Franny, it’s been awhile since you’ve written a devotional . For those who don’t know Franny, she is also Dr Fran Brown, with a double doctorate in Physics and Applied Mathematics. She has taught at Penn State Altoona as well as Duquesne University. Currently she is teaching at Bishop McCourt High School and coaching girls cross country and track at UPJ. She is the proud mother of Thomas and Anna. Franny happens to be one of my favorite human beings. Best of all she has a deep faith and love for the Lord.
Arrogance
Seventeen years after the death of my wife, I remain incredibly deliberate in my walk with the Lord. I wake up at 5 am every day to read scripture, write down my thoughts, and pray. I work out shortly after, often carrying much of the thoughts and prayers with me on my run. My routine prepares me mentally and physically for all things to come during the day. And as much as I find myself growing in my faith, I struggle in the same way as all human beings would. My arrogance limits my ability to grow closer with God, and my greatest struggle is recognizing that same arrogance in others and not showing them kindness. I know how hard it is to overcome that feeling of ‘deserved comfort’; The older I get, the more I realize that people in my age bracket have already settled into a routine of mediocre Christianity. They’ve gone unchecked in poor behavior for too long. We put our own desires over the need of others because we think we deserve it. It’s not just parishioners, or church goers; its pastors, clergy, men and women with public roles in religious organizations. And that’s the fault of all of us; we are supposed to disciple each other and we don’t. We let things slide to keep poor friendships intact and to curb financial loss in religious enterprise. We talk negatively about each other, but rarely for constructive change. We choose lavish vacations over service projects. We hoard money we don’t absolutely need for survival. We come up with excuses for why we are not obligated to take care of others with less. I’ve caught myself joking around with others that we, as Americans, would have no idea whether or not the world experienced the Rapture. Too few of us would go missing! Can you imagine if Jesus came back to Earth in this timeline? He’d get crucified by public opinion well before assassinated in a civic assembly.
We avoid fixing our own sinful habits because we think they are ‘not significant enough’ to keep us from seeking the Kingdom of Heaven. After all, we work to earn our rewards here on Earth. But those gates are far narrower than we give them justice. And there is no worldly work veritable enough to give you entrance to God’s kingdom. We aren’t doing a favor to anyone by purposefully remaining silent when we see apathy set in. And truthfully, to remain silent is our own sin to bear. I grieve for friends that I thought were once good influences, but they turned out to be more selfish than I wanted to admit. I had to let them go. Selfishness is sometimes a protective instinct; To take time away for self-care; to remit exhaustion and/or burn out, to alleviate abusive circumstances, or to simply reset when the load of obligation seems relentless. Much like washing your hands, it’s meant to be a restoration of resilience and it should be temporary. In their circumstance, they used it as a permanent excuse to violate God’s commandments.
“Brothers and sisters, if someone is caught in sin, you who live by the Spirit should restore that person gently. But watch yourselves, or you also may be tempted.” Galatians 6:1
Make it a Freeing Friday! God is good…