dishes and decisions...

So I recently finished another C.S. Lewis classic--The Screwtape Letters. It is a remarkable book. It really is amazing how turning the tables and looking at my daily life from the Devil's perspective opens up a whole new can of worms. Simple decisions like giving up on my homework, skipping church, failing to keep my word, and even deciding to overlook the dirty dishes are perhaps not simply trivial, as we would be led to believe, but rather are of great significance. Now this might seem crazy, but go with me on this. Now there have been several times in my life when, upon further review, I suddenly become aware of Satan's handywork. I can see how he clouded my judgement and caused me to skip out on a great missions opportunity. I have witnessed his attacks on my purity and my character. But what if he is also at work in and among those little daily decisions of my every day life? Those decisions that seem to make no difference either way. I have come to believe that he indeed is. Listen to this quote from Lewis:

every time you make a choice you are turning the central part of you, the part of you that chooses, into something a little different from what it was before. And taking your life as a whole, with all your innumerable choices, all your life long you are slowly turning this central thing either into a heavenly creature or into a hellish creature: either into a creature that is in harmony with God, and with other creatures, and with itself, or else into one that is in a state of war and hatred with God, and with its fellow-creatures, and with itself. To be the one kind of creature is heaven: that is, it is joy and peace and knowledge and power. To be the other means madness, horror, idiocy, rage, impotence, and eternal loneliness. Each of us at each moment is progressing to the one state or the other.

God is looking to make us into certain kind of people...the choices we make are simply the means to that end. I think Christians have been fooled by the Devil for far to long. We think as long as we get God's help with the big stuff that we then get the freedom to follow our daily desires and wants the rest of the time. This assumption is so off. And I think much of the Church has been robbed of the great joy of whole-hearted devotion to God because of such a mindset. Looking at the life of Christ I can't help but to pull out this basic truth. It's almost always the hardest way (not the easiest), the way of denial (not indulgence), the of way service (not self). Of course it all sounds pretty crappy. But the crazy thing is it's so much better. So much more satisfying, so much more fun.

So what does this mean for me? Well here are the steps that I try to run through every time I'm faced with decision...

Step 1 - Identify the issue
Step 2 - What are my options
Step 3 - What would Jesus maybe want me to do? Satan?

It amazing what God has taught me through little porcelin discs covered in old food. I am referring to dirty dishes. I remember at the begining of the year I used to get so upset about them just being left in the sink to pile up and it seemed like they would never get done unless I did them. Or least that is the self-righteous attitude I would take on. So I'd do them. But you know I'd sorta let my 'great act of service' get at me and then the next time the dishes would pile up I would get even angrier. Thinking "man I did them last time I shouldn't have to do them again." And so perhaps I'd do them again and feel even more self-righteous. It was then God showed me how sinful my attitude was. He has since revealed to me that true godly service is not simply serving but rather serving with love and grace. God has used the few times I have been able to wash the dishes to teach me how to serve as He did. To happily serve my roommates out of love for God and for them--expecting and wanting nothing in return. I used to serve and use it as sort of a "you owe me one." But God is gradually showing how wacked out that was. And man I think washing the dishes has been as much of a growing experience for me as any other that I have experienced this year. Just another example at how God and his fallen angel are at work in every one of our daily situations.

Homework or poker? Talk to the annoying girl or pretend not to see her? Voice my disgust with a particular restaurant choice or not? These decisions matter and they can bring us closer to God or farther from Him.

My name is Jimi and I am will be 22 very soon.

P.S. Don't get me wrong about the dishes thing. All my roommates help out with cleaning and stuff. I think the only reason I do it a lot is (well God has been using the experience to grow me in Him and) because I am a more up-tight-sort of person and so like dirty dishes come up on my rader before most of them.