Our Natural Bent

I remember as a young girl of 11 sitting in my bedroom watching my older sister leaning over an ironing board, struggling with her task at hand. She was so diligent to the task, so determined to get her ironing done, even with the old fashioned iron that we had. As I sat there perched on the bed I wondered if it was worth it, to struggle so hard and to risk the danger of scorching or even burning yourself. But Loretta knew that she had to win, she had to have victory over this task, for it was important that she look her best. So on and on, she continued to iron her hair. Yes, her hair!  Her hair was so curly and in those days "straight" was "in".  But I don't recall straightening irons back then and if they had them, we were way too poor to have one.  So each day she would struggle over the ironing board to get those nice straight locks of hair, so fashionable back then (you know 19..... ).

All of us have hair that has a natural bent. Mine is straight, I have to work to get a curl. Some women have curly and have to work to get it straight. In a lot of ways that's how our nature is. We all have a bent, our own personality that unfortunately, according to Scripture says that has a sinful nature and a tendency to fall into patterns that cause us to sin. That is why, just as Loretta got up daily and struggled to get her very large curling iron out and ready for the task, we must everyday get our iron out, which for us is God's Word.  We need to start each and everyday with prayer and study of the Word to tame those natural bents that cause us to be less than God desires. And the neat thing about God's iron (His Word) is, there is no risk of actual scorches and burns, (though we may experience the burn of conviction) just blessing upon blessing as we experience victory living obedient to God's Word.  But unfortunately, when we don't live obedient to His Word, then we do get scorched by the consequences of our sin. He loves us and wants to direct us in the righteous path.

Psalm 119:9
"How can a young man (woman) keep his/her way pure? By living according to Your Word. I seek you with all my heart; do not let me stray from your commands. I have hidden your Word in my heart that I might not sin against you."

So each and everyday we must seek God to identify those natural bents in our life. What are the areas that need to be ironed out in our lives? Is it anger, greed, irresponsibility, lust, addictions, envy? Whatever it is, sit with God, be quiet and allow Him to touch and speak to your heart. Allow Him to show you these areas that need attention. Confess these areas and then make an effort to iron them out. Read His Word, meditate on it, memorize it so that you will be equipped to handle these bents as they come along.

You can't get a nice piece of cloth to be wrinkle free without doing something to get the wrinkles out. You have to iron, treat it with starch, etc. In the same way we can't deal with our wrinkles (less than what God wants of us) unless we do something to get them out. God's Word is the way to become the beautiful wrinkle free woman that God desires. So put up those ironing boards, heat up the iron and go. In other words study, meditate and live a righteous life....WRINKLE FREE!