Run Away Train

Keep it all

I don't want to be you, best you, or beat you: with a left eyebrow lift and a half grin, I am entering into the peaceful place of suggestion that you and I, get to be just that: peaceful.

I don't have designs on your life, your people, or your stuff. I don't want any of it. You get to keep it all, without theft or threat of dispossession from me dear reader. More on you and me later,,,

Legally binding contract

Noncompete clause: a contract between an employee and employer in which the employee agrees not to enter into competition with the employer during or after employment. These legal contracts prevent employees from entering into markets or professions considered to be in direct competition with the employer

Red ink to paper

I have something to share with you. My employer asked me to sign a noncompete contract when we entered into our agreement of my employment. I was willing at the time, and quickly put red ink to paper, neatly laying down my signature. I was thrilled to land this job, and excited about the work I would be doing.

Time passed, as it is want to do, and I admit, I began cooking up my own ideas and interests, you know, some moonlighting possibilities to get me some quick results on the side. What if I do this, and what if I do that: somehow, my employer always seems to know about my clandestine plans. I narrow my eyes here and wonder, does he have spies watching me, informants keeping him abreast of my thought life and secretive activities? Guilt and shame surface as I acknowledge my disloyalty. Soon enough, that I-have-been-sneaky-and-caught feeling fades only to be replaced by one of recollection, followed by conviction.

I had signed a legally binding noncompete contract, and I violated the clause that clearly stated  I would not directly compete with my employer. My employer, generous and forever faithful, deserves better from me.

Honour system

I mentioned above, that somehow my employer always seems to know about my obvious to him but clandestine to me, plans. What I didn't share, is how he handles the situation, how he handles me, when he knows and I know he knows, you know? I am going to describe the handling in a metaphor and invite you in as a participant. 

Speeding train

Image being at the controls of a speeding train, headed fast and furiously toward
your chosen destination with the path ahead of you clear. Whoa whoa, you cheerfully sound your whistle. You are getting to where you are going in no time flat. With imagination running wild, you barely contain your excitement, knowing that what you want is waiting for you just up the tracks.

Without warning your peripheral vision is invaded. You spot a travel companion you had ignored and all but forgotten, reaching for the emergency stop button. Nooooooooo, you slow motion yell while hurling yourself in their direction in an attempt to prevent their push-the-button-hand from hitting its mark. Too late, you are in a heap on the floor: fully stopped. You shake your head, checking for pain in your collapsed parts. Satisfied that you are slightly rattled and without injury, you slowly rise to look out the windows to check your location. Upon examination of your whereabouts, you inhale with a gasp... 

Dear reader, indulge me as I end this vignette with a cliche: 

... you inhale with a gasp, as your eyes fill with wonder at the sight before you. You, crazy run away train, are stopped on tracks that end just before a washed out bridge. You have been retrieved from the edge of certain death.

The players

Ah, dear reader, you know I am a Christian, right? In our run away train scenario, I am relating my own experiences of course. In case you are not picking up what I am putting down, let's name the players in our mini series

God is the real train conductor 

You have attempted to commandeer the controls

The Holy Spirit is your ignored and almost forgotten travel-everywhere-you-go companion

You were saved by grace from what you didn't know lied ahead; certain death

Competing by commandeering 

Shamelessly, I share my commandeering tendencies and perhaps, you have them too? Recall above, that I stated I don't want to be you, best you, or beat you. This is all true. While some people compare  themselves to others, I don't: I can one up most people on that front. I compare myself to God for goodness sakes! I would be super embarrassed in admitting this if I didn't find it ridiculously entertaining. I mean seriously, me playing God, to and for me: can you see how silly this is dear one?

I suffer from over confidence

I sometimes joke, that I suffer from over confidence with bouts of insecurity. I jump in feet first without hesitation, where few would dare to dip a toe tip. My confidence gets crushed and insecurity sets in, when I look around me and blank eyes stare back, sometimes with mouths agape, hanging open in shock. This is when I recognize that I have derailed somehow; I have forgotten for whom I work, and I have ignored my God's commands and His voice of truth, causing injury to those He would have me serve. 

Then I recall: the train isn't mine to conduct; the work He has for me isn't for my own benefit and entertainment. It is, all about Him. Again, not all about me, all about Him.

We are called to do this:

And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him (Colossians 3:17)

Dear reader, I type with my head turned to the right and slightly cocked with a smirk on my face. I make myself into a mini god all the time and God, in His faithful Fatherly way, treats me as though I am one of His trusted kids, by allowing me to work within an honour system. It never takes long for me to recognize when I have deviated from my noncompete clause, signed-in-the-ink-red-blood-of-Christ-on-the-cross contract. Yes, that was a very long sentence, allow me to be direct.

Jesus died for me. I owe Him my life, eternally. In this worldly life, my allegiance is to Him, and periodically, I feel the need to take over in order to make things happen with a sped up agenda, because I think God is taking His sweet time, and mine is being wasted. 

Recall the precipice in our vignette: when He applies the brakes in my life, it is for my own safety and ultimate good.

For thou shalt worship no other god: for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God (Exodus 34:14)

Mini god mischief

Thankfully, when I am full of myself, there is an empty feeling that settles in almost immediately, that cannot be ignored. I know the difference between self-absorbed, self-indulgent, mini god mischief me, and who I am when I honour my Heavenly Father:

He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty, I will say of the LORD, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust (Psalm 91:1-2)

This verse gives me great rest, as I trust in the Most High.

Your turn

Now it is your turn dear one. I invite you to confession, which is really good for the soul. 

• Are you on your own crazy train, heading for a precipice? 
• Have you commandeered the controls of your life, wrestling them out of the hands of your Protector? 
• Can you hear the Holy Spirit, whispering trust in Me; telling you He can see what is ahead on the tracks you are traveling? 
• Is He applying the brakes in your life already, as you read these last sentences? 
• Are you willing to full stop, and give God the leading role in your life?

Allow Him to be your refuge and fortress, trusting in Him as your God. He is the best crazy train conductor known to man.

Why not let Him take the controls in your life, today?