Red Tape

“Can you please give me a discount on this item?” the customer politely asked, “It has a scratch on it.” “No, I am so sorry,” replied the somber clerk, “We are not authorized to give discounts.” “Well, can you ask your manager?” persisted the lady, “He’s at lunch,” came the reply. With a sigh and a frustrated shake of the head she turned to return the item to its place. We can all relate to this situation. So many times we run into limitations because of red tape. These rules are often set for good enough reasons, but they become dysfunctional at times and instead of helping our situation, they undermine it.

There are certain times in life that God allows us to set the rules for Him. No scenario underlines this concept as well as the issue of revenge. Either we do it or we let Him do it. We are wronged by someone and our immediate desire is to see the devaluation that the person so readily doled out come back on their own head. We start to come up with ideas to ‘give them what they deserve’ and sometimes we feel we do this prettily effectively. However, there is a declaration from God on this subject that states, “Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath; for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord.” Romans 12:19, this is one of the hardest tests of our faith in God. What if God decides to forgive that person? What if He chooses to be merciful? Such doubts make us pursue our own revenge instead of trusting God with it, and when God goes to settle the accounts He finds that His hands are tied because we have overstepped Him. He has been limited by our mistrust. We have red-taped God.

Photo from: http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2012/03/20/article-2117938-01FC95BA000004B0-70_634x431.jpg