In the South we do not “air our dirty laundry”. It is important that your family maintain some resemblance of dignity. Your Christmas Card must be perfect, your children must be perfect, your marriage must be perfect, your home must be perfect. The reality is in a fleshly world the grass is always greener. No one, except for Jesus Christ himself, has ever lived sinlessly on this earth. Yet for some reason we think we need to project an air of righteousness, better than-ness, perfect-ness.
I was that wife, a long time ago, who tried to create the perfect family. If I could control my family no one would guess that I couldn't control me. Anyone?Eventually it implodes and real life is brought to the surface. At that point you can say “OK, God, I can not survive this” and you can turn your pain into the cry of the victim. Or you can say “God, this is horrible but I trust that this has a purpose in YOUR PLAN for me”.
At first I fell somewhere in the middle. After about 3 years I was begging God to work it out. Pull the dead vines from my life. Let the flowers bloom. After 7 years He was done pruning. The point is I truly am someone, now, that doesn’t sweat the small stuff. I’ve been through more than you can imagine. If I wrote it all down I swear you’d think I was lying. No really. Like white trash, country song kind of drama. Only it was real. And, drum roll, I survived it all Praise be to God!
I woke up this morning intending to write about the Feast of Tabernacles and tomorrow night’s blood moon. I was taken back when God put it on my heart to write about arrogance. "Really, God? You've blessed my life. Turned a mess into a message. I'm the least arrogant person I know". "There's more, Elizabeth, and it's important". "Seriously?" "Yes, child, seriously. I'm here".
I have several people in my life who are chemically dependent. They are all highly successful and completely functioning social drinkers. In fact, the world as we know it, probably wouldn't even consider them addicts at all. You may not. In my opinion (operative word) they hide it, lie about it, and try to project the problem off of themselves.
Through the years I've interjected my "knowledge" "my opinion" to all of them. I kept thinking that "they just need Jesus". "Heck, if I can be redeemed by Christ surely everyone else can be!" Truth of the matter is that all three of them know The Lord. Does Jesus love them any less than me? Of course not!
The Lord has made it very clear to me it is not my battle to fight. I can't seem to help myself. I can't leave well enough alone. I judge. Let's be honest: I want them to be like me.
And just like that He convicts me. "What makes you think you are any better? What is your addiction? Do you not trust that everyone in your life is there because I placed them there?"
And just like that He convicts me. "What makes you think you are any better? What is your addiction? Do you not trust that everyone in your life is there because I placed them there?"
BAM, right between the eyes. Ouch. And there it is. I'm actually in control of no one. My "idiosyncrasies" i.e. "sin" is no less than theirs. That makes me a sinner. Therein lies the hypocrisy.
What are you judging others about? What sin have you deemed as "not as bad as theirs?" Where have you interjected your "knowledge" when really the lesson was for you?
The fact is we all fall short of the Glory of the Lord. Air out your dirty laundry. Let Him wash it as clean as snow.
"I will go before you and make the crooked places straight"-Isaiah 45:2
