There Was a Crooked Man

There was a crooked man,

And he walked a crooked mile,

He found a crooked sixpence

Against a crooked stile.

He bought a crooked cat,

Which caught a crooked mouse,

And they all lived together

In a little crooked house.

 

Every fourth week, one day each month, I can be found in a procedure room at Dr. Reeder’s place of practice.  Dr. Reeder is my Chiropractor.  I first met Reeder when I was 21 years of age (just a kid really) and I had insufferable pain in my lower back and all down through my left leg. 

"I'm not always so much so 'on the ball', not always!"

I had insufferable pain, so much so that I couldn’t sleep, I couldn’t sit upright (which made the ride to his office quite painful I might add).  I was anti-social, I couldn’t smile, I could barely carry my own weight and I certainly had no desire to “carry a tune”.  I was so miserable at one point I remember distinctly raising my fist to the ceiling and crying out “Why are You doing this to me!?!”  I’m not positive but I may have uttered an expletive or two toward my Creator and Savior.  I was that crooked man. 

Apparently I missed the part in the Bible where it says, “In everything give thanks, for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.” 

I had only been a Christian for two years by this time and by every external standard I was “a Christian above all Christians.”  I say by every external standard, which is to say as things appeared to others, but God looks at the heart and it’s the inner life and response to circumstances that gives evidence to the Life of Christ abiding within.  However, after this glaring chink in my “Spiritual Armor” I began to see other areas in my life that were not as “in check” as I thought they were also, such sins were prevalent in my private life and thoughts that I feel ashamed now to even mention them. 

God revealed some of them to us in a nice 'neat' list in Galatians 5:19, “Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness,” Suffice to say, road rage, which I experienced often seemed to be the least of my problems. My thought life was not what it should have been.  It got to a point where I began to even doubt if I was really “born again” in the first place.  It was a very dark and confusing time for me. I remember praying as Isaiah did, "Woe is me, for I am undone," but instead of a man of unclean lips I said, "for I am a man of unclean thoughts, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean thoughts."  I am so glad that God cleaned up my thought life.

"And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what [is] that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God."

But Let’s get back to my back for a moment.  So, what was going on and why did I have so much discomfort?  It should be obvious I think, things were out of alignment, they were not the way they were intended to be.  Actually, as a later X-ray would reveal, I had a herniated disk at my fifth lumbar and the bulge was pushing against my sciatic nerve. 

A cortisone shot mixed with Novocain relieved it for a time but when the drug wore off the pain returned.  Physical therapy and exercise only worsened the agony.  Pain “killers” were dealing with the symptoms but no one had yet got to the root of my injury.

When things are out of place there is pain involved, just ask anyone who has had a broken bone or a dislocated joint if you’ve never had the pleasure of that kind of experience.

Now spiritually speaking, things were 'out of place' for me also.  I was following a list of 'do's and don'ts', standards that would ensure that I would be spiritual.  I was not very spiritually minded as is plainly obvious.  I did not love God with all my heart, I loved my own comfort.  I did not obey the heart of things, I was only trying to obey the external motion of things.

If we desire God's best.  If we want Him to increase in our lives.  We must love Him above even our own comfort.  We must love Him with all our hearts.  We need to get a doctorate in theology: I don't mean a college education but I do mean we need to pay attention to doctrine.  We need to know what we believe about our God and why.  Never mind the lists... that'll all fall into place as you learn of Him.  We also need to become a reader... Not Dr. Reeder... we need to read the Word of God.  Read it often, humbly, and with a desire to obey whatever God clearly asks of you.  I say clearly asks because you can't make the Bible say things it doesn't.  "He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the LORD require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?"

Do this and He will increase in your life, His presence IN you will be obvious to those around you, They will 'see' less of you and more of God in you.

"He must increase, WE must decrease!"