Good Old Guilt

Two or three times in the last two or three days I’ve heard men say, “I feel guilty because…” and then they list off an expectation for bible study, or prayer, or being a missionary. I get it. We are hardest on ourselves. Our heroes seem to do everything right whereas we see ourselves as doing most everything wrong---or underperforming. At that point, well, we used to say change the tape. The key is to listen to a different message.

It was Martin Luther that said it is okay for the birds to fly over your head as long as you don’t let them build a nest in your hair. That’s the point. The feeling and thoughts will scamper through your head but you mustn’t buy into them. It’s time to clamp down on a Bible verse such as Romans 8:1, “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.”

A blog I used to read was written by a mom with three girls that played music, sewed, fed the hungry, learned different languages and were charmingly perfect Christian girls. We can compare ourselves to others all day and we will come up short most of the time. I am reminded of a song by Keith Green in which the refrain was, “Keep doing your best, bravin the test, and He’ll take care of the rest.” That needs to be the song we’re singing.