Bad Breath
1Pe 1:13 So roll up your sleeves, put your mind in gear, be totally ready to receive the gift that’s coming when Jesus arrives.
1Pe 1:14 Don’t lazily slip back into those old grooves of evil, doing just what you feel like doing. You didn’t know any better then; you do now.
1Pe 1:15 As obedient children, let yourselves be pulled into a way of life shaped by God’s life, a life energetic and blazing with holiness. (The Message)
One of the greatest challenges of one who’s childhood has past some time ago is to understand the necessity of direction and discipline during that time. Independence and the freedom to choose everything on your own is part of what defines adulthood, but a child left to choose on their own wouldn’t brush his/her teeth, make their bed, eat the healthy stuff, turn off the tv, get off the computer, do their homework, take a bath…. While these necessities in life tend to be accepted somewhat as things that we can enforce upon their little minds and bodies, there is often a reticence to guide them into the discipline of Godly holiness, the greatest and most essential direction that will lead all other disciplines to a successful life. Somehow it is felt that ’shoving God down their throats’ will only serve to drive them away from Him.
While many memories of childhood are somewhat faded, there are clear ones of the times my actions required redirection and the presence of my parents insured that this would happen. They instilled behaviors and habits in me that I would take into the rest of my life. I’ve since brushed my teeth, taken a bath- everything from the above list and more- because I wasn’t given the option to just choose them as I saw fit. I was also introduced to God, and though I would never be forced to accept Him as my own, there were certain actions pertaining to Him that weren’t presented as options. Just like the hand naturally covers the heart during the national anthem, there are certain ways that the presence of the Almighty Creator were honored and praised. Acknowledging the wisdom from His Word, refraining from actions that would go against what He’s spoken, and taking an appropriate physical position during His praise and worship were all things that I might not have chosen on my own, but became part of my direction for living. By them I’ve frequently been compelled and drawn back to a position where the honor of His presence will bring much needed restoration and renewal.
Since leaving the comfort, care and direction of my childhood, obedience to those trained ways of hygiene and discipline have become my own choice as they’re seen as valid and necessary. If I were to determine, though, that I really didn’t need to brush my teeth any more, there would be evidence of this in the deteriorated state of my teeth before too long. Something that was initially instilled through simple childhood obedience has become for me an essential part of my body’s health. While it is true that I’m this ‘grown-up’ person now with this powerful ability to choose as I will, to successfully live much longer and to find success in this living will require a childlike submission to many regular tasks that insure cleanliness and mental and physical discipline. How I treat and honor my Creator may also be among my ‘mature’ choices now, but this will be the most essential and critical of all the choices I make, and it, like the others will require simple childlike submission to ways that I might not just choose on my own. If I skip a day of brushing my teeth, my breath will tell it, and if I skip a day of prayer or exposure to God’s Word, my heart and my actions will tell it. I may or may not ‘feel’ like it, but the health and condition of my heart require that I remain obedient to the ways of holiness. This may be observed to be just ‘religious’, the adherence to a Godly way of life, but as it reflects a passionionate pursuit of One who has captured the heart, each faithful submission to His direction is an expression of a heart-felt commitment of love.
I’m glad we’ve been shown a better way. I’m glad for the opportunity to live in that way. And, I’m so thankful that His Spirit enables us to walk in the power of His love along the path of holiness. We know better now.
