A Funny Story for Friday

This is a post I published a year ago. I read it and thought it would be a funny end to the week. Enjoy!!

“…But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.” (Joshua 24:15)

You may call me ridiculous, but there are some things I don’t allow my kids to say. There are words (aside from cuss words) that I have never allowed my kids to use. For instance, my kids are not allowed to call someone stupid. I think it’s demeaning and unkind. So, we don’t say it. I have also never allowed my kids to say butt. I don’t know, I just don’t like the word. We have always used bottom. But as my youngest get older, especially Jonah, he wants to use these words. He has questioned my reasoning for my rules. He wants to call people stupid and say butt, but I just don’t think its right. So, he’s not allowed.

Now, if you have read my blogs long enough or if you have the pleasure of knowing Jonah personally, you know Jonah is always pushing the envelope. He wants to know how close he can come without crossing the line. And because of his desire to be (obedient on his terms), he has made up a new word. He chooses to use “blutt” instead of butt. He doesn’t want to use the other words that are acceptable; he made up his own word. He thinks that adding one letter makes the word acceptable. Once we stopped laughing at his ridiculous attempt to stay within his parameters, we had to ask ourselves; is he stepping over the line?

You know, we all step over the line sometimes. We take one step and we are straddling that line that separates worldliness and godliness. One step doesn’t seem so bad. It’s just a little taste of the world. It’s just a little sin. It’s just a small act of disobedience. It’s nothing major. But sooner or later, we become used to that sin and we are taking another step into the world. Oh sure, we still have our foot grounded in God, but our stance is wider. We are straddling a little more to keep God as we live in the world. Then the choice comes again. Should we step back over the line and follow God fully, or do we keep stepping farther into the world? Sooner or later as we step farther and farther into the world, we begin to lose sight of who God is. His reflection in us becomes dull. We hear the voices of the world louder than the voice of God.

Something happens to us when we step into the world. We want more of it. Our flesh desires the sin we are committing. The farther from God we step, the quieter the Holy Spirit becomes. The convictions we used to have are no longer a part of who we are. God is no longer who we live for, we now live for ourselves. We have become selfish, only fulfilling the desires of the flesh. We have no desire for the things of God because they interrupt our worldly passions. The more we step over the line, the larger our straddle. And left unchecked long enough, that straddle will become out of balance and we will fall. The question is, do we fall back to God or do we fall into the world?

In the scripture today, Joshua was asking God’s people if they wanted to follow the gods of their forefathers or did they want to follow the God that allowed them to escape captivity? He wanted them to choose. Each day we have to do the same. We have to choose to serve God. We don’t get to question God, we get to obey. And we certainly don’t get to make up our own set of rules that will suit us or our selfishness. We live in a world that pulls us from everything that is holy. We have a choice to make. Are we going to stay with God, or are we going to step over the line? Are we going to make up our own rules or follow Gods? If we choose the world, we can be sure that it will eventually kick our “blutt”.