done all the dishes the night before. And as I looked at that pile of sparkling knives, forks, and spoons, it was a marvel the dishwasher had transformed them so easily and thoroughly. The last time I’d seen them, they’d been gunked up with bits of turkey, greasy stuffing, and mashed potatoes. And they were unfit to use again until each had been dealt with “personally” by being cleaned. That included being stuffed into the dishwasher basket, followed by contact with soap, water, and heat.

The same is true of our inner selves. Each of us is continually fighting against smudges on us that are rightfully called sins. If we accumulate too many of them at once, we become unfit for God’s use, much like the dirty silverware. Every sin has to be dealt with personally, one at a time, and if we ignore them and let them pile onto us, the purposes God originally planned for us cannot be achieved.

Just like there are specific purposes for clean knives, forks, and spoons, each of us has a purpose, too, something God intended from the beginning. And within us he has established the abilities and talents we need to get his intended plans accomplished. Not only that, he made us so that we’d experience rich satisfaction in carrying out the very things he had in mind for us to do.

But just like dirty silverware has no purpose until it’s been cleaned, we, too, have to be clean to be used.

Thankfully there’s a way to get that done, and it’s linked to Jesus Christ. If we maintain a tender conscience toward our own sins, labeling them for what they are, he invites us to come to him for cleansing and promises to do it. Just like that dirty silverware, we can get sparkling clean again, becoming fit for his use because of his willingness to forgive us.

This Thanksgiving we decided to go casual, which is why I used my stainless steel flatware. I do own some sterling, but it seemed out of place with the rest of our décor. Maybe there is a place for the far more valuable sterling, though; once we’ve sought forgiveness and received clean-again status from the Lord, he views us as having the same sterling character as his Son. And that, he can use.

“We are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” (Ephesians 2:10)

Faking it.

Posted on November 11, 2013 by Margaret

Nate and I never planned to have 7 kids. When we did, it was fine by us, but with children spread over 17 years, our large family brought a few surprises. One was that we would be dominated by school schedules for 31 years (not counting college).

For most of those years, I had no trouble getting up in the morning, since babies and toddlers make good alarm clocks. But when the babies quit coming, getting up by 5:50 AM became a problem. So I began playing a trick on myself.

I hated the thought of such an early start each day, so I set my bedside clock 11 minutes ahead. When the alarm sounded, the first thing I saw was 6:01, which was world’s better that 5:50. Enlisting those digital clock numbers in my ruse seemed to solve my wake-up problem. But it also made me ask what other self-deceptions I had going for me.

All of us can talk ourselves into believing lies of our own making: “It’s such a little thing,” we say. “How much could it matter? It’s just a few… a few dollars… a few meetings… a few exaggerations… a few minutes. No one really cares.”

The idea of fudging just a little was well depicted on the cover of The Saturday Evening Post, October 3, 1936. An elderly lady paying for a chicken by its weight is pressing up on the scale from beneath, while the proprietor is pressing down from above. A little cheating wouldn’t matter. What’s a few ounces? But both had deceived themselves into thinking deceiving someone else was ok.

I confess I’ve struggled with “full disclosure” to myself on countless occasions. That’s because not telling the truth inside my head is sometimes easier and often works well in the short run. For example, I might think, “I’m going to start eating healthy any day now, but not yet. Eating what I want helps me cope with stress.” But is that the truth?

Most of the world has heard the statement, “The truth will set you free.” But as always, this promise is part of an “if – then”. Scripture says if we “hold to the teachings of Christ” (John 8:31-32), then his truth will set us free. Ultimately, truth is always linked to the Lord.

So, what is Jesus Christ’s teaching about self-deception? He says that if we consistently tell “little white lies” to ourselves, we’re at risk for three problems:

small lies morph into bigger ones.
deceiving ourselves morphs into deceiving others.
regular lying morphs into trouble telling the truth.

As always, if we correct ourselves at the root of the problem (self-trickery), other more serious symptoms will fall into line. And eventually even our clocks can be set free to tell the truth.

“They all fool and defraud each other; no one tells the truth. With practiced tongues they tell lies…. They pile lie upon lie and utterly refuse to acknowledge me,” says the Lord. (Jeremiah 9:5-6)

A Sticky Mess

Posted on October 24, 2013 by Margaret

Emerald is a petite little girl who still fits nicely into her Bumbo seat. Although she can twist her way out of it, when she’s up on the counter, we’re monitoring her closely.

Usually.

Yesterday while I was making her lunch, she was happily fingering a basket of sippy cups and bottles next to her. But in 30 seconds, a mysterious pink liquid began sliding out from under the basket.

Somehow she’d undone the child safety cap on a bottle of infant ibuprofen, then set it back into the basket upsidedown, which released the syrupy liquid till the bottle was empty.

Of course she had no idea what she’d done, but she’d wasted valuable medicine, created a sticky mess, and postponed lunch for clean-up time.

Once in a while I act that way too, getting into things that will end up the same way: wasteful, messy, and time-consuming. The only difference is, I’m old enough to know better.

Scripture warns us to count the cost of whatever we do. We’re to be industrious, yes, but we’re also to commit our decisions, plans, and behaviors to God before plunging in on instinct alone. When we ignore that counsel, we pay a hefty price.

Even worse than having to pay, though, is the loss of God’s approval. If we want him to be on our side (or more accurately, if we want to be on his side) we have to do things his way. Those of us who give lip service to obedience but do things our own way regardless, have a problem with pride.

The Bible doesn’t mince words on this subject. We read, “God opposes the proud.” (James 4:6) He isn’t just neutral when we put our plans ahead of his; he stands in opposition to us. And if there ever was an uneven match, “God-versus-me” is it. I want to do everything possible to avoid being part of that scenario.

As always, though, God doesn’t issue an edict and leave us hanging. Right after he lets us know what not to do, he tells us what to do: “Submit to Me.” (v. 7)

Sounds easy, but isn’t. That’s because pride is stiff-necked and expertly resistant to humbling, and the devil is behind it, relentlessly tempting us to put ourselves first. Maybe that’s why God’s next instruction is, “Resist the devil, and he will flee.”

Working backwards, then, if we want no part of the devil –> we’re to resist him –> which helps us submit to God –> which helps us kill pride –> which brings on humility –> which allows us to be on God’s side.

So when my plans result in a sticky mess, I know it’s simply the Lord saying, “Let’s clean this up and try again.”