Wouldn't it be great to be free?
Near our house is a dog that is tied up. He is a good-sized dog that would be able to run a lot, if given the opportunity. Instead, he is tied up on this cable and has about a 24 foot circle to run around in. He has all the freedom he wants inside of that circle. He can jump. He can roll around. He can run - in circles. He can lay in his "house". He can eat and drink. So much to do in so little of a space. He would probably be ecstatic to be freed from that circle.
I cannot imagine being confined to living in a circle. However, oftentimes I feel that way. I think that many people feel that way. Maybe it is in their family, at school, at work, or in the church. You can do anything you want, but you cannot go outside of this circle - for one the cable will make sure you stay within. I feel sorry for that dog. I think "If you want a dog, why make them stay in that small of a space?"
A word that is describes this type of living is "stifled". It is not an unfamiliar word, but I thought I would look it up for the meaning of the base word, stifle...here it is...
1 a : to kill by depriving of oxygen : suffocate b (1) : smother (2) : muffle
2 a : to cut off (as the voice or breath) b : to withhold from circulation or expression : repress <stifled our anger> c : deter, discourage intransitive verb :: smother <stifling in the heat> to become suffocated by or as if by lack of oxygen
When one is not permitted to be outside of a circle they start off by feeling stifled. They are having their figurative oxygen taken away. They are feeling suffocated. They cannot breathe. If not given any air, one will either search for air elsewhere, die, or be given air where they are at.
We have "teams" but, from my perspective, if you want to do something that doesn't require monies or help from these groups, get it going! Don't be so independent that it is kept from the church, but if you want to have a youth event, it doesn't have to be discussed in the Education & Youth meeting. If you want to use your talents to organize a picnic, no need to go through Member Care & Activity.
The Teams are meant to keep us organized, not prevent us from doing things. In other words, if you have something on your heart that you want to do for God...DO IT! Why wait for a meeting...time may be ticking for your "harvest"...get in the fields and, possibly, bring others with you!
If you are feeling suffocated, discouraged, deterred...you need to get off of the leash and do things for Him! Many references encourage us to use our talents...Romans 12, I Corinthians 12, I Peter 4:10-11 - among others. Remember that use of talents shouldn't be reserved for our meeting times. I use probably less than 10% of my talents when we're meeting.
No comments:
Post a Comment