Check Engine Light

 A fool has no delight in understanding, but in expressing his own heart. 

Proverbs 18: 2 NKJV 

It was not a fun day at all.  I was in the middle of a drive from Longview, Washington back home to Portland in my trusty (up until that point) old Jeep.  Halfway home, the red check engine light came on demanding my attention.  Not wanting to push it, I stopped along the freeway to check what the issue was.  The good thing was I probably saved my engine, the bad news was I had to have my Jeep towed to repair a water pump.  What would have happened if I had ignored that warning?  Well, I most likely would have been paying out the keister for a major repair.  Fortunately it didn't come to that point.  As I recalled that day this week I got to thinking about those warning lights which we all too often ignore.  Those warnings which, if heeded, could have saved us from arguments or a broken relationship.  In other words, what is that underlying issue that led to the quarrel which in the end led to the strained relationship?  Many things can and have led us into arguments which have put distance between ourselves and others.  I used to have heated discussions with my mother, who advised me that saving my money was a good thing.  However, when you're saying that to a guy in his early twenties it's a foreign language of sorts.  The check engine light was there, I just ignored it.  Over the years I have seen my share of warning lights which have been ignored and replaced with fights and arguments.  My own parents fell victim to this as well.  My mother told me something which has stuck with me for many years.  A few years before she retired, she noticed that would come home from work ready for a verbal battle with anyone who disagreed with her.  Now, anyone who knew my mother also knew that this was not in her nature.  She was a very outgoing, kind and social person.  She later told me that she felt the Lord speaking to her that she was acting in a way that wasn't who she was.  After that she simply exhibited the person she knew she was inside.  She heeded the warning light. 

Knowing this first, that no prophesy of scripture is of any private interpretation.  For prophesy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit.

2 Peter 1: 20 - 21 NKJV 

In the end, it wasn't my mother who was the cause of the issues she was experiencing.  The underlying issue was the stresses she was feeling from her job.  Which, in turn, led her to act out in a way that was uncharacteristic of who she was.  The same can be said of us.  What are the underlying issues which us to act out?  Finances?  Personal relationships?  There are a multitude of issues people face which, if not recognized, can definitely screw with ones behaviors and attitudes.  For awhile, I had issues with my own job about feeling inferior.  This was not based on reality, but on my own feelings of inadequacy.  I often ignored that check engine light and ended up talking down to those around me.  Was this the person I was?  No.  One day at work a good friend told me that he missed how I used to be.  How I used to be?  Finally, I recognized the warning light.  I feel that a good case can be made that the check engine light scenario I'm speaking of is simply our heavenly Father reminding us of the dangers of the path we're walking.  Does God take enjoyment from His children suffering?  Absolutely not!  However, I am also of the mind that God does not interfere in our ability to make life choices.  We are created with the unique ability to choose, and God does not interfere in this.  So, what happens when we make a wrong decision?  Does God love us that much less?  No.  However, I believe that God does grieve our bad decisions as He only wants what is best for us.  Those check engine lights are merely His loving way of reminding us of the dangers that we will face going forward.  

~Scott~