Reaping Joy

Let me ask you a question… When your kids grow up are they more likely to tell their children that they grew up in a home filled with joy or a home filled with sorrow? And one more…. Which do you want to permeate their childhood memories?

The second question is a silly one because we all want our kids to have fond memories of their childhood or they won’t let us snuggle and spend valuable time with our grandkids. A child records so many events in their memory and, upon tracing those memories, they are frequently unfounded. For instance, an adult child may speak of a tradition you observed every year at Christmas, but in reality, you did it once. It was just such a profound experience for them that it seemed like it happened many times. Likewise, children may register a negative emotion they felt as something far worse than it actually was. Childhood memories are collected and stored in a place that shapes our trajectory and our drive to get to a similar or a better place when we grow up.

Psalm 26 tells of the people of God who were slaves to another nation [which happened frequently throughout history due to repeatedly straying from the plan of God] and had been rescued by God and taken home to their land and their temple to worship the God who saved them. The people are rejoicing as they return home after their years in bondage and one of the verses compares their captivity in a foreign land and return home, to sowing their crops in tears, but singing with joy as they gather the harvest.

Both sorrow and joy are present in this song as they remember their bondage and rescue. As I read this Psalm, I can’t help but think how real life works. You don’t have to be a vile sinner with irreverent motives to find yourself captive to sin. Does any of this look familiar…?

Slothfulness – an unwillingness to move from where you are to the place God has planned for you.

Apathy – investing no thought into how your decisions today are shaping, not only your future, but the future of you family and truly not caring, one way or another.

Envy – the inability to be content with what you have because there is someone who has more and you don’t want to be the one with less so you continually invest in what you want rather than taking the time to see what it is that God wants.

Greed – constant striving for more of what the world values, without regard to what God wants you to work toward.

Selfishness – placing more value on what you want or “need” and less on the needs and wants of others.

Impatience – placing unrealistic expectations on your spouse or kids rather than focusing how you can improve yourself. Not allowing them to grow gradually but expecting them to instantly fall into place at the snap of your fingers or the wrath of God will be visited upon them through your words and actions.

Unresolved anger -  whether manifested in bitterness, revenge, hateful attitudes, unforgiveness, manipulation, or outburst, each packs a punch and truly impacts the way you live life and the legacy you leave.

Pride – Thinking of yourself and how things impact you more than you focus outwardly on those around you. Investing more in helping yourself than in helping others.

 For followers of Jesus, sin doesn’t typically look like the guy in the red suit with horns. We don’t rob banks or shoot people in a mall, but we still struggle with bondage to something that keeps us from being all God created us to be and it is WORK to overcome that sin. Richard Rohr describes it this way…

“Sins are fixations that prevent the energy of life, God’s love, from flowing freely. They are self-erected blockades that cut us off from God and our own authentic potential.”

Is there something that has control over you and is stealing your joy and keeping you from creating the environment in which you want your family to grow?

My dad often said, “Sin never pays what temptation offers.”

It may seem like you are simply doling out justice when you withhold your love or forgiveness or lose control of your emotions, but those are lies of Satan that have a negative return.

Put another way,

“Sin takes you further than you want to go, keeps you longer than you want to stay and costs you more than you want to pay.”

No matter how you look at it, sin is bondage and it will keep you in exile, away from the place God desires for you to live. Though it may be painful to break that cycle, and you may have to sow the good seeds in tears, it will be worth it in the end. It is not a labor that you must do alone, but one your Creator does in you as you submit to His leadership in your life. He provides the seed, but you have to be willing to plant them. When you decide to make those changes, don’t forget to ask for His help and guidance. Quietly listen for His direction. Your harvest will be great and you will find the joy of obedience to God’s plan for you and your family.

May your home be filled with joy and your memories be of growth, grace and laughter as you escape the clutches of your adversary, Satan, and fall into the love of your Redeemer. His desire for you is to grow in an atmosphere of joy and victory from the sins that bind you. May it be so!