Hold on Loosely

I don’t know about you, but I am a control freak! My wife once bought me a shirt that says, “I have Control Issues” with game remote on it. But when you think about it we all have control issues to some extent. We feel that we have certain things or rights that are owed to us. Maybe you are above such things, but I know that I am still working it out. Here is a simple test below.

Next time you received poor customer service gauge you reaction. Do you get angry? Do you feel that you were robbed of something that you were owed? Do you feel that you were devalued? Do you want to give them a piece of your mind (for some of us it would be a smaller portion size than others)? The feelings that you are working through may be feelings connected to a sense of entitlement. This does not mean that we should excuse poor customer service. But what is our motive for exposing the problem? Is it that we feel that we deserve it or is it that we want to improve other’s customer service? A better motive may be that we want to improve that organization!

If you really want to tackle this issue common to many of us, read Philippians 2: 1-8. In this amazing passage of the Bible, Jesus chooses not to cling, or hold on, to His rights. He exercises a humility that is not wrapped in self-glorification, but is connected in a love for others. I think that if we want to really grow in the area of releasing control, it begins with receiving the kind of humility that Jesus exercised.

This Sunday I begin a new journey in my life. I will be between ministries. I will be missing the amazing ministry of Oak Ridge BaptistChurch ,while I begin the process of searching for where God wants us to land next. My natural desire is to control, work hard, and to make this next part of the journey happen. But what is needed is for me to HOLD ON LOOSELY and allow God to open the right door.

So, I’m excited to share at Grace Baptist Church in Seaford at 10:45 AM a message based on Philippians 2: 1-8. A message that I need to adhere to first as I prepare to release control, so that God can have more. I’ve heard it said that sometimes we need to LET GO TO GET A BETTER GRIP.