Should, Should, Should!

Should, Should, Should!

I have a confession to make. I am appalled at my own personal use of the word 'should'. For months now, my awareness at my casual use of 'should' has grown tremendously.
I think the spark for all this awareness came first and foremost from the Holy Spirit resident in my believing heart. Secondly, from a number of conversations I've had with my daughter and son.
More and more, I've become vividly aware, of the use or dare I say overuse and misuse of the word in the body of Christ. We say it in reference to ourselves and just as much, if not more often, in reference to other people. It's no wonder, that so many of us feel no sense of victory. Living my life with a list of all the things I should be doing better, or that I should have done better is to live life in virtual defeat.

How you may ask. The shoulds give us an out when we willfully sin. For example, the TV is on and your ear gates and eye gates are being assaulted by images which affect your Christian sensibilities. But rather than turning it off or turning to something more life-giving, we sit and watch, knowing and even feeling that we should not. When it's all over we either think or say something like, I really shouldn't have watched that." "I should've spent that time doing something more constructive and God-honoring."

Now you may not be the "TV Watcher", you may be the "Cookie Monster" who stands with her hand in the bag, devouring the cookies until, all of a sudden, your brain engages after the 12th cookie and you say to yourself, "What am I doing? I shouldn't have done that. I should've stopped at 1 or 2."

Okay so that may not be you either. Maybe you're lying in bed trying to doze off to slumberland, but your brain won't shut off because of your 'should have' list. You know the list that some of us have of all the things we were going to accomplish that day, beginning with purposeful time in the Word; just being with Jesus. We might drift off into sleep night after night feeling and thinking, "I should have done more. I should have done it better. I should have spent time with the Lord. I should have hugged my kids. I should have kissed my husband. I should have called my Mom, my dad, etc. I should have screamed less, played more, whined less, eaten less, exercised....etc., etc., etc. I don't need to go on.

This "Victory Call" is a challenge and an encouragement to all of us. Let us choose to move beyond the "should have and should be", and choose to will and to do and to be all that God has called us to be. We are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.

Stephanie