Hi First Presbyterian,
I’d like to start our Mid-Week Meet-Up with a joke. Have you heard about the man who was rescued after being stranded on a desert island for a year all by himself? He had built three huts for himself on the island. When his rescuers noticed this, they asked the man, “Why did you build three huts when you’ve been living here all by yourself?” The man replied, “This first hut was my house, and this second hut was the church I worshiped in.” The rescuers replied, “But what about the third hut?” The man replied “Oh… that’s the church I used to go to.” *rimshot*
Before anyone assumes that I have a specific referent in mind, I simply found this joke this week, thought it was funny, and wanted to share it with you!
I don’t mean to make light of the important and well thought out reasons people find new communities of faith. However, the man in the joke illustrates how petty our decision-making can be at times, which can be applied to examples that extend well beyond our affiliation with a community of faith. When we’re unhappy we can sometimes feel the urge to want to “take our ball and go home.” There are many things in life over which we have no control. It can feel empowering to exert some control in an area of our lives that may already be stable and under control, even if it means creating a little chaos ourselves so we have something to fix. We might do this with our religious affiliations or our affiliations with other organizations. We might also do this with our relationships. People sometimes feel overwhelmed with life and, in order to feel in control of something, overanalyze a relationship with a spouse or invent a conflict with a friend just to have something to fix.
The apostle Paul tells us, “For freedom you have been set free… for you were called to freedom, brothers and sisters; only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for self-indulgence, but through love become servants to one another” (Galatians 5:1, 13). It is true that we have limited control over our lives. It is true that it can feel good to exert control whenever we possess it. What Paul is telling us is that we shouldn’t use our freedom to cause division, to tear others down, or to do anything else that is in service to ourselves. Instead, we should use our freedom to better the lives of those around us. To put it another way: Paul is telling us we shouldn’t “take our ball and go home;” instead, we should “take our ball and give it to someone else” or “take our ball and make sure everyone can play with it.”
When we feel powerless and out of control, there is one thing that always remains in our control: the choice to do the right thing. So, let’s use the power and control we have to serve one another. That’s what Jesus did. Thank the Lord.
Peace to you,
Pastor Neff