Tuesday, December 23, 2014
I am not a doctor but I have recently come across an old un-named condition that appears to be as hurtful as it is contagious. I bet others have detected it, maybe you too, but it has not yet been named to this day as far as I know. Therefore, I will name it the SIC Syndrome. The letters stand for “Sorry, I Can’t!” I seem to hear this phrase or something similar with much regularity nowadays. The truth is I believe I was infected with it early in my Christian life and although I don’t feel I am completely cured of it, I choose to believe that I have improved quite a bit. Permit me to elaborate: The Lord so impressed me about this condition years ago, I took it as a personal indictment and wrote a poem about it and titled it “An Unforgettable Dream.” It is a story about a Christian man, like myself then, who felt he was in pretty good standing with God until the night he had his unforgettable dream. It really shook him up when the Lord took him before a giant panoramic screen and showed him the true effects of his careless, thoughtless, and selfish ways. Here is one of them and part of the poem: [The day I got an invitation/ I promised I would keep/ I told my brother “Sorry!”/ But now I saw him weep.] Oftentimes, we let people down thinking it’s no big deal and assuming it is the same for them also. In the story of the poem, the man who had the dream found out otherwise and was shown just how much it affected the one who was turned down.
I’m aware that I’ve cited this passage several times but I believe it is important enough to be repeated: “Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.” (Philippians 2:4) This means we should make an effort to comply with other people’s requests, especially when it concerns family or friends, and assuming they are reasonable, for sometimes they are not or we just can’t. I’m also aware how prone we all are to stay in our “comfort zone” as much as we can, and I’ve lost count of the times when I grudgingly went somewhere I did not want to go, but I also remember how happy I was afterwards that I went anyway.
Since this is the season for giving and soon we will embark on a brand new year, may God help us to learn to give more of ourselves, now and throughout the year. May we develop a reputation for being the kind of people that know how to do favors for others; that are intent on not letting people down as much as we have in the past. If we start today, this Christmas will be more fulfilling and meaningful to us. More importantly, we will please and honor our Heavenly Father in the process.
Memory verse for the week: (Psalm 127:) “Sons are a heritage from the LORD, children a reward from Him.”
