Release the brake …

Several years ago I jumped into my car to head out for another busy day. Maneuvering my way through traffic, I suddenly realized the performance of my car seemed to be very sluggish, which was odd since it was a newer vehicle.

I checked all the gauges, but no problems were indicated. Still, the car felt as if it were lacking power. Concerned that something was mechanically amiss, I lightened up on the accelerator and cruised as easily as possible to my destination.

When I arrived, I quickly parked and, when reaching to set my parking brake, discovered I had been driving with the parking brake on all along!

Fortunately, my trip was short and didn’t result in any harm to the car, but driving with the parking brake on much longer could have caused damage to the car that could have been costly. Instead, my mistake only resulted in a reluctant performance from my car.

That little trip reminded me of an old saying that goes, “There is nothing so easy but that it becomes difficult when you do it with reluctance.”

Life is that way. That which we do with an attitude of reluctance becomes more difficult, as if we’re trying to drive with the parking brake on. As Christians, the Apostle Paul steers us away from such an attitude with this exhortation:

“So whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God,” 1 Corinthians 10:31.

When we make the purpose of all we do in life to be about bringing glory to God, reluctance fades away and we can engage with a joyful enthusiasm.

Kind of like releasing the brake.

Are you living reluctantly? Or joyfully, to the glory of God?

Scotty