Shooting the Elephant...
17 So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin.
When I was a little girl, around the first grade, we lived in a new housing development called "Valley High" in San Antonio, Tx. There are only 5 major memories I have from living in this home: 2 involved me getting in some sort of trouble; 1 involved losing our beagle Suzie-Bell (who ran away, but eventually returned home); and 1 was instructional (how to eat soup with a spoon the proper way); and 1 was a fun happy memory (trick or treating at Halloween).
Today's devotional from Lies Young Women Believe reminded me of one of those times I got in trouble. And, actually, it wasn't so much getting in trouble as it was my sister catching me in the act of doing something that she convinced me was terribly wrong and would eventually get me in trouble if she told on me.
Some time, shortly after Easter, we had several dyed eggs left over, just sitting on the kitchen table stirring up my curiosity. In my 1st grader mind, these were abandoned chicks in need of a mother hen. So, I took one of the eggs and deposited it into my undergarments. I suppose I thought I was going to hatch an egg. Just then, my older sister caught me in the act of saving said abandoned egg. She reacted in such a way that I was convinced I had done something hideously, horribly wrong. She threatened to tell mom and I begged her to save me from certain death. And so she did. In fact, to get me to do anything (e.g., clean my room, assigned chores, behave, etc.), all she would have to say was, "I'm gonna tell..." (Sustaining that word "tell" into a sing-song-y multiple of syllables) and I'd instantly jump to the task at hand. It got to the point she could just hum those notes and I'd move. I was terrified of my parents discovering this great "sin" I'd committed.
Eventually, I believe I tired of my sister's blackmail and confessed to my mom. I didn't get in trouble at all. Mom just laughed and declared me human, not chicken. The relief I felt was palpable. Had I only gone to mom first, I could've avoided the weeks of terror and the weight of this horrible, no good thing I thought I'd done.
Don't we treat sin in our life the same way? We allow it to saturate us with guilt, a feeling of being dirty and the terror of being "found out." Instead, if we'd just run to our Heavenly Father, confess our sin and cling to the sweet release of forgiveness...we'd be free to get back into step with God rather that walking out of step from Him.
Sometimes, sin we continually struggle with needs accountability partners. Make sure you choose a Godly parent or mature person in Christ. Often times, we eagerly blurt out our "sin" to a best friend or peer who has no maturity in their relationship with Christ. When we do this, we feel better, but there is no accountability. Your friend, meaning well, may not be able to discern the seriousness of the situation or may, in fact, struggle with the same thing.
Care more about disappointing God, the Holy One you are sinning against, than people. I recall one conversation with a teen who admitted they were so afraid of disappointing me or Frank that they couldn't talk to either one of us about a problem they were having. I was so heartbroken to discover we were unapproachable in this way! I think that is why I started writing these little snippets of devotional thoughts to pass along to all of you. I wanted to give you a glimpse into the imperfect world of "Frank & Mary." We aren't here to approve or disapprove of you...we are here to love on you, hug you if you need it or be a listening ear to whatever is going on in your life. Guaranteed, we will bring God into the discussion and remind you of what He thinks on the matter. Our opinions are pointless. God's opinion is everything. We will pray with you, hurt with you and laugh with you as the conversation warrants. Whomever you decide to trust, make sure it is someone who will tell you what God thinks on the matter, not what they think.
Don't live in bondage to your sin. Live in grace, freedom and the forgiveness Jesus offers you when you turn away from sin and toward Him.
More on sin....
To Shoot An Elephant
Sin posted by Tim Sweetman on 02/15/12; LYWB Devotional Blog from here: http://www.liesyoungwomenbelieve.com/index.php?id=899
"Let me not forget the heinousness of sin lies not so much in the nature of the sin committed, as in the greatness of the Person sinned against." —Puritan prayer
George Orwell wrote an incredible story of a man who was faced with a major moral dilemma—to kill an elephant or not. "To Shoot an Elephant" was first published in the literary magazine New Writing in the autumn of 1936.
The story doesn't sound quite that drastic or horrible a situation, but this foreign policeman struggles with the task placed upon him. He knows he shouldn't do it. He can't do it. But the elephant is destroying the market of this foreign country that hates the policeman, yet he is tasked to be in. These people are ones who do everything they can to humiliate him.
And now he has been given a task by his superiors, who he does not agree with. Orders to shoot the elephant. Everyone expects him to do it. One of the most telling parts comes when he says:
"And my whole life, every white man's life in the East, was one long struggle not to be laughed at."
So there he stood, rifle in hand, sights set on the elephant he knew he should not shoot.
It made me think, how often do we face situations where, quite honestly, we know what's right but we'd rather not be laughed at? There are so many reasons to go with the crowd and with their expectations—everyone would understand. But we struggle inside. We battle and wrestle and struggle. Yet we sit there with our fingers on the trigger of sin.
Think of those times when you're faced with those kinds of situations daily. An opportunity to lie about whom you really are just to fit in. Justifying those words you just spoke harshly to a sibling. Or maybe it's the clothes you're holding in your hands, contemplating how good you're going to look in them, ignoring the fact that it will make your brothers in Christ stumble.
The words of Proverbs 10:9 echo in my ears, as I stand with the proverbial gun in my hand: "Whoever walks in integrity walks securely, but he who makes his ways crooked will be found out." In other words, we're faced with elephants to kill every day. Everyone around us expects us to kill it, but we know it's wrong. Our conscience screams out not to do it. It's in those moments we struggle like the man in Orwell's story. What should we do, surrounded by a world out to laugh and humiliate us? No one wants to be thought of as the loser who couldn't pull the trigger.
God calls us to set down the "gun," the sin, and offers us a way of escape, even in situations full of excuses to sin. First Corinthians 10:12–13 says, "Therefore let anyone who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall. No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it."
So will you put down the gun or will you shoot the elephant?
--
Mary E.Hickcox
www.CalvaryBaptistSM.org
http://mary-neotes.blogspot.com/
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