TALK THE WALK

What is the key we each hold which unlocks our personal prisons? Is there one? Oh, I think most definitely so. We often find ourselves hemmed in by aggravating circumstances of one sort or another. We may be ill-treated, ignored, denied, or abused. Possibly a boss is bossy or a child is childish or a spouse is spousy. Maybe the loan didn’t go through. Or, maybe the loan went through, but now the income to pay for it hasn’t.

What do we hold in our hearts to release us from these stubborn irritants? Our praise of God. God is looking for us to pray to Him, sing to Him, smile with Him. I watch too many of my brothers and sisters live as if they’ve been weaned on dill pickles. Yes, they experience trauma. Yes, they’ve been snookered. But so have all the others who are smiling and going about productive lives. These prisoners believe with all of their heart they have been given the lemons of life. They haven’t. They have chosen to neglect God.

When God’s children left Egypt He let them wander in the wilderness for the rest of their lives because they began their trek with grumbling and complaining which never stopped. They went around the same old mountains and through the same old dry places year after year. Why?

They refused to flip the switch on their talk. It wasn't they wouldn't walk the talk. They refused to talk the walk. It was all about them and how bad they had it and how much they wanted God to bless…and how irritated with Him they were because He didn’t. But what they couldn’t figure out was they were their own Barney Fife’s arresting themselves one crabby and sulking complaint at time.

What a tragedy to plant our own land mines and then step on them. How much sadder to find ourselves jailed and we are our own jailer.