I remember telling my children, even before I knew the Lord, “If you obey me, you get rewards. If you don’t, you get punishments.” This is basically what chapter 27 and 28 of Deuteronomy is saying, isn’t it? But here’s the thing, we get to choose which one we will experience: blessings or curses!
Children need to be taught to be humble. None of us is born with a natural tendency towards selflessness. None except Jesus, of course. But, sadly, we humans do not need to be taught how to sin because it does comes natural to us. We are born bent away from God and towards MMI. Not sure? Have you ever noticed that one of the first words a child will say, besides Mama and Papa, is an emphatic, “MINE!” This clearly displays the self-centered heart attitude we each have inherited. We must learn, and we must teach our children, to seek and follow Christ, because that is not in our fallen nature. But once we do begin to learn, then we can choose whether we will sense God’s blessings or be exposed to curses.
Now I am not saying that every bad thing that happens to us is our fault. No! We live in a corrupted world filled with fallen, broken and hurting people…and of course, let’s not forget the real enemy, who really hates us because God so loves us. Sometimes life just happens and that includes the hard things. But again, we get to choose how we are going to experience those difficult things too. When someone else hits our car as we are driving safely on the highway, will we lose our cool and have a complete meltdown? Or will we make sure everyone is safe and just go through the necessary procedures to get the car fixed? One will make us lose our witness, the other will help us hold on to the peace and joy Jesus died to give us…no guilt here, I’m just saying. This is one of the things God is working on me right now. When the snafus of life hit, will I go into my usual hissy fit or will I choose to take a breath, connect with God, remember that He is working it all together for my good, and stay peaceful? Pray for me and I will pray for you! Let’s wrap it up tomorrow…
2023’s Got A Minute? Book Club
January: The Bible
<>< Peace, Diane
