You made me; you created me. Now give me the sense to follow your commands. —Psalm 119:73 (NLT)
Ain’t got the good sense God gave ya!” my mother would sometimes say to my brother and me after some incredibly foolish act on our parts. This same statement fell from my grandmother’s tongue, so I know my mom got it honest. And now I find myself muttering this same expression under my breath or, depending on the company, saying it right out loud to the foolish party: the woman on the bus who gets into an argument every day with the bus driver about not having the correct fare; the man who throws his garbage onto the subway tracks when the trash can is literally ten steps away; the delivery guy on his bike who speeds out in front of oncoming traffic.
But as I sit back in judgment, I can’t help but feel a little guilty. I admit there are times when I don’t follow the rules. And I know there are times when I’m acting outside the will of God. Once God gives me the understanding, it’s my job to know what to do with it.
So even though it’s New York City, I should probably bother to look up at the crosswalk sign instead of the oncoming traffic to judge if I should cross the street or not. And even though I study God’s Word, I should probably spend more time applying it in my daily life. What recourse do I have but to get back up, dust myself off, and try to hold on to the good sense that God gave me?
