Food gained by fraud tastes sweet to a man,
but he ends up with a mouth full of gravel.
Proverbs 20:17
Hello My Dear, Sweet Girlfriends!
Here we are in November 2012, ALREADY! The older I get, the faster the clock seems to tick. Time. I never have enough of that commodity, especially at this time of the year: the holiday season.
Halloween is barely past us and now we look forward to Thanksgiving, which is a funny thing because I, for one, am very thankful for Halloween candy, especially the chocolate variety! Apparently, I am not alone in my love of candy. Today my daughter posted a YouTube video on Facebook of Jimmy Kimmel's parent Halloween prank on kids. Click here and take a look: I Told My Kid I Ate All Their Halloween Candy Again.
Admit it, you smiled just a little!
Watching the video at the kitchen table and frightening the dogs with my loud laughter, my mind formulated two questions: What would my response have been as a child, and how would my own children have responded? Well, actually I thought three things, because immediately I felt this sense of shame and guilt come over me as I wondered, "How embarrassed would I be by the answer to the first two questions?" Years ago, when they were little ones like the kids in the video, I am sure I would not have even thought to ask the third question. I was a baby Christian, still immature and beginning to grow in faith. Materialism and attachment to things of this world, even candy, were part of my old sin nature.
Today, however, after my initial reaction of laughter and amusement at the video clips, I was overcome by the absurdity of it all. We cry and throw fits over someone eating our CANDY. Ok, so for some of us, it is not candy; instead we kick, scream, and wail if someone eats our food, drives our car, spends our cash or uses our credit, wears our clothing, uses our computer, takes our job, or wastes our time. Attached to the things of this world, we miss the bigger picture: Every day is an opportunity to humble ourselves and bless someone else through our giving.
Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy,
and where thieves break in and steal. Matthew 6:19
Why do we hold so tightly to our "stuff"? What do our belongings mean to us that giving them away does not? Do I need five pounds of candy? Do I need twelve pair of jeans or twenty sweaters? Am I unable to live without my computer for an hour or my car for a day? Would it kill me to slow down, be patient, enjoy breathing, and maybe connect with someone while I wait in line?
Girlfriends, I am not saying I would not be a little ticked if my mom ate all of my Halloween candy (sorry Mom). God is still doing a work in me called sanctification, working out that old nature that lingers in my new Christ-centered self. I am far from perfect simply because I accepted Jesus as my Savior. I am guessing even St. Paul would have cried if all of his Butterfingers and Snickers disappeared at once, for he tells us in Romans 7:18-20:
I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it.
Ladies, my observation today is simply this: many times in life we behave like spoiled children who want nothing more than to gorge ourselves on the "candy" of this earth and who explode into tantrums when we cannot have what we want. Thankfully, Jimmy Kimmel's producers and editors had the good sense to end the film with the responses from some wonderful kids who seem "to get it." In contrast to throwing water bottles and crying uncontrollably, how sweet are the children who only want their parent to be happy or who look forward to next year when they can share the candy with mom? Without saying a word, those kids are screaming, "People, it is only CANDY." Love and kindness are sweeter than anything Nestle or Hershey could ever produce.
Today, I pray that we will all reflect upon our response to others when they want or need (or even steal) something from us. Are we too attached, or can we find joy in giving it freely away? How can we bless someone today?
More than anything, I want to offer the sweet words of eternal life to you, my Girlfriends. While we were separated from God by our sin, He came to earth to be our sin, suffered, died, and conquered death so that you and I may have eternal life through our acknowledgement of our sin, our repentance, and our faith in the work of Jesus on the Cross. If you have not taken these steps,I pray that today will be the start of your new life in Christ, one deeper and richer than any vat of chocolate! Be blessed!
How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth! I gain understanding from your precepts; therefore I hate every wrong path. Psalm 119:103-104
Pleasant words are a honeycomb, sweet to the soul and healing to the bones. Proverbs 16:24
