A gasoline engine will not run on diesel fuel. I know that, and yet, several months ago I had to learn it all over. I picked up the wrong fuel can and poured five gallons of diesel into a gas tank. Everything was fine for a minute, but as soon as the fuel pump began to fill the injectors with diesel instead of gas, things went wrong. The truck began to smoke, skip, and finally, it just cut off.
There was absolutely nothing wrong with the truck. There was nothing wrong with the fuel. And yet, when the two were combined, everything was wrong.
I had the wrong fuel in the wrong truck and as a result I was going nowhere.
Management consultant Edwards Deming once said, “Your system is perfectly designed to get the results you are getting.”
When you pour diesel into a gasoline engine, the engine shuts down. Nothing is wrong with the engine or the fuel, but the system is perfectly designed for the results that happen. Gasoline engines are built to run on gasoline.
Do you find yourself struggling to be who you want to be or to do what you want to be or do? Do you find it hard to honor Christ with your life?
Maybe you need to adjust your system.
Consider Philippians 4:8-9:
Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me—practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.
Upon what do you meditate? What do you think about? Do you fill your mind and your extra time with pursuits that are honorable and just? Do you focus on the things that are pure, lovely, and commendable?
Often, the reason we struggle with jealousy, strife, enmity, desires of the flesh, covetousness, anger, and the like is that we live our lives within a system that creates those kinds of results.
If you continue to struggle with sinful attitudes and sinful behavior, it is time to consider the system that is creating those attitudes in your life.
I trust and pray that you are spending time in God’s word daily, but where are you spending your leisure time? What is influencing your thought life?
The fuel we have been created to run on is pure and holy. But, when we fill our lives with worldly pursuits, we should not be surprised that worldly attitudes come out. Garbage in, garbage out.
I filled a truck with diesel, but the great news is that I didn’t ruin the engine. With the help of a friend, I pumped out the diesel and filled the tank with clean gasoline. The truck started slowly, but it started. It sputtered for a minute and it smoked like a freight train for about 15 minutes. But, once the system was flushed clean, it ran as good as new.
Do you struggle to live a life that honors Christ? You can change. There might be some sputtering and smoking along the way. The process may not go smoothly in the beginning, but there is hope.
Redeem your system and change your results.
Photo by Asyrafunk RKTW on Unsplash
