It's Not My Fault

Remember that time when you met that guy who was absolutely WONDERFUL? I mean the best thing EVER! They took you to the nicest restaurants, sent a text in the morning just to say, “Good morning”, or even got along with your children. You just knew that they were THE ONE. Maybe he was someone’s husband, but you justified the relationship because he said he was leaving his wife. Or, you justified it because he promised you the moon and the stars, and made you feel better than any other man had. But then a few months down the road, maybe even a couple of years, that person became your worst nightmare. He never really left his wife, or you ended up going broke because he never had any money. You don’t remember? Maybe that was just me.

            Many times we interpret the Bible the way we need to in order to justify our behaviors. There are even times when we engage in behaviors that we know are sinful, and try to pray our way through, asking for forgiveness. If we are seeking God as Our Father, then we must understand that His commands are for our best interest. Now, I do believe that many of our scriptures, (because of the many times the Bible has been re-written), contain words that were more for the benefit of government and church leaders (which I intend to blog about later). However, if we approach the Word asking the Holy Spirit to show us God’s true intention behind the words, we can get a fuller understanding on how we can tap into the greatness of God.

            For example, 1 Corinthians 6:18 says, “Flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a person commits are outside the body, but whoever sins sexually, sins against their own body.” (NIV). This scripture is referring to fornication. We have heard over and over again that fornication is a sin yet many, if not most, of us has engaged in fornication. I didn’t fully understand why this was such a “no-no” to God. However, when I stood back and took a look at the world, I received much clarity.

            Imagine a world where people did not engage in sex unless they were married, and they only engaged in it with their spouse. Research has shown that, “adolescents ages 15-24 account for 20 million of the new STD cases every year.” (Adolescent Health, 2014). These numbers definitely reflect the consequence of having premarital sex, and sex out of wedlock. Many people, including myself, are raising children in a co-parenting situation, which is not always as productive as we would like. (I am aware of divorce, and that children could potentially still be raised in a co-parenting situation, but that’s a debate for another day.) And if most were honest, we could have a conversation with many who can vouch for the emotional anguish they suffered from having intercourse with someone they thought would love them forever.

            I am no judge. These are the things I have learned from my own experiences after I went before the Lord to gain understanding of my pain. God has every intention of seeing us happy, disease-free, and having everything we need. I believe that we sometimes make decisions that have consequences we do not want to deal with.

            In 2003, I spent two weeks in solitary confinement over a traffic violation. Yes, a traffic violation. I was driving down a road that I assumed had a median and I passed a school bus that had a stop sign. The driver in front of me went pass, so I did too. Of course, I was the one pulled over. I received my ticket and later went to court prepared to pay my fine. However, the judge said I had to be on probation because he wanted me to do 40 hours of community service.

            Close to the end of my probationary period, I injured my knee and was on crutches. My probation officer was located in a building that had very steep stairs and no elevator, so I asked if I could bring the $36 I owed her on an agreed date. She said that would be fine. Unfortunately for me, that officer quit and a new officer came in and put a warrant out for my arrest because I was late. The new officer, whom I still have never met, would not allow me to have a bond. I was arrested the night of court, and they would not have court again for two weeks. When I finally went before the judge, the prosecutor suggested that I do 30 days in jail, then looked over at me and said, “It will only be 17 more days”. Thankfully the judge released me that day.

            While my situation was filled with many unforeseen circumstances, and what I believe was an abuse of power, I still wish I had hobbled up to that probation officer's office and paid the $36. Titus 3:1 says, “Remind them to be submissive to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready for every good work” (ESV). I was in total disbelief this happened to me, yet I still held myself accountable to what I could have done to prevent this.

            In order to avoid some of the catastrophes that occur in our lives’, we have to do better at holding ourselves accountable. God so lovingly opens His arms, as did the father of the prodigal son, and holds us in His bosom to protect us from the pain of the world. However, there are times when we choose to go out into the world, party, break all of the rules, and return to Him broken. Thankfully, we serve a God who is forgiving and is able to mend what we thought could not be fixed. It is just our responsibility to make better decisions in the future.

Peace.

Sources:

 http://www.hhs.gov/ash/oah/adolescent-health-topics/reproductive-health/stds.html#.VCXd8vRDttw

If you have any comments, questions, suggestions, or prayer requests, please feel free to email me at: faithfrfr2014@gmail.com.