Some people
refuse to bend when someone corrects them. Eventually they will break, and
there will be no one to repair the damage. Proverbs 29:1 Easy-to-Read Version
I’m reading “Years of Stone”
by Beth Camp and the male protagonist is serving a seven year prison sentence. It
is the 1840s and he has been shipped to Tasmania to serve out his time, so you
can imagine what the conditions are like. Being the noble hero that he is,
whenever he is confronted with injustice, he is compelled to fight back. But
instead he controls his instinct by telling himself, “Bend, don’t break.”
When we are faced with
trials, our first reaction is to react, whether that means we adamantly
disagree, blatantly argue or simply dig in our heels until we get our own way.
So what does it mean to bend instead? Let the other person get what they want.
Do what you are told to do no matter how badly you don’t want to or even know
that it isn’t the best thing to do. Turn the other cheek. Ask yourself, “what
would Jesus do?”
Ask yourself “is this doing
harm to another person? Does this go against my beliefs in God? Is this going
to matter years from now?” Bend when you need to, just don’t break.
Lord, God, help me to make the right decisions. Give
me strength to stand up when I need to and grant me peace when it is best to
sit it out. Amen
Outside the prison in Ayacucho, Peru, the only prison I have been inside. Was never so relieved to walk out of a building as I was that day. It does put a whole new perspective on the importance of making the right decisions.
No comments:
Post a Comment