Self Imposed Limitations
written by Jimmy Newkirk, Associate Pastor (February 26, 2024)
We have a cat. I don’t particularly like cats. Mostly because they’re not dogs. Now, to be fair, we have a really good cat. But it’s still a cat.
Because we have pets, we also have a doggie door so that they can come and go to do their business. The dog has this figured out. He doesn’t need any help. But the cat, on the other hand, not so much. She seems to have created her own set of imaginary barriers.
You should know the doggie door has a plastic flap which acts as a gate or door within the larger door. The flap is very pliable and moves freely in either direction, in or out. Easy enough, so it would seem. When the cat is outside the house, she knows she can simply push her way through to come in. However, she can’t seem to accept the fact that it works the same in either direction. When she is inside the house wanting to go out, instead of just pushing through, she finds it necessary to pull the flap toward her and squeeze through, simultaneously holding the flap open with one paw while jumping through the opening as it closes on her.
In reality, she doesn’t have to. She makes things hard on herself.
So do we.
It pains me to say it, but I am guilty of imposing limitations on myself just as I mock my cat for doing. Far too often, we make life hard on ourselves. Anytime we go against God’s plan, we create unnecessary burden. We certainly don’t change God’s plan, but there is a degree to which God will, for a time, let us do things the hard way in order to show us that His ways are best.
Each time we sin against God, we functionally tell Him that we’re going to do things our own way, according to our own preferences. That never works out well. In Acts 26:14-15, the Apostle Paul recounts the time of his conversion. Jesus, speaking to him from heaven, said, “It is hard for you to kick against the goads.” Paul testified that, despite his devotion, he was headed in the wrong direction and for the wrong purposes, doing things his way.
Granted, you and I are deeply embroiled in a spiritual war, but too often we make things difficult for ourselves. Self-imposed limitations are not always sin. Sometimes, it’s a matter of not recognizing where God is leading in a specific situation, though sin may be behind our lack of such recognition. Other times, it’s more obvious in that we’re not following His written instructions.
In either case, we must always be willing to step away from our patterned behavior to ask:
We need to take time to self-reflect against God’s design as individuals, as families, and as a church. There is much we could learn. When the burdens of our life and ministry are many, Jesus reminds us, “My yoke is easy and my burden is light. (Matt 11:30)”