HAVE TO GET TO
Key Scripture: Wise words bring many benefits… Proverbs 12:14a (NLT)
Our lives are so incredibly full. We scurry from one task to the next with the constant pressure of all the things we have to get done. And even if it’s not with a spirit of grumbling, it is typically with a sense of burden that we speak of all that we feel we must do…
I have to go to work.
I have to go to school.
I have to go to church.
I have to buy groceries.
I have to buy gas.
I have to change and feed the baby.
But what if we change one little word and replace it with another… and consider the grand significance of that change?
For example…
I get to go to work. ~ There are so many who are unable to work, for a myriad of reasons, and even if we’re not completely happy with our job, we at least can work while we continue to seek other opportunities that may bring us more joy.
I get to go to school. ~ Getting an education is a true blessing, as many cannot afford to go to school… whether it’s someone who can’t afford a (very expensive!) higher education, or maybe even a child who can’t “afford” to go to the school in the village as they must stay home to work to help their family simply survive.
I get to go to church. ~ Not all countries have freedom of religion. Christians are persecuted and killed in many countries, (yes, even today!) and being able to safely gather in fellowship - or even have your own Bible! - is something to be cherished.
I get to buy groceries. ~ Not only is it a blessing to have the money to buy the food we need, but also that all the food we want is just down the street at the grocery store… whichever direction you drive! I literally have 3 large grocery stores and several “mini-marts” within 5 miles of my home, and I sooo often take this abundance - and convenience! - for granted!
I get to buy gas. ~ I have several friends who cannot afford to own a vehicle. While this isn’t necessarily a, “life or death” situation, it definitely makes things significantly more time consuming, (walking takes a lot longer!) and restrictive… needing to ask for rides to places too far to walk, or simply not being able to go some places.
I get to change and feed the baby. ~ Many people are struggling to conceive and have children of their own, or can’t afford the adoption process. As difficult, frustrating, and oftentimes painful as parenthood may sometimes be, children truly are a blessing from the Lord.
What if we changed that one word, “have” to the little word, “get”? It’s a small change in vocabulary, but it can be a huge shift in our perspective…
SCRIPTURES
Proverbs 12:14a ~ Wise words bring many benefits… (NLT)
Psalm 141:3 ~ Set a guard over my mouth, Lord; keep watch over the door of my lips. (NIV)
Proverbs 15:28a ~ The heart of the godly thinks carefully before speaking… (NLT)
Matthew 15:11 ~ What defiles a person is not what goes into the mouth; it is what comes out of the mouth that defiles a person. (NET)
Psalm 127:3 ~ Children are a blessing and a gift from the Lord. (CEV)