Where do I start?

We don’t really want the yes man in our life. Really, we don’t! Yes, it feels good for a moment to have a cheerleader, someone there to affirm our beliefs. And yes having someone enthusiastic about all our dreams makes us feel like we can reach the peaks of success, but that can get old quickly. Especially if success doesn’t come, it might seem like the yes men in your life are a broken record. “You can do anything you want,” or  “you can do it if you try hard enough, don’t let anyone get in your way” are often the cheers we hear from them.

Just Stop!

Why do we like ‘yes men’ (whether in reality or in our own heads)? It’s because it helps us ignore the no’s in our life. They never name our limitations or ever address painful realities I would love to ignore about myself. Everything is set up like it’s good and excellent, but you feel in your gut that you’re one small crisis away from collapsing on itself. It’s the queasy feeling that everyone knows there is something wrong, but no one is willing to stand up and acknowledge it. And so everyone carries on without a word. It’s that culture that cons people into saying, “Everything is fine,” when it’s not really. And we all go on pretending we have it all figured out (or will figure it out on our own).

Proverbs 14:12 There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death.

We don’t need constant enthusiasm. We need direction! Especially when it comes to dealing with issues of racism, government, COVID-19. We’ve undoubtedly haven’t fully comprehended these things, nor have we had the broad picture and it leaves us struggling to find a way forward. The sad thing is that our family, friends, habits can make this more difficult. We can become so narrow focused that we end up obsessed over the temperature of the moment rather than looking at the wider climate.  We can react to every little change in degree that we think the world is out to burn us. And it can be paralyzing moving forward.

How do I talk to someone who offended me? How do I address differences and conflicts to my world view? Where do I go for guidance, and how do I start?

2 Timothy 3:16–17 All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.

Take a moment to refresh and reset. Take a break from news and rest our journey so that we can approach it with fresh gospel perspective and energy. It’s not the yes man that gives us a false sense of goodness or righteousness! God’s presses on our pain, and he calls us on our limitations, but only to build us up in his love and Christ’s righteousness.   

Here’s an easy way.

In the catechism is a table of duties for Christians spanning a wide range of roles we might carry. You’ll find value in it as you continue to address you’re daily direction when it comes to braving the challenges that come with each new day. 

Table of duties in the Catechism http://catechism.cph.org/en/table-of-duties.html

Through his Word he makes us whole! He brings his authentic value to our lives which gives us the ability to journey confidently into our calling and direction in our daily life. After all God has given us his Word for our own good! 
 
God’s Peace 
Pastor Kehl