John 15:13 – “No one has greater love than this – that one lays down his life for his friends.”
Where does one draw the line? How much happiness do we need to give up, who do we have to forsake, how many do we have to disappoint, how many sacrifices do we have to make, how much self-inflicted grief do we have to pile on ourselves, how much precious time do we have to let waste?
Who determines the choices and decisions we take and their worthiness; for our wretched peace of mind to be appeased? How can we be sure the path decided upon holds divine appliance?
Sure we say, 'I've prayed about it', and 'God has ordained my actions' - how presumptuous of us to profess we fully understand the 'Aye' and 'Nay' of the Father without even fully understanding ourselves. How self-indulgent and misguided...
Much of the aforesaid builds a precinct in the mind for the following:
A desire to be well thought of makes people reluctant to say 'no' to anyone regarding anything. We should cultivate an ability to say 'no' to activities for which we have no time, no talent, and in which we have no interest or real concern. If we learn to say 'no' to many things, then we will be able to say 'yes' to things that matter most.
But rather we persevere with our short-sighted, blinkered aspirations of 'doing the right thing', no matter what the consequences may hold; because, in our limited understanding of ourselves and the will of God; we vindicate ourselves and wallow in the shallowness of false relief that we have thrown off the shackles of guilt and man's narrow-minded reproaches.
'From the sublime to the ridiculous', it is said, 'takes but one step'. How callously we embark upon and take this step, without fully exploring due diligence, without true guided direction, without challenging the status quo, without due consideration of the ensuing battle ahead. Relying solely on the convictions of our own limited and flawed ideals and hardened hearts; whilst unbeknown, still indeed an inherent and real result of life's struggles.
We usually take this rash path to 'make up' to those we feel we have grievously harmed or hurt, or caused unnecessary burdens to be placed upon; and carried further we do it in penance of our past self-destructive behaviour; which ironically we are now sub-consciously perpetuating...
If one really wants, or needs, to show and prove to our loving Lord and Saviour a pure and repentant heart, think about it, find a different alleviation. This self flagellation is tantamount to suicide, a mortal sin, reserved for the unsaved and hopeless; not for the Children of God.
Further:
A bit of fame or notoriety do funny things to people. They start to think that anything they want is possible and even probable. They get the peculiar notion that they are creatures of special grace, and that the whole purpose of each day's sunrise is to warm them. Sometimes, for a while, it even works out for them, and they read in this run of good fortune an entire lifetime's destiny, rather than a single extraordinary chapter - Bill Adler and David R Slavitt
This will of course anger many; but in the end only the pure in heart shall see God - the Master promised this - and to this end I will lay down my life for a friend (for the right, Godly reasons)... - SSL
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