Every once in a while, I will be preaching and a phrase comes to my mind that really speaks to the scripture in a way I never expected. I choose to believe it is the work of the Spirit. This past Sunday, the text was the woman at the Well. Jesus meets this woman who is now in her fifth man relationship. She is alone. She is isolated. She has been publicly traded.
Now many folks who find themselves publicly traded like to play the victim card. Someone else has caused this to happen in my life. Someone else is to blame. The "pitty pot" reigns in their life. People can only do to you what you allow them to. So get off the pot!
Public trading of our soul happens more than we like to admit. We allow ourselves to be publicly traded by our response to the jokes people tell. The denigrating generalizations of people should not be funny. But hey, everyone else is laughing. What harm does it do? Plenty is the answer.
We compromise ourselves in work situations. Your boss may want you to publicly trade yourself often. Or your company may not really care about your values in life. So we abandon our integrity for the sake of a paycheck. It costs us more than we think.
Years ago, a colleague tells the story of his family eating out at a buffet. The time came for them to checkout. The person checking them out announced how many adults and children they were being charged. The assumption was made that his youngest daughter was under the age for adults and would be charged as a child. Whereupon the youngest daughter proudly announced, "No, dad, I am older than that! I should be charged as much as you!" As he thought about that moment later on, the colleague was ashamed. He was willing to publicly trade his integrity in front of his daughter for $1.50.
The woman met Jesus. Jesus knew of her thirsts in life. He offers her living water in which she can change the direction of her life. Jesus offers her a new life. He offers her what the world had taken away from her.
The scriptures tell us that the woman brought others to Jesus. You see, she knew many who were thirsting as well.
Thirsty? Try the water that Jesus gives you. You will never thirst again.
Thanks Jack.
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