Personal Baggage--by Linden Malki

We are born wanting things: food, attention, sleep, love.  One of my kids screamed for 20 minutes because she didn't want to eat on the hospital schedule--at two days old. I spent most of today at a family gathering that included my 16-month-old grandson.  He's basically a good kid, but he knows what he wants; his parents have the interesting job of teaching him what is good and what isn't.  That is hopefully the story of our lives: learning right from wrong; healthy from unhealthy. In cooking lunch for the family, decisions were made about what is appropriate and healthy and what isn't.  Parents and kids in the pool kept safety in mind. The bigger cousins were playing table games without squabbling and yelling. Nobody got their feelings or bodies hurt.  This should be "normal", but we've all been places that weren't quite like this.

This is the story of our lives: we make choices all day; some we think about and some we don't.  Our first choice is too often what comes into our minds first off; ignore the alarm that just went off; grab some junk food on our way out the door, and do what comes easy. This is what comes naturally to us; God created us free to follow our worst ideas, but that comes with a price. (I remember telling my kids to not blindly follow every idea that flitted through their heads; to think first.)

 He also gave us guidelines about doing the things that will work right in a world full of other people and challenges. These are not easy, but they are healthier, safer, kinder, more loving, more responsible, and save a lot of trouble in the longer run. And even when we know the guidelines; the right way, and the dangers of the wrong way, we are still tempted to do what we want and not what is right. We can get too involved with the wrong friends; we can go places that can be trouble; we can eat and drink things that will damage our bodies; in general, we can do things that will cause trouble for us and other people. We can find ourselves loaded down with baggage that we have brought upon ourselves, or allowed other people or things to add to the load.

This brings us to things that we may not want to think about. One is that we really cannot keep ourselves out of trouble on our own. We hear folks say that they don't need help; they don't hurt people or cheat people or rob people. If they were honest with themselves, they probably do cut a few corners here or there, but that's not the issue: if something comes that they really are tempted by, or trouble that they get pulled into by other people or circumstances, they don't have what they really need: strength greater than themselves to carry the load that they face. That's the other side of what God offers: the forgiveness when we do get over our heads, and the power of His Spirit to be with us as we face life and its challenges.  And we are going to face tough times, and we will be held accountable for how we deal with them.