No you don't have to be Southern to interpret these words....we have all heard them or their implication....
I pass a church every day whose billboard currently reads...
"The Lord should be your first priority"
I don't like it....not at all...
Why don't they just say..."Make the Lord your first priority"
Or...."The Lord is our first priority" or "Why don't you make the Lord your first priority?" All those comments are encouraging...not condemning....
Throwing in the "should" just ruins it for me...
Cause along with that word comes all sorts of baggage and yes, bondage...
I immediately feel the chains of condemnation, guilt, dismay and even despair....
you know why?
because suddenly He has been relagated to a chore...an obligation...something to go at the top of my lists... and I fail...I fall prey to the failure of the human that I am...
I feel the ugly fingers pointing at me...I feel judgement
because no matter how much I try to put Him first...it just isn't going to happen all the time...I am human...I screw up...
...but wait...
I am human...but not only human...I am spirit as well....truthfully I am not any creature this world recognizes because I have been born of man and born from above...I am a new creature...a creature enabled to live and function in two realms...it is in my spiritual DNA to be...
...ta da...spiritual...
and in my spirit He is always First...He is always Last...He is everything! ....this is the part of me that is born of God...that always holds Him in the highest place.
Yes, my humanity loses sight of Him occasionally and gets distracted by bills and care and children and the stress of life...but my humanity is not all that I am, it is only a small part actually...my spirit is alive and given opportunity, grows to surpass even my humanness...my spirit never loses sight of Him....so it doens't matter if I get distracted or forget to pray or lose track of my scripture reading....because my spirit...which makes me a creature who can stand and function in two realms...always recognizes Him as First, as the Lord on High that He is...He is always the Priority!
No need for shoulda, coulda, wouldas....
21 comments:
awesome. without the condemnation it works so much better.
I am so with you...
I hate being "should on".
It is not Jesus's way. It is the ugly part of the church and it's their desire to keep us in check. If it works, you don't have a thinking people but a people who follow out of fear or duty. Great post, thank you!...
never looked at it from this angle...thanks
i agree, cheryl. now is the time to be free of shame.
Me too(a two realmed being)! I love resting in Him as if I'm blindfolded to everything else. And I fail too... everyday. But... Oh the riches found in Him! So I will continue to find Him and fail without condemnation. Thanks for the reminder!
Amen...there is enough negative in the world without making the Lord sound like a chore...Amen sister!
If it weren't for the facts in this post, where in the world would we be, we are so not in control and when things happen in my life that are contrary to the way I would like them to be, I know He is allowing it to teach me something and it may be just to let Him do what HE does, cause I would just mess it up. Thanks be to Him who provided the sacrifice for me that I might be made the righteousness of Christ. He did it all, HE makes it possible!!
Awesome post!!
You've captured Gods message to us so beautifully...I love it.
I'm with "everydayrandom"...I also hate being "should on"! We need to stop doing that to ourselves!!
What a great observation about the word "should". You're right, it does invoke feelings of guilt.
You're soooo right!
I am so totally with you on this one!!! I have had the same thoughts lately in regards to spiritual "to do" lists. this is something I am working through.
P.S. I meant to mention that I always read about "starting the day with God"......first thing in the morning is not a good time for me (okay, I know all the arguments..it's not all about me...etc) but my thoughts are fuzzy and my comprehension levels are 'nil'in the morning...God is with me during those times...I just am able to seek Him and listen better later in the day...I would love to hear your thoughts on this.
Trying to catch up on all the great posts I have been missing this week. This is a great one. I like the saying
"be good to yourself, don't should on yourself"
Cheryl- hey there! i started up my blog again and I thought I would stop by to see how you are doing. What a great post! I've missed reading your insights.
Well- take care.
a little behind here on my posts as well! A very thought provoking read Cheryl!
prayers & hugs!
It does kinda sounds like its judging doesn't it? He isn't a chore and shouldn't be spoken of as such...it is a blessing to serve Him and to praise Him!
To the point and very good!
Such a great post...really made me stop and think about how we throw out cliches without really thinking about what they mean.
Our works shouldn't come out of guilt, but should be an overflow of our love for Christ.
Thanks again for such great thoughts!
Hi Cheryl. "Should" puts us back under law where we fall from grace. Thanks for the great blog!
Yep, I totally agree. That's the reason most folks won't even go to church anymore. Now if they heard about grace a little more....
Loved the post. I don't even think we can "make" Him our priority without His grace drawing us and enabling us.
I meant to add something...
Folks keep trying to make the Lord a "priority" when in fact, He is our very life. Life! He's not something to check off our to-do list -- in Him we live and move and have our very being.
But that's what you said:-)
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