What I originally thought would be a two-day job is already well past its second week. But the good news is I'm finally almost halfway done. And Yes, insulation already makes a BIG difference.
Nobody likes having other people making decisions on their behalf. Especially when we perceive the issue as being vital, personal and non-negotiable. It's even more aggravating when other folks make decisions without bothering to consult us to see what we think or when they show little concern about how we'll be affected.
But what's most aggravating is when people make decisions in complete defiance of what we've expressed as being of permanent importance ... because then we're left feeling ignored, used and betrayed. And maybe even wondering how much importance the other guy places on our relationship.
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Several weeks ago a friend learned his girlfriend was five weeks pregnant.
My friend is staunchly and unashamedly Pro Life; his girlfriend was also Pro Life until she found out she was pregnant. Now she has less than four weeks to make up her mind how she feels.
My friend doesn't much relish the reality that according to our nation's laws, his girlfriend can pretty much do whatever she chooses ... whether that means terminating their unborn child or carrying her pregnancy full-term; whether that means keeping the child as a single mom or putting the child up for adoption ... he's got absolutely no legal say-so.
In fact, she's not even legally obligated to inform him of her decision after she's made it. Ever.
To him, his girlfriend's pregnancy means it's only common sense that the unborn child has 50% of his DNA, and that means the unborn life belongs equally to him. To her, pregnancy means an unwanted crisis with severely complicated life-altering consequences and the fetus is just the thing causing the problem.
What preoccupies my friend's thoughts and keeps him up nights is that ultimately he has zero input on his girlfriend's decision.. All he can do is stand on life's sidelines and wait to find out her choice.
Of course, even the most rabid Pro Choice advocates have no way of knowing the fetus's choice ... since "Pro Choice" supporters are too impatient to wait long enough to ask first hand. So the "right to choose" argument has less to do with being "Pro Choice" than it does with Me and Putting My Choice First.
Me me me me and whatever's easiest for me, you see.
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Yessir we sure don't like other folks making decisions on our behalf and yet we seldom stop to think how often we make decisions ignoring the Father and slap God in the face. We'll feel it's perfectly OK to ignore scripture and defy God's commandments simply because our eyes have become focused on the thing we want instead of remaining riveted upon what God intended.
We get hopping mad and start acting crazy upset when folks make decisions or treat us as though our existence doesn't matter. Think about it: whether it's the husband getting upset because his wife persists in running up credit card debt despite his warnings that their income can't support her spending habits, whether it's the husband who cheats with his wife's best friend or whether it's the co-worker who decides to take that extra week of vacation even though his or her absence leaves you facing a 60-hour week to take up the slack: being ignored at decision-making time makes us angry, doesn't it?
It makes me wonder what happens when we make choices that ignore God's will. It makes me wonder how things will turn out when we ignore His commandments and choose to pursue that thing we've got to have right now or the thing we've got to do right away.
And it makes me wonder how believers can be so persistently stubborn and rebellious against the Father.
