Self Sabotage

Mama said it this way, “Don’t cut off your nose to spite your face.”

That’s kind of like saying, Don’t jump out of the frying pan into the fire…I think.

I’ve never tried either pursuit but I think I get the gist. In a moment of desperation, think before you act.

When I was six I decided I didn’t want bangs anymore. So I cut them off – short – almost to the scalp and not long before school pictures. (Six-year-olds don’t often think long term I guess.)

Good news: My bangs grew back. Bad news: I looked like a porcupine until they did. The consequences of this decision were not permanent but there have been times since then that I’ve acted like a six-year-old in mind and reason. Fear. Anger. Passion. These have prompted me to follow what feels right instead of what I know is the best. But knowing what’s best takes practice. Bad news? Could be if you learn by trial and error.

Tim Henning, our choir director at church, said that he interviewed a fireman recently for a Lifeway publication. The fireman told Tim that they are trained to act on what they KNOW and not what they FEEL. He said that in the “heat” of a moment, a fireman’s natural instincts might tell him to stand up and run instead of getting down on the ground and crawling out of the blaze. Smoke and noxious gases naturally rise so staying low is the best exit route.

Before you chuck it all and move to “Bimini” – stop.

Think ahead. Stay low. Don’t come away with a nose-less face.

Right before His Best After-Dinner Speech Ever, Jesus tells His disciples, (as recorded in John 13:17) – “Now that you know these things, God will bless you for doing them.” (NLT)