July 2016 - GraceAndWorks

We are all pretty familiar with both of these. I want to take a look at how they relate to life. It might be surprising to you the similarity and yet the major differences.

We’ll look at the Yo-Yo first. I, as I would imagine you also, have sometime in your life played with a Yo-Yo. I’m certainly not an expert with a Yo-Yo, but I have played with one. I see it as this round thing with string wound around the middle. You start it at the top and it falls to the bottom spinning around and around. If you’re lucky, when it hits bottom you can give it a little jerk and it will come back to the top. For me, it would come up half way, or so, and spin out of control. It would go every which way and eventually get out of control and get all tangled up and I would have to start all over. I’ve heard people say, “My life is like a Yo-Yo.” For some, a Yo-Yo can be mastered to the point they can make it do all sorts of things. For some it just becomes a mess–just like life.

A Roller-Coaster has a track that it runs on. It has ups and downs and curves in the middle. However with it being on a track it has stability, unlike the Yo-Yo. Very seldom does it ever jump off track. In this example life would have it’s ups and downs, but still stay on track. It would throw curves at you and still be on track. I’ve heard people say, “My life is like a Roller-Coaster.”  Many people are like a Roller-Coaster. They can handle the ups and downs, and what ever curves that are there, and still reach their destiny. They don’t get hung up in the middle and spin out of control like a life of a Yo-Yo.

In our Christian lives we deal with the same thing. If we treat the Bible as our track, study and do what God says, we may still have ups and downs and curves thrown at us. However, it gives us the stability we need to be able to stay on track and not get off course. Without God’s word, life can be like the Yo-Yo. Somewhere we get caught in the middle, spin out of control, get all tangled up and have to start all over.

Where is your life? Like a Yo-Yo, tangled up and spinning put of control? Or, like the Roller-Coaster, on track, able to handle the ups and downs, and the curves life gives us?

Rodney Dangerfield was famous for his, “I can’t get no respect.” That has been a saying that has stayed around since he said it.

Let’s first define what respect actually means:

1. A relation to 0ur concern with something usually specified
2. An act of giving particular attention: Consideration
3. A high or special regard: Esteem
4. The quality or state of being esteemed: Honor
5. Particular. Detail

   I wanted to talk about this because I recently had a conversation where we talked about a lack of respect among people in general. Comments made about kids not respecting their parents. No respect for teachers and school. No respect for Police or Pubic officials. The lack of respect from those in charge to those who are being accused of wrong doing. The lack of respect from other nations for the United States. And it went on and on, however I think you can start to see the point.

   It’s been said that communication is the key to success and I believe that to be true. Look at marriages that fall apart because of not talking to one another. A failure in businesses because of no open communication between employees and management. Failure in Congregations of God’s people because someone got their feelings hurt and instead of talking about the problem, they let a molehill grow into a mountain. I believe much of this is a lack of respect for each other. Whether it is marriage, business, church, politics etc. The question is: How can we be successful at………, if their is no communication with others or respect for one another? Answer: WE CAN’T!!

   The Bible speaks about God not being a respecter of persons. That simply means He doesn’t hold any one better that anyone else. He respects every one equal and has created us to be able to think and make decisions for ourselves. If we truly are walking in God’s light, wouldn’t we be able to have a respect for ALL people?  Respect is a concern over something specified, from our definition. Having respect for someone or their ideas does not mean I have to be agreeable. It’s OK to disagree, just don’t get to the place you are disagreeable.

   It all comes down to this: I’ll respect you, your ideas and your opinions. In turn I want you to respect, me, my ideas and my opinions. We don’t have to agree with one another, just communicate, listen and respect. Oh, how calming this would be for what ever situation we found ourselves to be involved with.