Stop telling me what to do!

Can I ask you a question?  Do you like to be told what to do?  I mean it!  Do you like it when you mention you are having a problem and your friends give you advice that tells you the best way to handle things?  Or (and this one may be more true for men) when you are at a restaurant and can’t decide which entree you want, does some “helpful” soul tell you that “you really should try this” and enforce their tastes onto you?  What about politics?  Have you decided yet whom you are going to vote for as the next president or are you waiting for the pundits and “experts” to tell you whom the best choice is?

Many of us wander about, not taking the time to think for ourselves, and we rely on others to make the important decisions in our lives.  What college we should attend, where the best place is to buy clothing, which vacation spot is the best to go to for a quick three-day weekend are things many folks expect others to have the answers to.  

I’ve often said (and even without being sarcastic) that women just like being told what to do.  Stay with me, girlfriends!  We like knowing what is expected of us.  We like guidelines.  We like knowing the particulars so that we may meet and exceed those expectations and stay focused on the task at hand rather than trying to read a mind and figure out what is really being demanded of us.

Yesterday on my private Facebook page, I wrote these words:  

While I think it's great that the Pope has told his clergy that Catholic

Priests can forgive women and doctors for abortions, I find so much

more satisfaction and relief that my Saviour Jesus Christ has already

paid this debt, forgiven me of my sins, and that His in the only mercy

I need to rely on. Although it is nice when man forgives me when I

mess up too, being forgiven by my Jesus is where my assurance lies.

As I reflected on them throughout the day and part of the night, I realized I might sound a bit pious and that was not my intent.  I also thought about how many folks, how many sheep (if you will) are just waiting to be shephered and told what to do, how to do it, and when to do it.  Does that make sense?  A lot of folks nowadays are being told that they deserve to be happy, deserve to be successful, and so on and there are many self-help gurus out there explaining to them how this is to be done.  Blindly, they follow these people as they go from one weight-loss program to one self-help seminar to get-rich-quick schemes and so on and so forth.  But even deeper than that, some of us are taught at an early age to hold grudges, to be racist, to not trust anyone.  We are taught that there are certain people you just don’t mess with, that there are some sins you just don’t forgive, and we are taught all kinds of misleading things and because we are too lazy to find out the truths for ourselves, we blindly follow this example until one day we look up and are being shown a different way, one that perhaps makes us question why we believed such nonsense to begin with.

Do we need the Pope to tell us when we can forgive?  Do we need the government telling us only certain people can practice their first and second amendments rights?  Do we need doctors prescribing pills for us to ease our frazzled minds when instead...when instead friends, we can just listen to our own Shepherd?  We can take the time to be still and listen for that still small voice which will guide and direct us in the paths we should travel.  If we will turn to Jesus, don’t you think He will give us the wisdom to make decisions that will not only affect our tomorrows but also whatever crisis we may be experiencing today?  I’ve heard His 401K Plan is out of this world.  I’ve also heard that He gives a peace that passes our understanding so no need to take a pill for that.  And forgiving others?  Why, He showed us the greatest example of that when He Himself took our faults, sins, and miseries upon Himself at Calvary.  

So, in conclusion, if you really feel the need to be told what to do, why not do it from The One Who knows best?  Why not follow the steps of Jesus as He, by example, showed us how to live?  

My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.  I give eternal life to them. They will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand.

Dear Lord, today as so many of us wander about, not knowing which route to take, my prayer is a simple one:  may we know You?  May we stay in the palm of Your hand?  May we listen to You and know that You know us better than any other and certainly better than we know ourselves?  

Thank You for eternal life, daily love, and infinite grace.  You are amazing, Father, and there is no one that comes even close to You!  In Jesus’ name I ask that we all love You as You have loved us.  Amen.