Bear With Me; I'm Getting Ready to Jump

Giving up something in particular—like comfort eating or hurrying or 10% of a paycheck—might be easier for one person than another. That shouldn't come as a surprise to us. We have different strengths; why wouldn't we cling to different things.

Take hurrying for example. Some people are fantastic producers, and by producers I mean they have a big output. They get things done with efficiency because they do things fast. This is probably one of their strengths. To give up this efficiency would cost these people much more than it would cost someone who's laid back or who loves perfecting details or who's in it for the people not the product. In fact, I would wager to say that to give up rushing, the producer-type would have to sacrifice part of themselves, the part that has their identity wrapped around productivity.

Think of it another way. If a single mom must rush to get her kids fed and to school, and then she must race off to work so she can make enough money to pay the rent and get little Billy some new shoes for soccer, she'll have a difficult time giving up rushing. She feels she has to rush to survive. 

A mom with a husband who makes a seven-digit figure wouldn't feel the same need to rush. Slowing down doesn't jeopardize her livelihood. She might rush for other reasons—fear of disappointing people, fear of missing out, fear of being bored, etc.—but that's another matter. 

In order for the single mom to stop rushing, she would need to know that she'll be okay even if she's late. She would need to believe that her family's needs don't all depend on her. That's tough to do, especially if she doesn't believe in an almighty God who cares more about her than the sparrows. 

This is what the Christian life is all about. We discover new ways where we can trust the Lord, we give up our own man-made ways of doing it, and believe God does/will do it instead of us.  It's a great and terrible struggle because our natural selves believe that we can't survive without this thing. This thing is what has made our lives bearable up until this point. I would go so far to say that it's a self-preservation instinct to fight against letting go. The natural self will fight tooth and nail to hold onto that thing. 

And that is why I think Paul encourages us to be patient and gentle with one another, bearing with each other in love (Eph 4:1-2). The fight is real and violent and people around us will probably be affected and offended or annoyed. "Why does she always fuss?" "Why can't he be on time?" "Why can't she just get over it?" "Why can't he be more understanding?"

But these violent struggles are where the battle in us comes to a head. We cannot go on like we have been. We must either kill the old way of doing it or kill the spirit of God trying to dwell in us. There is no middle ground. 

So pray for one another in their struggle. Pray that God's spirit will win. And pray that they and you will have courage to let go. After all, giving up these things feels like jumping out of an airplane with no parachute. We've never done this before. We're not sure how things will work out. But we do believe that somehow God will catch us.

Comments


I used to drop my son off at high school on my way to work & pick him up late afternoons. One particular afternoon I began grousing about this & that when he said, "Mom, isn't it a shame everyone else doesn't think like you?" I shouted back, "YES!" That was almost 20 years ago. I wish I could say the grousing & criticism has been completely eradicated but it hasn't.

As always, this is insightful, Abby.