THE IMPORTANCE OF REALITY CHECKS!! By Maranatha

Hello everyone, this is a carry-over article from my Sunday blog format, I had several requests to post for people on Sunday and this one came to me Monday morning, had computer issues all day Monday so here it is now. Maranatha's profile at Triond.


The Importance of Reality Checks

I am a singer, first and foremost. I love poetry, I love to worship, I strive to live a life that honors God in every way that I can. I also love animals and sports and rock-climbing and being incredibly competitive. It can be an interesting mix! But singing is in my soul; and whenever my soul is out of sorts it is singing that brings me back where I need to be. So it’s not surprising that there are some really special songs that wrap me up. Here is one of those special songs:

The things that I love and hold dear to my heart

Are just borrowed, they’re not mine at all.

Jesus only let me use them to brighten my life –

So remind me, remind me, dear Lord.

Nothing good have I done to deserve God’s only Son

I’m not worthy of the scars on His hands.

Yet He chose the road to Calvary to die in my stead

Why He loves me I can’t understand.

Roll back the curtain of memory now and then

Show me what I used to be, and where I might have been

Remember, I’m human, and humans forget

So remind me, remind me dear Lord.

When I am doing pretty well, doing God’s will and striving to live a holy life, it is so easy to look around at other folks and be pleased with my performance. That’s where the trouble starts; for as long as I am really doing well, it’s not a performance. It’s a life choice, and it honors God. Even when I mess it up, which is often, it still honors God because my heart is right.

As soon as I start comparing myself to someone else, though, it becomes a performance. It is no longer God-honoring, it is self-serving. I am now honoring me. God may still be able to use what I do for good, but a lot of my effort is lost because my heart is not right at all. So now, not only am I self-serving, I am also ineffective. I’m just another busy person with nothing good to show for it.

That is why I love this song. There are times when God rolls back that curtain of memory; when I see, in my own life or someone else’s, where I used to be – or could have been - before God started changing me and making me the person He sees in me. I don’t much like that person any more, and have no wish to go down that road. Reality checks are more than good. They are necessary to continued growth. They keep us focused on where we are and who got us here. They keep life in perspective.

Next time things are going a little awry, just ask yourself: Is this a reality check? Read this song aloud, and see if your perspective comes back into line. Then thank God for rolling back the curtain of memory now and then.