I know that it's a stretch to make this post fit the food theme, but as I laid awake last night, I started to think about challenges that I could offer for 2011. This is what came to my mind.
Don’t pray about things
There are things that the Bible is very clear about not doing. God gave us the Top 10 list, but there are other mandates that He was also very clear about. These are things that we shouldn’t be praying about. God has already been very clear. It would be like a child asking permission to do something that a parent has already said, “No”, to. There’s really no point. God isn’t going to change His mind on those issues. It would seem silly to pray, “God, I’m thinking about murdering someone. I really need you to give me wisdom about Your will for this area of my life.” Do you think God ever wants to just say, ”Duh”? It is equally as silly to ask God’s wisdom and guidance for questions such as “I don’t feel like I want to be married anymore. Is it ok if I get a divorce?” “ I know that the person I am in love with isn’t a Christian, is it ok if I continue dating them anyway?” “It would be more convenient if my boyfriend/girlfriend and I lived together. Is that ok with you, God?” “I really don’t feel like going to church. God, are You ok with me just staying home again this week?” God is pretty clear on issues like this. You really don’t need to pray about it. God has already given you His answer.
Complain about your life a lot on Facebook
We all have struggles. We all have things in our lives that we wish were different. Let me be really subtle here. If you don’t like your circumstance, change them. If you can’t change your circumstances, change your attitude. My challenge for your Facebook complaints is for every time you complain about your job, your spouse, your finances, etc., post two things that are positive about your life. I think you will be surprised at how quickly your attitude changes.
Let go of people who you love
There are two different aspects of this challenge. One is looking honestly at the relationships that you are in and determining whether or not they are healthy and God-honored. This can be very difficult because our emotions have a tendency to override our sense of what constitutes healthy and God-honored. I’m not just talking about dating relationships. Friendships also need to be examined. There comes a time when you have to let go, even though it’s hard. Relationships of any kind are not meant to be one-sided, with only one person making an effort, or resulting in other relationships being cast aside. Love of any kind should be an addition to existing relationships, not result in their exclusion. As difficult as it may be, it may be time to let go of some of the people that you love.
The other aspect of this challenge is to let go of people that you love and give them to God. There are people that will be in our lives forever, no matter what happens. It’s hard when those people are struggling and you feel powerless to help them. Let go of those people and give them to God. He knows exactly what they need and will work in their lives. What He allows to transpire in their lives to get their attention may be very difficult to watch, but continually take them to the throne of God and let Him handle it.
Talk about people behind their back
I really don’t like to hear people talk negatively about my administration. It’s easy to sit in a place where you don’t know all the facts about a situation and make comments that are neither true nor helpful. I figure that if you have a legitimate and helpful suggestion, go to that person and offer your help. If not, keep your mouth closed. This needs to also apply to other areas. There are times that discussion about an issue are necessary in order to try to help, but the attitude in which that discussion takes place is key to determining whether or not the discussion should be taking place. If the attitude is one that revels in cutting a person apart with no attempt at trying to solve the problem, then the only person you should be talking about that person with is God. It’s ok to talk behind their back to Him.
Stay in a relationship with someone who is trying to control you
Every year, I do a series of lessons about dating violence. One of the areas that I stress is the level of control that a person has over your life. If a person is telling you who you can hang out with and when, who you can and cannot talk to, where you can go and what you can do with your life, it is not a healthy relationship…cut and dried. It makes me very sad to realize the number of people, regardless of age, that mistake this control as love or see it as “normal” in a relationship. The only one that should have that level of control is God. Stay in that relationship.
Put yourself in situation where your heart will get broken
Heartbreak is difficult and we try to avoid it, when possible, but I don’t think that we should. There are times that heartbreak is the catalyst for change.
Bob Pierce, a Youth for Christ evangelist, wrote these words in the flyleaf of his Bible, "Let my heart be broken with the things that break the heart of God." Ask God to show you what breaks his heart. Let those same things break your heart and be the motivation for how you live your life.
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