Skip to main content

learning where to draw the line

When I stand before the Lord, I'll be standing alone.
This journey is my own.
Still I want man's advice, and I need man's approval, but this journey is my own

Why would I want to live for man and pay the highest price?
What would it mean to gain the world, only to lose my life?
So much of what I do is to make a good impression. This journey is my own.
So much of what I say is to make myself look better. This journey is my own

I have never felt relief like I feel it right now. This journey is my own.
'Cause trying to please the world it was breaking me down, it was breaking me down
Now I live and I breathe for an audience of one,
now I live and I breath for an audience of one.
Now I live and I breathe for an audience of one, 'cause I know this journey is my own

You can live for someone else, and it will only bring you pain.
I can't even judge myself. Only the Lord can say, "Well done."

from the CD Conversations by Sara Groves

I've thought about this song a lot during the last two weeks. I often struggle with where to draw the line between expectations of others, maintaining unity in the body of Christ, and being faithful to who I am as both a person and a daughter of Christ. Many of God's commands are clear-cut: Honor your parents. Don't lie about other people. Keep the Sabbath holy. Don't bow to idols. If you don't work, you don't eat. Those commands are plain and simple, very clear-cut. Other issues are only addressed by principles, leaving believers to hold to a wide variety of principles and standards. And that's where things get sticky for me. But I have to continuously return to the premise that when I stand before God almighty, I won't be giving an account for everyone else. I'll only give an account for me and my life. That simplifies many things, but still leaves a few questions. When am I helping a fellow believer, and when do I cross the line into "enabling" someone to continue a bad habit? How do I discern when to know whether or not to "answer the fool" as Proverbs commands?

As I each day passes, I comprehend more and more why the Scriptures say our hearts are deceitfully wicked and cannot be known. And I've also begun to wonder whether or not the phrase "well done, thy good and faithful servant..." will apply to every believer, or just the ones who deserve it. Do you reckon some might hear "You made it; come on in." or "Not bad; come on in." How horrid would that be?

Comments

Lydia said…
I question this a lot too, Monica. How far can we hold a sister accountable? Are we held accountable for her to a certain extent? Or in the case of people that need help but really could be helping themselves....are we enabling when we help them EVEN THOUGH we are to serve one another in love....and the circumstances shouldn't matter? All questions I struggle with:) Thank YOU for YOUR help this past weekend my dear friend- I could not have gotten through without you. I hope you know that.
Love you:)

Popular posts from this blog

things we do for love

Saturday we had a baby shower for Bobby's niece. As I was making the mints, Bobby asked what else was on the menu. After I recited off the litany of items, he responded with "No peanut butter?! This shower is for Hannah! What's she going to eat?" (Hannah has had stomach problems over the years and has been unable to tolerate many foods, but peanut butter has been her staple.) Despite my assurances that she would enjoy the foods we were having, he was adamant that I needed to make peanut butter & jelly sandwiches for the shower. Even though I protested that NOBODY took that to a shower, he persisted, and informed me I could make them dainty with my little cutter. And so I did. To my surprise all but 3 were eaten. Who'd a thunk it?

get your house in order

My grandmothers were very clean people. My mother thoroughly enjoys cleaning, though she doesn't quite hit the same level my grandmothers were on. I don't enjoy cleaning, but I do like things to be clean. I've almost given up on neatness. One thing that they all instilled in me is the crazy concept that your house must be in order before you go somewhere big - like a vacation or something. After all, you could die in a car crash or have to go to the hospital, and then people would go into your house and find it in a terrible mess. Who wants to be remembered by that? So up until this past year, I would sometimes be up almost all night not only trying to get things packed up, but also trying to totally clean house as well. Or should I say, make the house presentable? The Chinese had a horrible superstition that my mother and grandparents would have enjoyed. Spring Festival (the Chinese New Year based on the lunar calendar) required EVERYTHING to be cleaned top to

Wait...it's almost March?!?

 10 more months 'til Christmas. This last month has been an absolute blur. Cleaning at Mrs. Bryan's house, cleaning at our house, lots of thinking and brainstorming and rearranging, appointments upon appointments, sinus infection/allergies, Bobby's surgery, meeting with surgeon and finally agreeing to future outpatient surgery for me, ongoing updates from my parents, garden tilled and snow peas, potatoes and beets planted (and yes I left several rows empty between the potatoes and beets for something else to go later as a buffer), chickens are laying, we may have a broody hen..in FEBRUARY!!!, we have two roosters that need to disappear, lots of family have been in from out of town to assist with the sorting and cleaning at Mrs. Bryan's house, and somewhere in the midst of it all I've found time to pay bills and catch up on a few emails. While I no longer feel like our house is a disaster zone, it is still overwhelming. Years ago a friend posted a quote by Martin Lut