Back away from the shears

1 Thessalonians 5:23-24 

 May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. 

 The One who calls you is faithful, and He will do it.

I recently shaved my dog.  It wasn't a pleasant experience for either of us... for me, because it took over three hours... for him, well, because I don't know what I am doing and I ended up nicking him several times.

When one of my friends saw my dog, she looked at me and slightly chided, "You know, there are professionals for this."   Point taken.  I have no business shaving my dog, but as I explained to her, his shedding hair really annoys me and when push comes to shove, I  just want to be rid of it.


Unfortunately, my shearing practices aren't limited to my dog.  It is one of my natural bents and arrogant downfalls. I like to "fix things."  I like to "trim."  I have delusions of being a professional. I have seen things I don't like in people, things I see as problems and I have picked up my shears and gone to work.  It hasn't matter that I don't possess the correct tools, that I have no training.

Sadly, most of my efforts end up like my dog.  I have hurt people with my razors, I have nicked their souls.

Somehow, I'm guessing I'm not alone.  We all have shears, just different styles of using them.  Some of us are very subtle in our tactics; like me and my dog, we ply people with treats and soothing tones. Whether it be our husbands, our daughters, our sisters, our friends, we just can't resist the urge to do a little snipping.

Others take a more aggressive approach.  This is where we just plow in and back the person into a corner.  Lots of times this comes with words like, 'I needed to confront her on this,' or 'I feel God is leading me to tell her...'  And then the blades start spinning.  Add a few scripture verses, and the poor puppies don't stand a chance.

Ironically, this shaving seldom benefits the shavey, sometimes it's not even really done for their benefit. Like my dog, it's done because their unkempt hair annoys or embarrasses us.  Sometimes we plain just want their coats to look like ours.  All the while, we move around nicking the daylights out of people all in the name of "Christian" love, of helping.

Please know Christ-like love will graciously point out stray hairs.  By all means, a true friend should lovingly suggest a comb.  I want this type of friend.  I need this type of friend.  However, it is never, I repeat never our job to pick up the shears.  Leave that to THE Professional.  Rest assured, He's got the tools.  As the above verse states, He'll get it done.

The rest of us, well, we're just not qualified.   If you don't believe me, just ask my dog.