Condemnation Vs. Conviction

But thanks be to God that, though you used to be slaves to sin,

you have come to obey from your heart the pattern of teaching

that has now claimed your allegiance. You have been set free

from sin and have become slaves to righteousness.

(Romans 6:17 – 18)

When an airline recently lost my friend Holly’s luggage, I was elected to go to the lost luggage office and see what could be done. The woman behind the counter saw me coming and held her hand up with a quick and cutting, “Don’t even come in here until you’ve looked through the pile to the left.”

So much for flying the friendly skies. I dutifully looked through the pile of homeless luggage and there wasn’t one suitcase that looked anything like Holly’s. So I proceeded to walk toward the office again.

“You didn’t look!” yelled the woman behind the counter. “I told you to look through that pile.”

I swallowed. Hard.

“I did look and I can guarantee you the piece of luggage I’m looking for isn’t there,” I said.

She rolled her eyes, motioned for me to approach her desk, and continued to do everything in her power to act as if losing Holly’s suitcase was somehow my fault. I dealt with it. And dealt with it. And then got tired of dealing with it.

“Look,” I snapped, “I am the customer here. Your airline lost our luggage. I wish I didn’t have to be in this little office right now. But I am because it is your job to help me. And that’s exactly what I need you to do … your job.”

I didn’t raise my voice. But I did raise my intensity. I let the situation dictate my reaction, and I walked away feeling frustrated but justified. Until an hour later. I had this nagging sense I’d blown it. I started thinking of several of my gentle friends who never would have talked sharply or gotten caught up in their frustration: Amy wouldn’t have acted that way. Samantha would have used this as a golden opportunity to love the unlovely. Ann would have given so much grace, a revival would have taken place right there in the lost luggage office and years later this lady would be sharing her testimony of how everything changed the day that kind woman came to her office.

Ugh. Shame slithered up close and whispered, “Look at you and all your Bible studying … what good is it all? What good are you?” The heaviness in my soul left me with this sinking feeling that I would never really be able to change. And a familiar thought ran through a well-worn pattern in my brain: I’ll probably always be a slave to the raw emotions that catch me off guard.

What a lie.

If you’re believing this same lie, hang on to this truth: Just the fact that you’re reading this book is a sign of great progress. Refuse to wallow in the depressing angst condemnation brings. On the other hand, embrace any conviction you feel. Condemnation defeats us. Conviction unlocks the greatest potential for change.

Conviction is a call to action, like the warning light on the dashboard of a car. What call to action can you embrace today to make even more imperfect progress? As for me, I’m deciding in advance to have compassion on people like the woman at the luggage counter. Obviously, something hard in her life caused her to display the attitude she did. When I imagine her hurt, I soften my reaction. Indeed, conviction leads to the greatest potential for me to change.