A wise friend told me once to “stay within your own headlights.” The sage advice was probably given when I was taking too much on myself or assuming that I could either do or be responsible for much more than was good for me. In his picture I was driving way beyond my headlights and in the process hurting myself and possibly others. Do you know what I am talking about?
Holiness is living and acting with in the healthy boundaries God has given us. Mark 12:31 gives us the second great commandment: “you shall love your neighbor as yourself.” Often, we overdo our love of neighbor at the expense of healthy care for ourselves. Well, headlights are geared to provide safe travel for the vehicle to which they are attached. The “headlights” God has attached to us are “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength, and then love your neighbor as yourself.”
Getting in tune with what God has in mind for us and committing to do that to the fullest of our abilities means we will take good care of ourselves and not “harm” our neighbor with misplaced or misdirected “love”. This is not easy to do, and all of us fail at it at one time or another, probably often. But pursuing the holy act of taking care of ourselves so that we can care for others remains our best avenue to living the holy, healthy life.
Where is it that you need to slow down in your life? Where, on the other hand, is it that you might need to speed up? God given “headlights” are geared for our being able and willing to care for ourselves and, just as readily, being willing to care for those around us. Holiness accelerates or slows down depending what appears in our headlights.
Lord teach me to live and love within myself and with others.
Amen
Pastor Jerry
