Compared to humans, I have quite a small head. But I still like to think that there’s a lot packed into it! Because parrots just like humans can be very complex creatures. Most of us are shaped and moulded by the things we experience as we go through Life. And all the while, our brains are processing what we encounter, and locking away things which have triggered an emotional response inside us. All kinds of stuff can end up inside our heads. For example, the day when you had a working lunch with the Vicar, and you commented about the size of his lunchbox. Two years later you are still cringing inside. Or that moment when you unleashed your temper on someone who really didn’t deserve it. Or that time when a shop assistant gave you too much change, but you weren’t honest enough to tell them.
It’s funny how it always seems to be the negative stuff that we lock away rather than the positive.
I often hear on the radio about how much space junk there is orbiting the Earth; bits of discarded satellite, chunks of rocket, tools and equipment which have floated away from the International Space Station. And as this junk starts to build up, it creates a serious hazard for any future missions into space. And it can be a bit like that inside our minds as well. The day I gave my owner a sharp nip for no reason; the time I had a ‘deliberate accident’ on a visitor I didn’t like; the time I gnawed through the door of a kitchen cabinet and tore open two bags of flour inside. The past can all too easily weigh us down and haunt our present. It can get in the way of us growing as individuals and fulfilling our potential for God.
The way forwards should never seem complex. All we really need to do to fulfil God’s wishes are three simple things. Just three to help us dissipate the junk and clear the way forwards for a positive life. And the three things are these: fill our hearts with love, fill our minds with humility and build our faith upon trust. Get these three things sorted in our lives and the junk will quickly disappear.
“God does not regret saving you. There is no sin which you commit which is beyond the cross of Christ.”
(Matt Chandler 1974-present: American pastor and author).
I’m sure that God gave us a conscience and created the emotion of guilt to keep us all moving in a positive direction. Because without a conscience or feelings of regret, we would never improve or change our ways. We’d remain static and lost. Guilt and regret should never weigh us down so heavily that we become incapable of fulfilling our true potential for God, but they still need to be there for our own common good.
“… let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed in pure water.” (Hebrews 10:22-24).
“If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:9).
“So I strive always to keep my conscience clear before God and man.” (Acts 24:16).
I guess I’ll never have a halo because I’d end up gnawing it, but God will always love me for the parrot that I am so long as I keep trying …
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