On the Grand Scale, Spiritual Baggage isn’t Worth the Weight
I almost hate to admit this, but I am a closet weight watcher. I step on the scale every morning, just to see how adversely the previous day’s caloric intake affected my bottom line. Overall, my weight is fairly consistent, and who really cares anyway? At my age, I’m well past any body-building competitions (not that I ever was to begin with).
No, my body mass isn’t all that big of a deal, but my spiritual baggage is, and, at the very least, I need to find ways to trim it. For example, how much extra weight am I carrying with my inherent biases and prejudices? Should I not seek to reduce or eliminate those entirely? What about my general attitude and approach toward others? Is there room for some positive adjustments in that area? And finally, the biggest weight of all — the sinfulness that I carry on my shoulders. What can I do about that?
Well, as we know, that last question was answered long ago on Calvary where Jesus took on the weight of the world’s sins (including mine) when he hung on the cross. My sins and the sins of others died with him on that day, and the opportunity to become holy and obedient rose with him on that glorious Easter Sunday.
So while my preoccupation with physical weight is no big deal I can also take comfort in the fact — and so can you — that the burden of spiritual weight has been lifted by the Lord God Almighty.
However, we may all be overdue for a reduction of the other types of excess baggage that weighs us down and prevents us from being the person that God has called us to be, particularly the grudges we hold against others who sin against us. Isn’t it time to let those go, too? We’ve all heard the expression that when we are in conflict with someone else, it’s not that we hold a grudge, but rather that the grudge holds us. If we allow it to do so, it prevents us from forgiving and reconciling with others. Some grudges last weeks, other months or years, and some even last a lifetime. We need to be sure that we prevent that from happening. We do not need to keep a record of the transgressions of others or even our own because Jesus took care of that, providing a pathway to eternal life for all who would believe.
So, today, I encourage you to get rid of that spiritual scale — that which records our wrongs and the wrongs of others. Instead, through prayer and supplication, let us renew our spirit each day through Jesus Christ our Lord.
As always, Scripture provides a very helpful blueprint for us to do this, even in the Old Testament Book of Leviticus where in Verse 18 of Chapter 19, we are advised that we “shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against the sons of [our] own people, but [we] shall love your neighbor as [ourself].” That’s what the Lord commands, and we would be well-advised to heed his call.
Until We Meet Again, Be Blessed! – Pastor John