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"Hi
honey. I was sitting here
in my office thinking about you and just wanted to let you know.
See you this evening,” and with that said, the message on the
answering machine ended. Kim
had been out grocery shopping and had just missed her husband’s call. She smiled as she listened to his thoughtful words.
But as she began to erase the message, a tight feeling started to
build in her stomach and this question came to mind, “What’s
wrong?”
Believe
it or not, that kind and loving message telegraphed something very
different to Kim. “Why is
he being so attentive,” she thought to herself.
“Things have been going too well lately.”
And that’s when the knot of fear tied itself up in a bow.
Kim wasn’t even aware of it but she was beginning to handle a
seemingly familiar situation by using this weak and worthless operating
system from her past. “When
things seem to be going well, be on your guard.
Something or someone will always disrupt it.”
In
Kim’s case, it had been her older brother.
She grew up in a family where her older brother’s behavior
dominated the entire family. Early
morning visits from the police or late night telephone calls from angry
parents had become routine at their house.
Over time, tension and fearful anticipation became all too
familiar to Kim. She had
learned that when life was going too well for too long, unhappiness and
disappointment were sure to follow.
Why? Because they
always did. At least that
was her experience growing up.
And
as a grown-up woman, what did Kim do?
She brought this uncomfortable but familiar mode for living life
into her marriage relationship. She
didn’t intend to. Matter
of fact, Kim didn’t even know she had.
Why? Because it had been the only way she knew how to cope with
life. It was all that life
had to offer her…back then.
“But
now that you have come to know God, or rather to be known by God, how
is it that you turn back again to the weak and worthless elemental
things, to which you desire to be enslaved all over again?”
(Galatians 4:9)
And
so it was with you and me. Just
like Kim, we once had only the weak and worthless elemental things of
this world to make life work. Matter
of fact, that’s all the wisdom of this world has to offer to anyone.
But this verse of scriptures seems to imply that the apostle Paul
saw many of his brothers and sisters in Christ turning back to those
things that once enslaved them and he wanted to know why.
Do you have any ideas or is the very thought foreign to you?
Well,
I have an idea as to why some of us see how it’s possible to turn
back, visit or just browse through those elemental things of this world
while others find it a farfetched concept.
It comes down to a definition.
Many would say that those weak and worthless things would be such
“worldly” behavior as drugs, alcohol, sex and other such things that
hold little interest for them. Others
would say that such things as money, power and success are what the
world values and in comparison to Christ, they are weak, worthless and
utterly useless. But I
would like for you to consider something else.
Is it possible that the elemental things of this world and all
it’s wisdom have one basic goal in common?
To preserve and protect “self” by using a heavy dose of fear
for motivation with a pinch of instant gratification on the side!
Yes, that’s right. Self-preservation
is the key…and at any cost!
Nine
out of ten times the cost will seem to be minimal in comparison to what
we think we receive. Often
times the cost will appear to be temporary but it will linger on and on
and on. Perhaps the cost
will seem to be gratifying but it will never really satisfy.
And lastly, the cost might look like its worth it in the long run
but no one can afford it.
From
Genesis to Revelation, we can see evidence of man’s desire to protect
and preserve his three favorite people – me, myself and I.
We fear being hurt, we don’t want to look wrong, and we fear
missing out on what God has for us.
We want to comfort, protect and preserve ourselves – even in
all our Christianity. In
Philippians 1:21 when Paul says, “For me to live is Christ, and to die
is gain”, most of us heartily agree with the first part of that verse
but shutter at the three last words.
Dying is gain? No
thank you! That sounds
frightfully painful and besides that, I would miss myself!
YIKES!
So
we take another trip around the mountain.
We return to the familiar, elemental things that we’ve learned
about our own self-preservation. Kim
returned to placing herself on alert when things appeared to be going
too well in her life. She
was fearful that when unhappiness came, she would not be ready to
protect herself from it. And
remember our friend Carol from the last teaching who didn’t seem to
understand the big fuss (http://www.gospelfortoday.org/mteachings/bigfuss.htm)
over her critical behavior towards her husband? She, too, returned to what she had learned about
self-preservation. Point
out the weaknesses, mistakes, or problems in the lives of those around
you so that they will change. Carol
was fearfully concerned that her husband wasn’t measuring up to what
she needed in a husband. He
needed to change so that she would be happy.
This may sound harsh but just like Kim and Carol, we, too, want
to preserve and protect our comfort, happiness and well-being.
In short, no one loves us as much as we love ourselves.
Except for One.
“But
God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He
loved us, even when we were
dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ by
grace you have been saved” (Ephesians 2:4-5)
Because
of His greater love for you, He endured the cross.
He became the answer for the elemental things of this world that
we are often tempted to turn back to for living life.
His answer for the deeply ingrained desire for self-preservation
is certainly extreme – it’s crucifixion.
Yes, you have been made a new creation and given the mind of
Christ. He sealed us with
the Holy Spirit so that we can find comfort in Him and be led into all
truth. As He wills and works in us the enormity of His finished work
on the cross, the elemental things of this world are shown to be what
they truly are – weak, worthless, and useless.
And
that’s exactly what Kim will learn…eventually.
Unfortunately she called her husband back later that day and
caused the very thing to happen that she was expecting – unhappiness
and disappointment. She
picked a ridiculous fight with him and their conversation ended badly.
And in the middle of it all, she felt a temporary sense of relief
that was all too familiar. She
had been right – when things are going too well, unhappy times will
most certainly follow. Even
if they are by our own doing.
“But
may it never be that I should boast, except in the cross of our Lord
Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to
the world.” Galatians
6:14
I
love you,
Marcy
P.S.
(Here are some scripture verses that you might find of benefit
with this teaching – Galatians 4:3-5; 1 Corinthians 2:12; Galatians
5:1; Colossians 2:8 and 20-22; Ephesians 1:10; Colossians 2:2-3; Romans
12:2; 1 Corinthians 10:13; Galatians 2:20; 2 Corinthians 5:17; 1
Corinthians 2:16; Ephesians 1:13; Acts 9:31; John 14:26; Philippians
2:13) |
