Pam Padgett - teacher
A scripture God has been using in my life for the past several weeks is Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, ... (1 Peter 1:13)
One way we stay sober is to pay attention to the truth God shows us
about those we come in contact with. In the past I've made excuses for
seemingly "little" things others said or did that troubled me, wanting to
think well of everyone and for them to think well of me. I didn't want
to see truth that showed problems, and as a result have deceived
myself.
But when I pay attention to the truth God shows me, being sober, it helps me see the situation as it is and not deceive myself by
fantasy-type thinking.
One of my neighbors is a woman I worked with about twenty years ago.
She and her husband have now retired and she has a small dog grooming
business in their home. I have taken my dog to be groomed at her shop a
couple times in the past. The dog needs to be groomed again. At one
time I probably would have made another appointment with this neighbor
without giving much thought to this since I've known her so long and
would have felt a type of obligation to support her business as a "friend".
But God has shown me truth which causes me to go another way:
- although we've known each other a long time, we're not friends. A
friend is on the same side as another, but this woman and I are going
in opposite ways. This woman is of the world, going in ways of the
world such as using deception to receive unemployment benefits and
vacationing with her mother and sister in Las Vegas (a place known for such things as gambling). She has even shown that she doesn't consider me a friend as she didn't return a call I made for several weeks and then only because she was stirred up to spread some sensational type news she had heard.
I
would deceive myself to consider that we are friends, and this
deception would lead to more deception in the form of a false sense of
obligation. And to be a friend of the world makes me an enemy of God. (James 4:4) I am not obligated in any way to have this woman groom my dog. My obligation is to serve God, to do as led by the Holy Spirit in all my ways.
- in the past when I've taken my dog to be groomed by her, she has
cut the hair much shorter than we had discussed. With colder
temperatures and snow starting to come, a very short haircut will
not work. The dog needs a reasonable length of hair to stay warm in the
cold weather.
Instead of feeling obligated to this neighbor and overlooking past
grooming problems, I prayed about where to take the dog to be groomed
and was reminded of a groomer I used some years ago, and was able to get
an appointment with that groomer.