Skip to main content

Removing Fetters

             Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, 2 fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. (Hebrews 12:1-2)

 Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 3:13-14)

But Lot’s wife looked back, and she became a pillar of salt. (Genesis 19:26)

“You are fettered,” said Scrooge, trembling. “Tell me why?”

 “I wear the chain I forged in life,” replied the Ghost. “I made it link by link, and yard by yard; I girded it on of my own free will, and of my own free will I wore it. Is its pattern strange to you?” Scrooge trembled more and more. “Or would you know,” pursued the Ghost, “the weight and length of the strong coil you bear yourself? It was full as heavy and as long as this, seven Christmas Eves ago. You have laboured on it, since. It is a ponderous chain!”  (Charles Dickens, A Christmas Carol)

 

Earlier in the month, I wrote about remembering what happened over the past year(s.) Now, we’re almost there. It’s time to strip down and gear up. It’s time to drop the Bob Marley act and, like Scrooge, remove the fetters that have grown long and heavy. If you consider Bob and Ebenezer, their chains were simple. They were greedy, and every link was an outcome of their greed. The reality may be that our chains are just as simple, or we may have multiple chains. Some of us may be able to unlock one great padlock and be free of all. Others may have to remove a link at a time.

It may be easier, we might think, to leave them in place, but let me tell you, it’s harder to run with stuff hanging around your neck, draped from your shoulders, or even held in your arms. It throws off your balance and reduces your reaction time, even if it does nothing else. If we’re going to run a race, we need to remove the chains.

One chain I am discovering or rediscovering is perfectionism. I’ve joked that when my father was alive, we struggled with decisions. He didn’t want to make any, and I am paranoid about making right decisions. That doesn’t mean I make right decisions all the time, but the paralysis of analysis involving trying to figure out what the right decision is plays a significant part in my life. A friend mentioned that she just writes down everything she wants to do, then organizes the list.

I like that idea, but I know me – prepare for a ten thousand item year! (OK, maybe 1000. I tend to overdo. But freedom is as much a part of dancing with God as taking the right steps. Time to remove the fetters that bind me to the rock of “right choices.”  

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Saved?

  I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand. I and the Father are one.” (John 10:28-30) “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, “I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’ ” (Matthew 7:21-23) Not at all! Let God be true, and every human being a liar. As it is written: “So that you may be proved right when you speak and prevail when you judge.” (Romans 3:4)   What conclusion do you draw when someone who was raised in a Christian family and church, perhaps even playing a significant role in a chur...
Post a Comment
Read more

A Virgin?

           Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel. (Isaiah 7:14)           This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit. (Matthew 1:18)           But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God. You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end.”            “How will this be,” Mary asked the...
Post a Comment
Read more

Meditations of the Heart

  May these words of my mouth and this meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer. (Psalm19:14)           As I started writing this post, I noted that the meditations of my heart are all over the mental landscape, from a hub where eight superhighways come together to a lunar or nuclear landscape. Do you see my error? The moment I read the word meditation , I think about thoughts. But what’s described here is the meditations of our hearts ; our wills.           While the meditations of our minds may be all over the place, the meditations of our wills tend to be a little more stable by the time we are adults. We no longer tend to want to pursue the ten separate careers we did in any given day as children. Part of this is humble acceptance of reality. We come to understand that we can’t do it all. I think another part of it is disappointmen...
Post a Comment
Read more