Larger than life

This morning, Lily, my darling one year old, decided to pick up the broom and run with it. Before I could reach her, she had already darted into the livingroom, with the broom handle a clear three feet taller than her little frame. She headed toward the fireplace where the mantle holds framed pictures of those closest to me. In horror, I leaped from my chair. The race was on! Thankfully I managed to apprehend my little sprinter before she could invoke any damage. And then I thought, wow, she had no idea of what she was about to do with that broom. A second later, another thought raced through my mind...I am not much different than my little Lily.

How many times do we take hold of things (offenses, anger, selfish ambitions, pride) and we run full steam ahead with them. Then, burdened down by the weight of that very thing, we look and realize it is larger than life in our small hands. We thought we were fine. We thought we could handle it. But we could not see how much damage was on the brink if we kept running with those things in hand. And not only will it effect us, but those closest to us as well. God calls us to be wise, not reckless.

James 1:19-26 says:
Understand this, my dear brothers and sisters: You must all be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to get angry. Human anger does not produce the righteousness God desires. So get rid of all the filth and evil in your lives, and humbly accept the word God has planted in your hearts, for it has the power to save your souls. But don’t just listen to God’s word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves. For if you listen to the word and don’t obey, it is like glancing at your face in a mirror. You see yourself, walk away, and forget what you look like. But if you look carefully into the perfect law that sets you free, and if you do what it says and don’t forget what you heard, then God will bless you for doing it. If you claim to be religious but don’t control your tongue, you are fooling yourself, and your religion is worthless.