Loose Cannons

This weekend as I sat in my study during the early morning hours preparing to study the Word, I heard the phrase, “taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ.”  That saying immediately caught my attention as I had awoke with some anxious thoughts bouncing around in my head concerning my wife’s health.  I knew enough not to accept those thoughts as they were contrary to the Word of healing that we have been standing on but nevertheless, they were still there attempting to make entrance into my heart.

When I turned in my Bible to 2 Corinthians 10:3-5, I immediately received the grace-filled peace of God as I read Paul’s encouragement saying: “For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh.  For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds… and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God.” (KJV)

The fearful lying thoughts of the enemy may try to make an inroad into our lives, but God’s greatest weapon, His Word, is mighty and when spoken out against and depended on, will quickly dispel the intimidations of the devil! The Message Bible seemed to hit the nail on the head for me with its modern paraphrase of this verse.  It declares that, “We use our powerful God-tools for smashing warped philosophies, tearing down barriers erected against the truth of God, fitting every loose thought and emotion and impulse into the structure of life shaped by Christ.”

The idea of “fitting every loose thought and emotion and impulse” made me think of the idiom of someone being like a “loose cannon!”  With that, I quickly realized that the thing that shook me the most with the way some people responded to my wife’s diagnosis of Alzheimer’s and the initial steps we took to deal with the situation, was with the insensitivity of their words toward us.  It was as if they were a cannon that had come loose from its moorings during a battle or storm (which was what we suddenly found ourselves in!) and was inflicting indiscriminate calamity all around!

As I leaned back in my chair and gazed out the window, I began to see that those loose thoughts, emotions and impulses can be like a loose cannon if they are not controlled and directed into the structure of (zoe) life that Christ is shaping in us.  It became obvious to me that uncontrolled thoughts, emotions and impulses that are released through our words can cause a lot of collateral damage!

This is a revelation that should hit home to all of us.  What made it even harder for me at the time, was that each of the “loose cannons” that had fired at us were supposedly mature Christians!  It would seem that each of us, no matter where we are in our Christian walk, can become a “loose cannon” if we do not keep our eyes focused on the truth of God’s Word… and consider it BEFORE we fire off a retort into the midst of a situation!  It reminds me of Proverbs 15:1 where it states that “A gentle answer turns away rage, but a harsh word stirs up anger.” (God’s Word ©)

I will be sharing a few more thoughts on this subject this week, but suffice to say, it would behoove us all to Stop, Look and Listen to that still small voice on the inside before we fire off a barrage of words that could cause collateral damage in the lives of those we love.  Have a great day.  Stay in tune to His Word, and keep asking yourself… “What am I expecting today?”