Daily Wisdom 08-15-2003 Cut and Dry

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Cut and Dry

It's confession time. I've done a terrible thing. The logical part of me kept warning me not to do it, but I just couldn't make myself listen. I did it anyway. I cut my own bangs. Every time I take the scissors into my own hands, I promise myself I'll never do it again. That's because every time I take the scissors into my own hands, I end up looking at little like Spock, minus the ears. This, however, is no way to live long and prosper.

When am I going to get it? I'm just not a skilled bang-cutter. When I try, I'm operating miles outside my area of expertise. And this kind of operation is usually near fatal for the patient. Definite hair 911. Somebody get a crash cart. I need some serious hair CPR.

The gal who cuts my hair, on the other hand, does a great job. Rhonda (yes, she and I have the same first name) knows what she's doing around a pair of hair-cutting scissors. She can trim, gel, clip and mousse with the best of them.

She's so good, as a matter of fact, that her calendar is crazy. So is mine. But whenever we're having a hard time getting our schedules together, all I have to do is call her up and say in a menacing voice, "I'm holding the scissors to my head." It's sort of a hair suicide threat. Then she'll say, "Okay, okay, okay! Just don't cut your own bangs!" She'll usually finish up with: "Now put down the scissors and slowly step away!"

She's pretty adamant about me staying away from hair self-service. She knows whatever mess I make - and I will make a mess - she'll have to straighten out. Picture me in her chair whining, "Rho-o-o-nda, can you fix this, plea-ea-ease?"

Isn't it strange that I would take the scissors into my own hands again, knowing my past haircutting record? I've thought about it, and I don't care how badly I needed an operation, I'm quite sure I would never snatch the scalpel from the surgeons hand with a, "Oh, let me do that! I saw an appendectomy on the Health Channel. I can do this!"

In an eternal perspective, I guess my haireven my appendixis not as important as it may seem. As a matter of fact, hair and body parts are simple compared to running a life. Yet how many times have I snatched the controls on that too?

Doesn't it make more sense to leave the life-controlling to the Expert? You know, the one who designed the life in the first place? When I'm really stylin' is when my all is on the altar and I'm leaving the reigns in my Heavenly Father's capable and loving hands.

When I take control of my own life, I end up making a mess every time. I'm operating miles outside my area of expertise. I end up limping back to God with a whiney, "Lor-or-ord, can you fix this, plea-ea-ease?" Wouldn't it be easier to simply be obedient in the first place?

Jesus doesn't beat around the bush regarding our obedience. In Matthew 7:21, he says, "Knowing the correct password - saying 'Master, Master,' for instance - isn't going to get you anywhere with me. What is required is serious obedience - doing what my Father wills." (The Message)

Understanding that the "Father controls best," and that we should respect his area of expertise makes for a fruitful, sweeter life. According to Proverbs 10:27, "The fear of the LORD adds length to life, but the years of the wicked are cut short." (NIV)

Did it have to say "cut short"? Just another reminder that I'm spending the next couple of weeks suffering severe bang humiliation.

Contributed by Rhonda Rhearrhea@juno.comRhonda Rhea writes for dozens of great Christian publications and speaks at conferences and events across the country. You can find her new book, Amusing Grace, at your local Christian bookstore. Rhonda's husband, Richie Rhea, is a pastor in Troy, Missouri. You can reach them through her Web site atwww.rhondarhea.net