OBSOLETE TOOLS
Imagine a farmer plowing a field with his hands hanging tenaciously to a plow pulled by two hefty horses. Then, out of nowhere, a brand new, bright green, “John Deere” pulls up beside the tired farmer. He says: “Hello, farmer friend! Do you mind if I give you a hand?” Within an hour this amazing agricultural machine does the work two horses previously did in two days. Incredible! New tools for obsolete tools is the storyline here.
The generous owner of the JD says to the farmer, “I have been watching you. You are a fine father, an honorable husband, and a hard worker. I will give you this tractor as a gift.” Response: “Wow! Are you kidding me?”
What if the next time you see the farmer you discover the magnificent new tractor is stored in the barn? The farmer himself is dripping sweat as he is still directing his two hefty horses through the field from dawn to dusk. Wouldn’t we think this man has a mental problem? The storyline here is obsolete tools are being used to fix present-day challenges.
This story reiterates the REBORN experience. Jesus gives to anyone willing to receive Him and His gift of a brand new nature. This amazing gift makes it possible to stop using the obsolete tools we all inherited from the first man. Sin entered the world through one man (see the book of Genesis), and rebirth entered the world through a second man.
What are these obsolete tools so often used in our modern-day to try to fix, repair or resolve the daily challenges life presents? Based on our DNA disposition, we manifest each of these four obsolete tools in one of two ways.
- FEAR is manifested in a fight for your life or flee for your life, usually, an inherited not a learned behavior.
- INFERIORITY is manifested in a superiority attitude (as in a racism foundation) or in a victim’s not-good-enough attitude.
- GUILT is manifested by doing something improperly (real guilt) or by taking on another’s guilt (false guilt).
- ANGER is overtly manifested in our current era and has become the most popular obsolete tool, the “go-to” tool. It gives the impression of effectiveness on a short-term basis. It is a hammer: drives pain like nails, ultimately becoming a divider and breaking even human beings. Children, athletes, people in general cower from others’ anger.
Watch for an upcoming Words of Hope which will look at the NEW TOOLS that are as superior in living as the John Deere tractor is to two horses pulling a plow with a tired man at the reins. Why not drive life like the driver of a JD machine with its up-to-date air conditioning, cruise control, new gadgets? Imagine the now perfectly plowed field!
