This has been a weekend of transitioning my email from Verizon to Gmail. It seems that I have been sending the devotionals to too many people. Gmail is more generous and allows a bigger email list. One of the issues is setting defaults to make everything work as desired. I like defaults. Going automatically to a setting greatly streamlines one’s tasks and saves a lot of time and effort.
Default setting for our characters are very interesting. It’s great when our default settings are Christ-like. It’s not so great when they are quite the opposite. Some people don’t seem to be able to help themselves. Their default is not to turn the other cheek but to strike back and they do it quickly without thinking. And of course when we strike back it usually is a bit harder than the insult we received. When cut off in traffic some people instantly go into a road rage mode. Others’ default setting is to back off and let the offender continue on their way. Jesus counsel is to “turn the other bumper.”
For seven decades I have been working on my default settings. I want so much to react to situations as did Jesus. On that fateful Thursday night over and over He was assaulted and over and over He kept His silence without retaliating in kind. Jesus said in Matthew 26:53, “Do you think I cannot call on my Father, and he will at once put at my disposal more than twelve legions of angels?”
Paul worked on this and counsels us in Galatians 2, “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me.” I think he is talking about default settings.
Written by Roger Bothwell on January 16, 2017
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