"Riverbanks in Our Lives"

What do you have when a river levee is breached?  A river run wild.

Think about life.  The riverbanks of character are what keeps one's life flowing in the right direction.  Failing to maintain those banks make great the possibility of ethical failure.  It is but a few decisions made without concern for character that will breach the levees of one life and it will run out of control.

Think about relationships.  The riverbanks of correct boundaries are what keeps one's relationships flowing in the right direction.  Failing to maintain those banks make great the possibility of destructive relationships.  How often an enabling person and/or an enabled person selfishly breach the bounds of propriety in relationships.

Think about society.  The riverbanks of Law are what keeps society flowing an orderly direction.  Failing to live within the Law brings about anarchy and rebellion.  A very chaotic culture results when the levees of Law are breached.

Think about faith.  The riverbanks of Scripture and doctrine are what keeps one's faith life flowing in the right direction.  Failing to maintain those banks make great the possibility of religious failure.  Extremes of faith and doctrine behaviors come when the levees of faith and doctrine are breached.

Think about the Holy Spirit.  The riverbanks of Scripture are what keeps the ministering work of the Holy Spirit flowing in the right direction.  Failing to maintain those banks make great the possibility of spiritual extremism.  Genuine fanaticism (not just spiritual expression based in one's personality type) comes when the levees of Scripture are breached in this area.

Thank about your life.  The riverbanks that have been listed along with others are what keep one's life manageable and moving in right and correct directions.  They are there to keep one's life from running out of control.  What do you have when any of these things are breeched?  A life run wild, spilling into other lives, running a muck, chasing errant ideas of faith, and/or following after spiritual extremes.

The more I think about it, the more I have come to realize that the only way to maintain the riverbanks of one's life is through balance.  Balancing one's life in faith and the operation of the Holy Spirit.  Balanced in relationships with God, others, and then one's self.  Balanced in life.

As someone, perhaps Abe Lincoln, once said, "It is the path of least resistance that causes men and rivers to run crooked."  So it is that it is the genuine levees of life that keep us from following that path of least resistance.  What is a life that has followed that path?  A life best described as chaotic!