We may hear this saying at some time in our lives. It’s not an easy sentence to accept or reject. There are different ways this may be said to you and not exactly in these words.
If you say, “I’ll take it.” You may not know exactly what you are accepting. Why? Because we don’t know either the consequences to be good or bad. Therefore, we may hesitate to even make a decision for fear of the unknown or lack of confidence in our ability to judge the outcome or withstand whatever it may be.
There could be easily taken all the measures to lead to a most likely good conclusion. You did everything. You put in all the ingredients: your flour, baking powder, how long to bake it, the yeast, the butter, the sugar or honey…whatever the planned ingredients were.
So, what happened? Uh, uh, uh, Ooo. You overcooked it or you under cooked it. The cake fell right in the middle! Your heart and disappointment fell right with it. The failure was felt all through your mind and body. You may have even cried. Now, what must you do? Do you give up? Do you start back from the beginning and try again?
You may recall that at the mother’s encouragement, the two sons of Zebedee wanted something from the Lord. One of them wanted to walk the walk that Jesus was taking. Jesus said, “You don’t know what you are asking to walk in my shoes.”
At one point, one son asked something and He told him, “It is not mine to give.” The mother of James and John came to the Lord asking that her boys might sit on either side of Him in His kingdom. She didn’t know how the honors of recognition would be bestowed. They wanted to get ahead without doing the work and sufferings that entail walking the walk of Jesus.
Jesus asked, “Are you able to drink the cup that I am about to drink?” (Matthew 20:20-21) Sometimes we ask out of greed or ignorance and the desire to be catapulted upward to power and position.
What were you going to do with this cake after you finished it? Were you going to keep it for yourself and slowly, day after day, nibble at it until you had eaten it all? Or were you going to give it away? Or were you going to cut it up and share with friends? Were you baking it for the poor?
In the account of Abram and Lot, we find that Lot had gone with Abram. It was because he had gone with Abram that he had become very rich. Abram was already very rich in cattle, silver and gold. Abram knew the right road to take. He would invoke the Lord by name.
Lot also had flocks and herds and tents. It was because of Abram and his blessings that Lot became rich. That was not enough for Lot. Even the herdsmen of Abram and Lot began quarreling between themselves. That is what can happen when some people become very rich. They lose their perspective and compassion for others. The herdsmen thought the land was not big enough for all of them.
Abram had a conciliatory attitude, a mild attitude and most importantly, he wanted to keep peace. Abram kept a humble outlook. “Let there be no strife,” (Genesis 13:7). There were other tribes of peoples there who caused enough problems. There was no need to add onto existing trouble.
Abram gave a good option, saying, “Let’s divide and separate, for we are kinsmen and should not be arguing between ourselves.” Abram wanted peace and essentially said, “Lot, you look around and decide what part of the land you want to have.”
Lot, who now appears to be greedy, looked about him and it pleased him that the whole plain of the Jordan was well watered, plush and green. It appeared that he didn’t want to cultivate land, but come in where there was no need to work it. In his greed, he settled in the cities of the plain and pitched his tents near Sodom (Genesis 13).
Here may be where people, even today, make a bad decision. Rather than settle arguments and seeking peace between his workmen, now that he has become very wealthy, he wants to be independent. This is typical of human nature. They will cling to you as long as they think they need you; but after a while they feel that they are big enough to break off from you and be independent.
That’s even a typical reason why some married couples end in divorce or separation and the children suffer greatly. They may see that there are so many others unmarried and want to have as many partners as possible.
Bad decision because life needs to be worked out and worked through. There are no quick fixes. In our subject that we are pursuing here: “The door is always open,” that is the voice of the angel of the Lord speaking to us.
“This is the way. Walk through this door. It leads to the pathway which offers more opportunities and wisdom to solve the problems of the issues of life. In this pathway, you will walk and talk to the Lord. He will always lead us down the pathway of love because He loves us and wants us to avoid the many rocks, boulders and obstacles of life (Part 1 of 2).”
Thanks for reading! Jeanette Grattan Parker is founder-superintendent of Today’s Fresh Start Charter School, 4514 Crenshaw Boulevard, L.A., 90043, 323-293-9826, www.todaysfreshstart.org (Ask Dr. Jeanette TM) Inquiring Minds Want to Know” All articles are copyright. All rights reserved © The Holy Bible New Testament, Errors? Let me know. Sundays for music & message: 11:30am {1-712-775-8971—code 266751} Pray; always. Don’t stop praying and hoping. Reference: Believer’s Bible Commentary; Jewish Study Bible. Henry’s Complete Commentary on the Whole Bible”. https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/mhm/genesis-13.html. 1706.Public domain
