What are People Thinking?

Have you ever have one of those experiences that just leave you shaking your head wondering what people are thinking, or if they are thinking?  A while back I had an experience that still leaves me baffled to this day.  I remember it each time I walk past the donut counter at my local grocery store. (Which isn’t as often as the number of times when I stop by the counter unfortunately.) 

It was a normal Sunday morning in that I was off to get the donuts while my family was still asleep.  We gather as church on Sunday afternoons so it allows most of my family to sleep in on Sundays which I might add is a nice change.  I walked up to the store shelf and grabbed a prepackaged dozen of frosted donuts with sprinkles and began making my way to the check out line. As I was walking I noticed some movement in the box so I looked closer.  Sure enough there was a fly trapped beneath the plastic lid.  I made a bee line (or should I say a fly line) for the donut counter to get another box.  Not wanting someone else to get this box without noticing it’s “extra contents”, I took it to the woman at the counter and explained the situation.  To my amazement she asked me if I would like her to mark down the price of the box of donuts with a fly in it.  I gave her what I’m sure was a very strange look, and said “No thanks I think I’ll just get a different box.”  (that does make me think twice about going to the “day old” marked down pastry shelf).

Now before any of you well meaning moms tell me that there are starving children in Africa that would have loved to have that box of donuts fly and all, I want you to know that I’m not unsympathetic to their plight.  But I was not about to pay any amount of money for a fly laden box of donuts. 

The whole story made me think.  In what aspects of my life am I settling?  What areas of my life am I willing to keep doing the same thing on and on because its mostly ok, or because at first glance it lookls good, but upon closer inspection it’s laden with things that have the potential to sicken my life, or hold me back from all that God has destined me for?

In what realms of my life; family, church, work, friendships, am I putting up with the flies because the rest of the situation looks really good?  Don’t get me wrong the answer isn’t necessarily changing of venues, but maybe changing of expectations.  Don’t be willing to settle for just having fun with your kids instead of being willing to deal with some of the tough behavior that you have been tolerating when you know it needs corrected. Don’t be willing to have areas in your marriage where you just don’t go because you or your spouse aren’t willing to talk about it.  Don’t settle for friendships that are merely social in nature with no intimate conversation.  Don’t continue to work a job that you don’t enjoy without making a plan to move up or move out to something better.  Don’t continue to do church or attend church if you aren’t growing closer to God and others as a direct result of what happens when you gather as church. 

Let me liberate you  Jesus said “I have come to set the captive free”  and If He were literally walking the earth today, I believe he would be not only tending to the sick of spirit who are apart from Him lost in their world of sin, but that He would also be tending to the sick of spirit who because of what they have believed about Him, or His church have settled for a life all wrapped up in something that will make them act religious, but that lacks the power that could make them change. (2 Tim 3:5) 

Let me encourage you to do something Godly today and make a decision.  It is one way in which we are created in the image of God that we have the capacity for choice, a free will.  But a free will used only to decide to stay the same when the same is less than God intended for you, can be a toxic thing.  Proacatvity and intentionality are meant to be our friends, not things that will inspire fear or paralyzation.  Spend some time today in your Sunday routine asking the Spirit of Christ within you to highlight areas of your life that He wants you to better steward and then take a step to bring that change about.  For life is too short to settle!!!