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Have you ever found yourself in a moment of confliction? Have you experienced the kind of moment that leaves your stomach turning because you’re struggling to decide between two opposite, yet appealing choices? To be certain I don’t mean choosing between steak or chicken at the restaurant, or choosing Coke or Pepsi at the gas station. I don’t even mean choosing between FSU or Florida in a big game, however gut wrenching it might be.
Have you ever found yourself in a moment of confliction? Have you experienced the kind of moment that leaves your stomach turning because you’re struggling to decide between two opposite, yet appealing choices? To be certain I don’t mean choosing between steak or chicken at the restaurant, or choosing Coke or Pepsi at the gas station. I don’t even mean choosing between FSU or Florida in a big game, however gut wrenching it might be.
I am talking about the choices that conflict our spiritual and moral values. For example, defending a belief knowing that you’ll face ridicule, persecution, or ostracism. Choosing to defy authority and act with your conscience knowing that you’ll encounter retribution or punishment. “Fitting in” with the crowd for the sake of not being the victim even though you know the crowd is wrong.
There was a vacant lot across the street from the house in which I grew up. My friends and I were very fond of this vacant lot because the heavy tree line set it apart from the road and we could ride our bikes up the embankment and pretend we were in a fort. But what really made this lot a perfect childhood hideout was the pile of giant boulders carelessly tossed into the woods. The boulders were remnants from building the house across the street. The boulders were huge! They piled on top of one another, making pathways from one rock to the next. We could crawl, climb, and jump our way around this rock-fort while our imaginations run wild. I specifically remember one giant, flat rock that protruded from the ground. It towered next to a large, car-sized boulder, and the path-way between the two was quite narrow.
One day as my friends and I were racing among the rocks I stepped perfectly into the narrow pathway. My foot was lodged tight and I fell flat on my face, barely able to catch myself. I was stuck. Literally, you could say that I was stuck between a rock and a hard place. I was stuck, and as I screamed for help a full-body panic was set-off within me. I wiggled and struggled as hard as I could but it seemed that there was nothing I could do.
Our moments of confliction are much like my foot landing perfectly between the rocks. It was never my intention to become stuck, nor did I ever expect that I would be caught in such a precarious, panic-inducing situation and yet, there I was-- between a rock and a hard place.
What is your reaction in a situation of conflict? What is your response when you are metaphorically stuck between a rock and a hard place? Each of us are confronted daily with difficult, moral and spiritual choices. We weigh the options, anticipate all reactions and consequences, and then choose.
Friends, the good news is that we are not alone in these situations and experiences. On Wednesday nights during Lent we will continue to hear, reflect, and identify with various moments of personal struggle in the Bible. Each Wednesday we will meet a character caught between a rock and a hard place. Let us continue to learn together through these Bible stories how to journey with Christ through a conflict-ridden, difficult world.
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