Saturday, February 3, 2018

Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in Heaven.                                                                          Matthew 6:10
    We humans like the feeling of being in control.  Some even proudly describe themselves as ‘control freaks.’  But many Bible passages tell us to let go, to relinquish that desire to control.  Wait—isn’t control a good thing?  Aren’t we supposed to control our tongues and our tempers, our finances and our behavior?  Well, perhaps ‘manage’ would be a better word.  ‘Control’ too often means controlling others—other people and other nations.  Again and again, world powers have carved up weaker countries and territories in order to control their natural resources and their people.  Legislators try to control how much health care we can get, whom we can love and marry, and what we can do to our bodies.
​    Individuals try to control others through guilt (“If you move away from home, I just know my heart will give out”), threats (“You’ll do what I tell you to do or you’re fired”) or money (“If you marry that woman, you’re out of my will!”)  Managing our lives is fine.  Control is best left to God.  “Thy will be done, Lord.  Keep me from the temptation to control others, and from the illusion thatmy will is wiser than yours.”

©Carol Dean Henn, 2018

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