- "A Musing Pastor"
Freedom to live
"The evil deeds of a wicked man ensnare him; the cords of his sin hold him fast. He will die for lack
of discipline, led astray by his own great folly. (Proverbs 5:22-23, NIV)
As a young man of 20 something, I remember the joy of pulling the last sheet out of my loan ledger and paying that last payment. It was so exhiliarating! The truck was finally all mine! Of course, when I originally got that loan booklet, I thought the world was going to end. It looked as thick as a volume of War and Peace. How would I ever pay all those monthly demands and still live. My father took me aside and said, "Don't let pride get in the way. Pay your bills on time and make sure you do the right thing." Fatherly advice should always be heeded. Since that time we have received and payed off many more loans and presently we are all still living, breathing, and dare I say thriving. God has blessed us and taught us the value of responsibility. Being independent of loan payments is a good feeling but that feeling came with some costs. It came with good budgeting techniques (a plan). It came with a calm approach to impulse buying (instant gratification). It came with a sense of priority which relegated frivilous things we thought we needed and sent them to the bottom of the list of importance (needs versus wants). Sometimes, it meant doing without some things (our value not determined by possessions).
Celebrating independence from things that hold sway over us is a great joy of livng. Have you experienced those moments of joy? I hope so. Finishing a task and knowing that something good is ahead of us helps keep our eyes looking forward rather than grousing and looking backward with disdain. Feelings of accomplishment can be the fuel to keep one's internal engine running. Celebrating God's faithfulness and goodness keeps our hearts centered and grateful. We recognize areas of God's grace and respond with praise.
Even when all of our plans fall into a heap of ruin, there is still a whisper of hope that comes to us. All is not lost and many good things are still possible, still within reach, and still attainable. My life has had more than a few failures that didn't pan out as I had envisioned. Giving up was never an option and I can thank my dad and mom for instilling in me a indomitable spirit of hope and fire. These characteristics aren't always innate and often have to be taught, cultivated, and strengthened. One has to learn to deal with adversity, fear, possible failure, and painful outcomes. Live then with the understanding that life is difficult but not impossible. Be determined to stay the course and keep in close step with God's will. Allow God to be your anchor in the storms, your sunshine in the fog, and wind in your sailing plans. The alternative choice of life would entail giving up, throwing in the towel, and quitting life all together.
I suppose the founding fathers of our nation could resonate with some of the same thoughts about fear, being resolute, and following through with deep conviction. The original signers of the Declaration of Independence were committing high treason and yet followed through to author and validate our freedom from the British Empire. Responsibility carries with it an overwhelming tension to accept whatever happens as an end result of our actions and words. Below is a small portion of the Declaration of Independence. Read it and think of the group of Patriots who hovered over it and formed it. Were they afraid? Probably. Were they willing to make difficult decisions and take risks? Yes. Did they pay a steep cost for their actions? Yes. Are we the benefactors of their courage and fortitude? Definitely.
The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen United States of America,
"When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political
bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the
separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent
respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the
separation.
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their
Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of
Happiness.--That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just
powers from the consent of the governed, --That whenever any Form of Government becomes
destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new
Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them
shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that
Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all
experience hath shewn, that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to
right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses
and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute
Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for
their future security.--Such has been the patient sufferance of these Colonies; and such is now the
necessity which constrains them to alter their former Systems of Government. The history of the present
King of Great Britain is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the
establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid
world.....
IN CONGRESS, July 4, 1776.