Okay, so let me be transparent a moment. I just about forfeited my sanctification a few days ago. Why, you ask? It’s kind of comical now but while it was going on I thought I was going to lose my mind [keep the snide comments to yourself, lol]. One of the presents we purchased for our kids for Christmas was a train table with the tracks. It’s similar to what you would find in the kids section at your local Barnes and Noble….but slightly smaller. Being the wonderful Father I am here’s what I did…..I waited till the last possible second to put it together. Smart move, huh? Not so much. There are three words that will spark fear in my heart quicker than any other. The picture below says it all.
Did you see it….it says…..ADULT ASSEMBLY REQUIRED. Another transparent moment: I’m not very handy…..there—I said it. God gave me this pretty face to make up for my obvious lack of handiness (I know you’re rolling your eyes but I like to pretend I’m Denzel Washington’s albino twin brother). Side note: my wife was fully aware of my un-handiness and made this purchase anyway—no doubt she lost her focus because of my dashingly good looks. (there goes that eye roll again…..you should really get that checked, LOL). The table itself wasn’t too bad to put together. I only screwed ONE set of legs on backwards. In comparison of past ventures, this was an improvement for me. The train tracks…..not so much. I’m not like most men. I actually looked at the directions. I realized early on something wasn’t right. After about 10 minutes of mounting frustration I began forming a polite yet frustratingly poignant letter to the creators of this toy informing them, not only was there something wrong with the product but I FULLY expected them to fix the issue and apologize for the inconvenience it caused me—not to mention the emotional scars my children would have to carry throughout their lives (a little dramatic, huh? LOL!). Not easily swayed I sat there for 45 minutes trying to figure out SOME way to make this thing work. My kids deserved it and I wasn’t giving up!!! Finally, I took a deep breath and…..wouldn’t you know it…..something clicked. I had been reading the direction wrong and looking at things backwards. I set about to reassemble everything and….voila’……..COMPLETED TABLE = EXTREMELY HAPPY CHILDREN!!!! Dad of the Year was awarded to ME!
This entire episode reminded me of how we as Christians tend to live. The Bible gives specific directions/directives on how we are to live our lives. Rather heed these instructions we attempt to find ways of getting around certain commandments or mandates. We try to keep one foot in heaven and one foot in the world. Rather than abstain from impure things we try to see how much we can get away with before getting ‘in trouble.’ Mixing the two is impossible to do successfully as light and darkness are two very different things. We may not want to hear it but it’s time to, “Choose you this day, whom you will serve….” And while we’re at it, let me encourage you to take things a step further this new year. Rather than read the directions (the Bible) and take it at face value, choose to STUDY it. There are SO many customs, traditions, cultural norms of that time we are not aware of. When we read the Bible in the actual context it was written it takes on an ENTIRELY different meaning. There’s a reason we’ve been given instructions and limitations. It’s not punishment…..it’s protection. Rather than get frustrated at God because something doesn’t go the way you felt it should, step back and look at things from a different angle. The flaw isn’t in the instructions…..the flaw is in how you’re reading them.