Even when it hurts...

Lord, who may dwell in your sanctuary?  Who may live on your holy hill?
He whose walk is blameless and does what is righteous, who speaks the truth from his heart....who keeps his oath even when it hurts...  Psalm 15: 1, 2, 4


I have dealt with some individuals recently who do not speak the truth and who would not consider keeping a promise if it hurt.  Some of them are young people...children, teens...who are still struggling to find their way.  They have not yet seen the value of truth and promise-keeping.


But others, are past middle age.  They should be setting the example for their children and grandchildren, but they don't want to experience anything that "hurts," so they do what they believe will make them happy.  One person who worked at breaking up a marriage, so that she could have someone else's husband said, "Oh, we think God wants us to be happy."  No....God wants us to be holy, and sometimes that means paying the price of some pain.  It's not that God wants us to be unhappy, but that is not His primary objective for our lives.  


Happiness does not trump holiness.


A teenage boy recently said in regard to something he was asked to do, had promised to do, and was backing out of, "I am only sixteen.  I shouldn't have to have responsibility."  Oh, really???  The same young man thinks he should be allowed to engage in sex with a teenage girl.  I'm sure that makes him "happy," but he is currently failing in school.  He has not caught on to the concept of suffering a bit of deprivation for the sake of long range happiness.


Privilege follows responsibility....it does NOT precede it.


I have committed to certain things in my life and discovered later that there is enormous pain involved in the commitment.  A child makes terrible choices, feeling certain that her life is her own and has nothing to do with her parents. Years pass and the consequences of those choices come crashing down.  Guess who suffers along with the person who has made the wrong decisions?  


A parent could choose to turn his or her back on the child.....You made your bed...now lie in it!  But, there is the little matter of having made a commitment to be the person's parent.  The one who stands blameless before God is the one who keeps his promise even when it hurts.


And sometimes...it really hurts.