Cutting yourself some slack
As some of you know or have ascertained from reading my blog, I started law school last Wednesday. Our 3-day orientation was one of the most grueling mental and social exercises I have experienced. I wouldn't say it was the most, but one of the most, to be sure. Our days started early and ended late, I was constantly meeting people, we had reading and briefing assignments before we were even sure how to read or brief, and we sat through numerous presentations, *most of which told us how hard law school would be, if we didn't already think it would be hard.
And throughout orientation, but particularly toward the end, I heard a phrase repeated by multiple people that I've never heard in my lifetime
Now maybe I've never heard that phrase because most of my friends in college were/ are Christian, and that's not something that we did. Or maybe it's because the rest of my friends were physiology majors **who happened to like their livers.
Maybe (hopefully?) we Christians don't have that mindset, that we've earned the right to trash our bodies and relinquish control to a substance. But that's not to say that we don't have that sort of mindset sometimes.
Have you ever felt like you've worked or studied or for other reasons simply had a long, tiring day and felt like you earned the right to relax? I have. In some or most instances, did that "right" impede on studying the Bible? Praying? Yes. And in some or most instances, did that "right" impede on seeking out opportunities to love and serve others? Certainly. What if those opportunities sought YOU out? Truth be told, I've ignored those, too, on occasion.
The thing is, sometimes we feel like we can give ourselves a free pass. We feel entitled to cut ourselves some slack. After all, we've earned the right to be sinful. And it's not really that sinful. We're just, to use a torts term, negligent. And that's not so bad, is it?
A tort is a tort, and eventually we'll get our just desserts.
*To be sure, I feel my law school did a very good job of encouraging us and telling us about student resources and preparing us for our classes during orientation. Orientation was overwhelming by necessity, but not in a way that was meant to intimidate on purpose.
**No matter what your religion is (although if you're a regular reader of my blog, I'd imagine that you're at least a bit Christian) and no matter what your stance on alcohol is, seriously, be nice to your liver. And that includes not eating excessively or excessive amounts of fatty foods, too. A fatty liver is pretty much the same as an alcoholic liver. Chew on that. Or maybe not.
And throughout orientation, but particularly toward the end, I heard a phrase repeated by multiple people that I've never heard in my lifetime
Let's get wasted this weekend. We've earned it.
Now maybe I've never heard that phrase because most of my friends in college were/ are Christian, and that's not something that we did. Or maybe it's because the rest of my friends were physiology majors **who happened to like their livers.
Maybe (hopefully?) we Christians don't have that mindset, that we've earned the right to trash our bodies and relinquish control to a substance. But that's not to say that we don't have that sort of mindset sometimes.
Have you ever felt like you've worked or studied or for other reasons simply had a long, tiring day and felt like you earned the right to relax? I have. In some or most instances, did that "right" impede on studying the Bible? Praying? Yes. And in some or most instances, did that "right" impede on seeking out opportunities to love and serve others? Certainly. What if those opportunities sought YOU out? Truth be told, I've ignored those, too, on occasion.
The thing is, sometimes we feel like we can give ourselves a free pass. We feel entitled to cut ourselves some slack. After all, we've earned the right to be sinful. And it's not really that sinful. We're just, to use a torts term, negligent. And that's not so bad, is it?
A tort is a tort, and eventually we'll get our just desserts.
*To be sure, I feel my law school did a very good job of encouraging us and telling us about student resources and preparing us for our classes during orientation. Orientation was overwhelming by necessity, but not in a way that was meant to intimidate on purpose.
**No matter what your religion is (although if you're a regular reader of my blog, I'd imagine that you're at least a bit Christian) and no matter what your stance on alcohol is, seriously, be nice to your liver. And that includes not eating excessively or excessive amounts of fatty foods, too. A fatty liver is pretty much the same as an alcoholic liver. Chew on that. Or maybe not.
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