What is it?

I love yellow Labrador puppies. Sweet, innocent faces, puppy breath and endearing countenance. 

Yet they do some really gullible puppy like things. Like chewing on anything - even smelly shoes. They'll eat almost anything and have little self control. But one of the cutest things they do is chase their tail. 

Has anyone ever figured that one out yet ?

When a puppy chases its tail, he’s on a mission. He goes round and round and doesn’t stop to ask why or concern himself with where he's going.  It’s as if he wants to achieve something, do something. The ironic thing is that he doesn't. He just goes around and around. Not much different than us.

As humans, we chase our tails, probably more often than we realize. Stressed, overwhelmed, frustrated, we can't seem to make sense of anything. We lack emotional energy and keep asking the "why" questions.  Why did this happen? Why didn't I do this instead of that?  Why did they get away with that?   

When things aren’t feeling settled, we want to figure IT out. Problem solving techniques are a good thing aren't they? Sure they are, until we over analyze, ruminate over the problem, or exhaust our loved ones, in the hopes of coming up with some profound conclusions.

What if it were a lot more simple than that? What if God doesn't need us to have all the answers? 

So next time we're in this state, let's keep in simple.  Let's limit ourselves to just a few questions.  ..

·         Is it a “Life Happening”?  Like a traffic jam, the weather, taxes, death. Something we can’t control. 

·         Is it a consequence of your poor choice? Not a sin, just unwise

·         Is it a consequence of someone else’s poor choice?  – Not a sin, just unwise

·         Is it a consequence of my sin?  Have I strayed from God’s commands ?  Have I affected others?

·         Is it a consequence of someone else’s sin?  Has someone else strayed from God’s commands ? Has it affected you? 

·         Is it the enemy tempting or attacking me?

·         Is it a characteristic of God?

·         Is it the truth of what God says about me?

Once we answer these questions, then we can make godly applications. 

·        If it’s a consequence of your poor choice – LEARN from your mistakes

·        If it’s a consequence of someone else’s poor choice – Show MERCY

·        If it’s a consequence of your sin - CONFESS

·        If it’s a consequence of someone else’s sin - FORGIVE

·        If it’s the enemy attacking – Use the ARMOR OF GOD and in the name of Jesus, send him on his way

·        If it’s a characteristic of God - WORSHIP

·        If it’s NOT the truth about what God says about you – STUDY His word like crazy, and apply truth to combat those lies. 

Too often, we either take little to no responsibility for our actions or we take too much responsibility. To get a firm grasp on who we are, we have to accept responsibility for our part, but also have to recognize when it’s just a reflection of where someone else is at. What ever it is that happened may have affected you in someone way, but sometimes things don't happen because YOU caused them. No one has that much power. 

So after we are done with our list and applied it, we'll have more time.  So let's hug a puppy.