Tip of My Iceberg

I dared to buy a 31 1/2 pound turkey right before Thanksgiving, and when Christmas came, I hauled him out to cook, knowing we’d most likely have leftovers.

What I hadn’t thought through thoroughly was whether Mr. Bird would fit in my roaster.

He didn’t. His wings hung out so he looked like a perched bird, ready to take flight, with a pan stuck to his bottom. I shoved his parts in as best I could, cooking him, knowing I’d have to clean my oven afterward because he would–and did–ooze all over the place.

Growing up, my Dad used to tell us we were “too big for our britches” when we acted like we knew it all, had disobeyed our parents, or merely had the attitude that we were all that. Now I know it means that we were behaving as if we were large and in charge, displaying attitudes that reflected that we knew better than the folks did.

Kind of like our turkey; a little too puffed up for his pan.

Too many times in life, I’ve acted like I know better than the ones who are in charge. It comes out in small ways when I’m trying to put something together (think kitchen gizmo) and rather than read the directions, I try to assemble it the way it makes sense to me. On a grander scale, I’m asked to do something a certain way, and I will do it the way I think it should be done.

The story of Samson in the Bible shows how disobedience can cause disruption and disaster.

Samson lived approximately one thousand years before Jesus, at a time when the Israelites had no king but sought God for guidance and direction. The Jews had finally entered the land promised to them by God, but many of those who had led them in faith had died, and many ignored what God said and began worshiping idols. God would raise up foreign powers to invade their land, showing them their need for Him. They’d call out to God for help, and He’d provide a judge who would bring victory to the people and lead them back to God. Samson was one of these judges.

He was to be a Nazarite from birth, one who avoided alcohol, wouldn’t cut his hair, and wouldn’t touch a dead body, all intended to show devotion to the Lord. Samson, however, chose to do things his way. As a Jew, he wasn’t supposed to marry anyone outside his faith, but he saw a Philistine woman and demanded that his father bring her to him. “But Samson said to his father, ‘Get her for me. She’s the one I want–she’s the right one.’” Judges 14:3. He was doing what was right in his own eyes, which eventually got him into trouble.

Samson had already broken most of the Nazarite vows he’d taken, but he finally broke them all when he told a woman, Delilah, that his strength was in his hair and that if it was cut, he’d be weak. His strength, however, came from God, but the Lord had asked him to obey these simple requests, and again, he chose to do things his way. Delilah cut his hair, he lost his strength, and was taken by the Philistines, blinded, and thrown in prison.

The Philistines made him work for them, but on one of their festival days, they decided to bring him out to entertain them. They chained him between two pillars in the building where they were celebrating. He finally prayed an honest prayer, asking God for strength, and he pulled the pillars down, causing the roof to cave in, killing a great many people.

Samson did things his way rather than obey God. It cost him his life. Like my turkey, he was too big for his britches.

Doing things our way, rather than obeying God’s word, will eventually cost us.

Are you too big for your britches?