Pastor's Corner - February 26th, 2021

There's a story that makes the rounds occasionally which some of you may have seen before. 

It involves a bunch of elephants, a simple rope and a wooden stake.

Once, as a man was walking through the outside of the circus grounds, he came to the location where they kept the elephants. He observed the elephants fascinated, and confused about how these huge animals were being kept. They weren't in cages, they weren't in chains, they were held in place by only a small thin rope that was tied around their front leg. The man marveled because it was obvious that the elephants could, at any point in time break away from their bonds, but for some reason, they did not. 

He saw the elephant trainer nearby, and asked the trainer why the elephants just stood there, and made no attempts to get away. The trainer explained that when the elephants are very young, and a lot smaller, they use the same sized rope to tie them to the wooden stake, and at that age - it is enough to hold them. So as the elephant grows up - it is conditioned to believe that it cannot break away from the wooden stake. Even as fully grown adults, they still believe that the rope can hold them, so they never actually try to break free. 

The man was amazed, these incredible mammals - powerful and strong, were held in place by such a simple trick. Because they believed that they were still held by the bonds, they remained stuck right where they were. Bound by their own minds.

I have no idea whether the story is in fact true or not, I haven't had an opportunity to talk to too many elephant trainers over the years, but even as an apocryphal story -- we see the concept in place in humans all the time. 

What we experience in our youth is powerful. The things we hear, see, and learn to believe about ourselves (whether they are true or not) often continue to cause us challenges as we continue through life. We continue to believe them, and that belief at times can hold us back, or the feelings we have toward the individuals who we perceive as having wronged us - the frustration, anger and bitterness that we hold toward them - can continue to traumatize and cause issues.

The reality is - when we continue to hold onto those feelings of anger and bitterness, we continue to give power over our life to the people who we perceive as having hurt us. 

The Apostle Paul wrote to the church in Ephesus, to be on the lookout for things in their lives, writing in Ephesians 4:31-32:

"Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice. And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you."

Forgiveness is an essential concept within our faith. A person cannot truly take on the nature of Christ, and to have the indwelling of God's Holy Spirit in the manner in which He intended it to dwell within us if we continue to provide power and influence over our lives, and ultimately our words, actions, choices and relationships through the words, actions and beliefs of someone else. 

If we believe that we are worthless, is that true? If we believe that we will never amount to anything because we heard that so frequently from others, is that true?

You are loved by God. You have been given an incredible opportunity. You have been given a chance to be a son or daughter of His, to live with Him forever in His Kingdom. 

Don't believe the lies. Don't let that rope continue to hold you to that wooden stake. Don't give that person, or persons continued power over your life. The only thing that cuts the rope is forgiveness and yielding yourself to God and His purpose for you.

As we continue into this Passover examination season, I hope and pray that we can all take the time to consider the things we believe, the things that we tell ourselves, and whether or not they line up with scripture... or whether we are continuing someone else power over you and your life through the words they have told us. Are their lies chaining you to the wooden stake and preventing you from stepping into the role which God has called you to? 

Who can you become? Who WILL you become? 

Have a wonderful Sabbath.

With Love,
Ben