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.”