Check yourself before you wreck yourself!

We were headed home to LaGrange on Interstate 85 when I saw the car in the left lane with its left turn signal on and it was going about 50 miles per hour. Maybe they were slowing to turn left, I thought. As we got closer, I noticed a couple of interesting things about the car. Their rear window wiper was going even though it wasn’t raining. That is strange, I thought; but maybe they were using the rhythm of the wipers to help keep the proper beat for some music they were composing. I also noticed that there were car parts that seemed to be hanging off the left side of this vehicle. These parts were flapping in the now 60 miles per hour wind since the car was speeding up. When the right opportunity presented itself, I moved into the right lane to get around the car. I noticed two things as we passed this car that was now going about 45 miles per hour. The first was that the right side of the car looked like it had rubbed the wall at the Daytona Speedway going 160 miles per hour. Then everything was explained when I saw the driver. The driver was driving with her knees, she had her head down looking at her phone, and her stubby little thumbs moving at the speed of light. I was happy to get past this wreck waiting to happen. As I pulled away, I looked back to see the front of the car was missing a headlight, part of the grill, and some of the fiberglass cowling. I had a friend that often said, “You better check yourself before you wreck yourself.” For this driver, we would have said, “You better check yourself before you wreck yourself again.”  

 We all know the dangers of distracted driving, but do we know the dangers of distracted living? We can get over focused on finances, possessions, work, recreation, entertainment, relationships, etc. to the point that we have taken our eyes off Jesus. When that happens we are going to bump into a little sin that just might dent or ding up our lives just a little. The Hebrew writer tells us to fix our eyes on Jesus in Hebrew 12:2. That sounds easy enough, but we all know we have to fight to keep our eyes on Jesus.  If we don’t check ourselves, we will wreck ourselves. 

There are a few ways that we can check ourselves and keep our eyes on Jesus. I believe being in church every Sunday is a good beginning place. Sundays always draw my focus back to Jesus, especially communion.  I believe meeting with Jesus every day in his Word and in prayer helps me maintain a proper focus.  Having a small group of people that can help you see your blind spots and encourage you is also helpful. Statistics tell us that  more and more people are leaving the church. When I watch the news, it is one story after another about people who have wrecked their lives and other’s lives. Could it be that we have taken our eyes off Jesus? Maybe it is time we check ourselves before we wreck ourselves.

Hebrews 12:2 Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, 

who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, 

and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. NIV

 Delight 

I have been camped out in Psalm 119 for a couple of months. There is a recurring word that keeps showing up as the Psalmist talks about God’s Word. It is a word that I rarely hear in conjunction with God’s decrees. The Psalmist uses the word nine times in reference to God’s Word. If the word was used in a crossword puzzle, the clue might be a high degree of gratification or pleasure. That word is delight.

The psalmist says that he delights in God’s decrees, statues, commands, and law. If the truth be told, many of us find those things to be hard, troublesome, and a chore. We rarely say that we find delight in God’s law and decrees. When you find something to be a delight, you will want to return to it often. 

The key to finding delight in God’s commands may be found in another often repeated word in Psalm 119. It may be a four-letter word to some, but it is the key to finding delight in God’s Word. When you do this, you find that the ancient writings we call the Bible are true and beneficial. That four-letter word is obey. 

The author of Psalm 119 uses the word obey seventeen times. Obedience is important when it comes to delighting in God’s commands. I believe that we will change our attitude about God’s Word when we do what it says and are obedient to the words we read. Our lives and churches would change because we obeyed God ‘s decrees. I can only imagine how different churches would be if people found delight in reading their Bibles through obedience. If we only changed our attitude toward God’s Word through obedience, we could change the world. 

If delight isn’t a word you would use in reference to God’s Word, it just might be an obedience issue. When I find God’s Word to be a chore, it is often because I need to do what it says. Who wants to read God’s decrees when they confront us with our sin? The best way to keep God’s decrees from being a duty is through obedience.

Psalm 37:4 "Take delight in the Lord, and he will give 

you the desires of your heart." (NIV)