That's For You Get.....

Because he's the hero Gotham deserves, but not the one it needs right now.... Lt. James Gordon (The Dark Night)

i think this line from the most recent Batman film sums up much of life... at least for me....

When i was a kid, my cousin Chris was a constant source of funny stuff... He was cute, always had something to say and was fast! In particular i recall one time when he had been teased by one of my other relatives, he got very angry and resentful and was looking for a way to exact his revenge. It didn't take long and when the person who had made fun of him finally got their comeuppance, my cousins' comment, instead of "That's what you get....", was "That's for you get!". And just like in the movie the Dark Knight, i believe we often get just what we deserve...

From our national political scene to life in our own churches, workplaces, neighborhoods and homes... i truly believe that there is a spiritual principle at work in situations when we get what we deserve... that's because i do believe our actions have consequences.... Most of us don't like to think about consequences, they tend to put a bit of a "damper" on our pursuit of the things we want... or at least the things we think we want.

For a few years i believed that the best thing that could happen to me and to my family was for me to to co-lead a church and instead of determining a way to make the most of the situation i was in at that time, seeking to be content and appreciative... i convinced myself that i really needed to make this change and frankly i got exactly what i deserved. And it wasn't all that great...

The whole idea of consequences tends to make us nervous... we'd like to think that we can do whatever we want to do and what happens after that is really irrelevant. However, human history shows that getting what we deserve often serves us well. If we are wise, we will allow consequences to reshape and refine us... making us into he people that we needed to be in the first place.

Hmmm... seems to me, now that i really think about, it my cousin Chris was on to something when he would snap back..."That's for you get!"