When Life Gives You Circumstances, Don't Make Lemons
It’s as classic a cliché as ever spoken — “When life gives you lemons, make lemonade.”
But there may be something you don't know about lemons. Though they have been around for millennia, they do not occur in nature “naturally.” Rather, they have been hybridized as a cross between a bitter orange and a citron. In other words, lemons are man made.
As suggested by internet blogger J. Cormack, since lemons were selectively bred by humans, it could be said that life doesn’t give us lemons, but rather we make lemons out of life.
All too often, by our own poor attitudes, actions, and choices, we end up twisting life’s circumstances into something bitter, something sour.
So, next time we’re tempted to blame “life” for our problems, we should take a good look in the mirror. It may not be life throwing those bitter circumstances our way. They may all too often be of our own making.
Moral of the story ... When life gives you circumstances, don't make lemons!
“Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap. For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life” (Galatians 6:7-8, ESV).
“I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and curse. Therefore choose life, that you and your offspring may live, loving the LORD your God, obeying his voice and holding fast to him, for he is your life and length of days, that you may dwell in the land that the LORD swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give them.”” (Deuteronomy 30:19-20, ESV).
“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law (Galatians 5:22-23, ESV).
Spilling Your Coffee
Imagine you’re holding a cup of coffee when someone bumps into you, causing you to spill what's in your cup.
You didn't spill tea. You didn't spill grape juice or soda. You spilled coffee because coffee is what was in your cup. If you’d had tea in your cup, it would have been tea that spilled out. The point is, whatever is inside your cup is what will spill out of your cup if bumped or shaken.
We are each a vessel, not unlike a cup. Looking from the outside, no one can know what we “contain.” But when events of life bump up against us or shake us up, whatever is inside will likely come spilling out.
So we must ask ourselves, “What’s in my cup?” Is it love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control? Or is it anger, bitterness, anxiety, impatience, mean-spiritedness, ill will, faithlessness, harshness, and lack of discipline?
We might present to the world that we are full of one thing when really we are full of another. It’s easy to fake it when nothing is bumping into us or shaking us up. But bring on a little trial, a little temptation, irritation, conflict, inconvenience, etc., and what's inside our heart of hearts will come spilling out.
So fill yourselves with the Fruits of the Spirit so that the goodness and light within you spills out onto others as a testimony of the transformative power of Christ in your life.
Intrinsically Good
Is a gun good or evil? Isn't it true that it's just a molded piece of steel that in and of itself is neither good or evil? But it does have the potential to be used for either good or evil. The same gun can be used to take a life or to save a life. It can be used to commit a crime or to stop a crime. It can be used to harm or to protect. In either case, it's the same gun, but what makes the difference is the hand in which the gun is held.
In Romans 12:9 we are told to, "Hate what is evil; cling to what is good." The word "good" is a translation of the Greek word "agothos." According to Strong's it means, "intrinsically good, good in nature, good whether it be seen to be so or not" (see also BAG p. 3). Here, this word is used of the Christian virtues. Things like the fruits of the Spirit are good because they are intrinsically good, not because of the person who holds them. They are good because God is good and they come to us from His hand.