One of my professors in my DMin. Program, Frank Green, told
our class a story about when he went to see the Grand Canyon. He said they had an observation platform, and
he wanted to look over the edge…but he was afraid. So he got on his hands and knees and crawled
up and peered over the edge. (Some of you are thinking, “How dumb,” and some of
you are thinking, “How brave!)
Frank said it occurred to him at that moment that we are all
2 steps away from “the abyss.” What he
means is that we are all about 2 bad decisions away from wrecking our
lives. For instance – deciding to have
too much to drink, and then deciding to get behind the wheel. Two steps away – at any given time… He told us this not to bring us down, but to
remind us how close we live to the edge, and to remind us how important that
margin is…those two steps.
Did you see the video from last week of the crazy Alabama
fan who got in a fight with an Oklahoma fan after the Sugar Bowl. Maybe you are one of the 2.7 million people
who have already seen this, but if not…here you go:
So anyway, I was thinking about this crazy Alabama fan today
as I was pondering my own actions after my
team (the Auburn Tigers) lost the National Championship game last night. I was pretty ticked off when we lost. I knew that I should have said, “Wow, we have
had a great season! What a privilege it
is to get to play in the National Championship game! Our team played hard and gave it their best,
but just fell a little short. We’ll get
‘em next year.” I should have said
that. Instead, I grumped around the
house like Frankenstein with hemorrhoids, until I could finally pull myself out
of attitude nosedive.
What is the difference between me and the crazy Alabama
fan? About two steps. If I had been at the game and had decided to have
several beers and decided to bet money on the game and lost it, and there was a
smartass Florida State fan in front of me taunting me, and they were doing that
obnoxious tomahawk chop thing (it is not obnoxious when I do it at a Braves
game, but when Seminole fans do it, it causes homicidal thoughts)… If all those factors had been in play, it
could have been me going sailing through the air and getting 2.7 million views
on youtube, etc… Except if I had done
it, it would not have been cute or even funny.
It would have just been sad and embarrassing.
Lynard Skynard has a song I have always liked called Gimme Three Steps. I’ve never thought about that song in terms
of being a prayer until now. It seems to
fit. The prayer might go like this: “Gimme Three Steps, Lord. Keep me three steps from the abyss, not two. I know I’m not always my best self, but help
me to catch myself before I step over the edge.
Keep me aware and alert. There
are people who are counting on me. Gimme
three steps, Lord. Amen.”
I have confronted the abyss many times in my life, too frequently going over the edge. I can only thank God for His mercy in seeing fit to keep me from getting into the zone of no return. Each time I think I learned something about myself - not enough to keep me from repeating the mistake but still a growing experience. Even now I can see places in my life where I dance too close to the edge. I just have to keep praying that the Lord will give me 3 steps - I certainly need them on a daily basis. Thanks for reminding me.
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