Agreement

We have all learned from Sesame Street that “Cooperation makes it Happen” in short we should find a way to agree. Additionally, when disagreements arise we have learned to “Agree to Disagree agreeably” and always hold to the great social commandment… Be Nice!

I am a supporter of nice; I like nice people because they are... Nice. But when Nice is elevated as a virtue above truth, honor, valor than nice is not so nice after all.

I recently was reminded of another way that agreement can be deadly. I was telling my Brother-in-Law about a near accident on a ride when a car pulled out from a parking space and I had to swerve into the median to avoid the collision. He made a comment that something seems to happen to me on every ride. I agreed, recalling in my mind the near encounters with deers, cars, and others. I didn’t give it much thought until my next ride when I realized I was not having any fun at all. It was a nice day and a beautiful ride but my heart was caught up in fear of what might be over the next hill or around the next corner. It is a good idea to ride in a heightened state of alertness which is why those near encounters remained just that “Near” Encounters and not accidents. No one can control everything which is the point of having an adventure in the first place, but no one should put themselves in undue risk by riding a bike while on mental autopilot. The point is when I agreed with my brother-in-law the enemy whispered that I lacked the riding skill to return home without injury or worse. My brother-in-law meant no harm; he has good will in his heart towards me and loves me. His message to my heart was not that I was less than or that I didn’t measure up as a man. The enemy took that innocent comment and attached it to old wounds.

Often in life we encounter wounds to our hearts often at the hands of our fathers. In my case I didn’t meet my father until I was 19 and the message my heart heard was that I wasn’t worth his time and attention. I didn’t measure up and that I wasn’t a man. The real harm came when I agreed with those thoughts and accusations. Throughout me life that has played out in far too many ways from posing as a man to blatant acting out that has injured me and others. In the past few years I have worked to uncover those lies and break those agreements and the result has been liberating. This experience has illustrated that it is still far too easy to slip into agreement with the accusations of the enemy rather than agree with what my Father in Heaven has said about my heart.

The good news is that once I identified what was causing my fear I could surrender it to God and break the agreement with the enemy and enjoy the ride. This week a helmet I bought for my son arrived and we took a ride on Saturday. Just as we reached the mountains a cold front and rain hit so we had to turn for home. We rode on slick roads in pouring rain as the temperature fell from the 58 to the 42 in just a few minutes. While I was aware that I had my son’s safety in my hands I was not afraid because unlike the agreements I had made in the past, my Father has spoken to me heart to tell me I am Man Enough to be that boys father and I choose to agree with Him.

Exposing yourself to adventure is not always comfortable of even fun but it is a great place to hear from the Father.

I hope you agree.