You made me...

My very first counseling class was taught by David Powlison, the best earthly teacher I ever had. One of his first lecture illustrations had to do with a commonly used expression or phrase. The words ending the phrase are as varied as are the situations it is used in. However the beginning words, "You made me..." remain pretty much the same. And more often than not the phrase implies that someone other than the speaker is responsible for something that the speaker has said or done.
Let's say, for example, that in a heated conversation with someone I become angry. Let's say that in my anger, I then use my words to insult, abuse, or tear down. Fast forward to the end of the scene, where by now, I am calm and attempting to explain my actions. It's in that situation and many others I have observed over the years that we are likely to say things like, "You made me so angry." "You made me very upset." "You made me lose my temper."
Standing in front of the class that night, Powlison held up an empty Styrofoam cup. Satisfied that we saw it was empty, he proceeded to pour water into it. He then proceeded to lightly punch the cup with his fist, which then caused water to come out of the cup. He looked at the cup that had lost some of its contents and then looked out over the silent lecture hall and asked this simple question. "What made water come out of the cup?"
You probably have the same expression on your face that most of us did. Some of us thought, surely this was a trick question. A number a hands shot up seeking permission to answer his question. Every single person he called on gave the same answer, "Sir, water came from the cup because you hit the cup." It was the first response that had come to my mind.
In his ever humble way he let us all know that our answer was incorrect. The correct answer was as follows: "Water came out of the cup because water was in the cup."

Huh? You're kidding right? We all know that if he hadn't hit the cup, the water would have stayed inside. We sat thinking through this concept, and as we began to ponder his words, the truth sunk in. What spills out of us when heat, pressure, stress, etc., is applied to our lives, came from within and not from without. Yes, everything that happens to us has an impact on us. One way or another we are affected by "stuff". How we respond; what we do and say is entirely up to us.

"The good person out of the good treasure of his heart produces good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure produces evil, for out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks." --Luke 6:45
In other words, what the mouth commonly speaks, generally agrees with what is most in the heart.

Ponder this, my sisters. Consider the fruit of your lips in the details of your everyday life and praise God that He hasn't left you without hope for true help and change.

"No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us." Romans 8:37

Stephanie