Tuesday, June 22, 2010

Hands off - Don't touch...

Let's see if I can stir some memories in some of your hearts. Remember, growing up, the number of times you heard your mom, dad, or other relative tell you “Hands off – Don’t Touch?” Seriously, how many times have you told your own children, nieces or nephews the same thing? Probably can’t count them all, huh?
You know sometimes we still have that problem as adults. You know when we just want to put our little hands in a pot or just touch it a little even though we know it’s none of our business. Next, thing you know BOOM …..gum on your shoe! I say "gum on your shoe" because all a sudden you are in the middle of something and you don’t even know what it is really all about -- just because you couldn’t leave it alone and not touch it. Then you have to figure a way to get it off of your shoe!

God brought this truth home to me personally about ten years ago as I was out walking one day. You know when you walk, you see things along the road. Of course by this time in my life the “No Littering” laws were strongly honored and people were mindful of them as a whole. However, again as you walk the streets and roads, it is very interesting at times to scan the litter. One day as I was on the front end of my walk I noticed something off in the ditch. For the life of me I could not figure out what it really was, so of course, I reached down, touched it and picked it up to get a better look! It was nothing but trash, metal trash, but yet trash. Here I am with no pocket, convicted not to litter, even though it was litter, and I’m on the front end of my walk. Yes, I carried this metal trash with me until I got home. And it wasn’t as light as a coke can! I wish I could tell you I learned my lesson after that but nooooo. Over the next couple of months I finally got the principle God was trying to teach me. If you pick it up you then have to decide what you are going to do with it, even if it is litter (and not yours).

I was reminded of this today with something one of my clients was journeying through. It is good to be reminded and I am thinking maybe I should have paid them instead of them paying me!

There are so many things we deal with in our lives that God never intended for us to have to handle or touch. But, for whatever reason, we just have to put our hands in the pot and/or touch it. In fact, I suspect we could all live a more lighthearted life with Him if we were willing to let Him handle and touch things!
I think those signs they have in glass shops and antique malls, etc, that say, “DO NOT TOUCH” apply here. OUCH!

Proverbs 17:4
Wrongdoers eagerly listen to gossip; liars pay close attention to slander!

His,
vickie

1 comment:

Jenny S. said...

So... how do we decide what we are to touch and what we aren't? Some things are pretty obvious (whether or not we choose to acknowledge the obvious!). But other times, I have a hard time deciding if God is maybe bringing something in my life because he wants me to DO something with it - minister in some way.

What if the metal object had been a treasured heirloom that someone lost and you were able to return it to them?

I guess my criteria for whether I "pick it up" depends on my willingness to take reponsibility. Being a dog lover, I could go to any shelter and walk away with an addition to my family. However, I know that once I take on that responsibility, I can't just give it up - no matter how unwise it was to take it on!

Sometimes, it's hard to know what's in your "box".