Lines

I have something you need to hear, but sinners only please.

If you are not a sinner, just go ahead and skip to the ending. This chapter does not apply to you. If you are a sinner, keep reading.

My mother believed in keeping EVERYTHING of mine when I was a child. Toys, clothes, pictures and school work occupied multiple containers in my parent’s garage. In the summer of 2009, My parents decided to clean out their garage and, you guessed it, all that stuff of mine was returned back to its original owner (whether I wanted it or not). As I filtered through the boxes of artifacts, I found an ancient masterpiece. A picture I had colored when I was in kindergarten. A white page with a thick black outline of a puppy in the middle. The puppy was colored with a red crayon. I use the term “colored” loosely, because it appeared I had a seizure while coloring that page. The technique was anything but neat and it was clear I did not understand the concept of coloring within the lines.

A simple concept really, here is the line … do not cross it. Is it really that simple? Especially when the lines apply to our lives. Move the lines from the sheet of paper and they become things like the trust of a friend, vows in a marriage, care for our bodies and honoring GOD. Coloring a picture has now become life’s major decisions. But I want to point out that the concept is still the same. Here is the line … do not cross it.

The trust of a friend … do not soil it.

The vows in a marriage … do not break them.

Caring for your body … do not misuse it.

Honoring your GOD … do not disgrace HIM.

Hear this. Crossing the line is a choice. You choose to stay within the lines or cross over them. That choice can mean the difference between blessings and banes.

A very emotionally broken drug addict sat in my office, confessing to burglary and prostitution. She blamed her situation on family, friends, the economy, even her lack of a job. But her situation was a result of her own choices. She knew where the line was and chose to cross over it. She chose to associate with friends who abuse drugs, she chose to abuse drugs, she chose to steal money instead of earn it. She could have made a different choice anywhere along that path and changed the direction of her life. But she chose not to change.

“I choose to sin.” That sounded pretty bad, didn’t it. It’s true. When temptation or situation knocks, you choose whether to open the door or lock it.

Is it really that easy? Choose not to sin?

I’m going to try it. I’ll let you know …