On a recent neighborhood walk, I was amused to see an iconic banana peel lying on the sidewalk. Where do you see that outside of the slip-and-fall cliche in cartoons? Apparently the #BananaPeelChallenge went viral on social media five years ago, and many teens injured themselves attempting to replicate the 100,000+ social media likes one garnered posting a humorous video of his fall.
People with a #FullyDevelopedBrain don’t intentionally try to fall, but it is a risk of which we’re most aware. Physical falls aren’t the only kind we might encounter, though. I used to worry decades ago whether I would be strong enough to stand firm for Jesus under imagined torture from persecutors. Now I know the real danger for me is falling from grace.
That happens when I fall into a performance mindset, making rules for myself. In my imagination, keeping them means I’m “good enough.” I fall from grace when I put faith in what I do instead of in what Jesus did. Perfectionist tendencies make this a constant risk for me. I have to consciously fight to avoid slipping into a performance mindset, which prompts unloving demands and expectations of myself and others.
You may fear falling in some other area. Maybe you’ve always struggled with overeating, addiction, or lust. Our enemy, the devil, studies us and is well-aware of personal weaknesses he might exploit. I recall as a young man traveling on business, the traps the enemy set for me were so obvious as to almost be laughable— the person next to me on a plane leafing through a pornographic magazine and leaving it behind. Or someone planting porn in my hotel room dresser. Even if obvious, temptations may assail with intensity. But we need to know God always, always gives us a way to escape, and temptation is never too much for us (1 Corinthians 10:13).
So how do we walk circumspectly and avoid slipping?
Sidestep the banana peel
I love Proverbs 1:17, which basically says when we see the enemy setting a trap we need not fall for it. Instead recognize your weaknesses and don’t give the devil an opportunity (2 Corinthians 2:11, Ephesians 4:27).
Don’t walk alone
Relationships with mature believers provide a safety net—a valuable place to test your thoughts—and needed consolation and encouragement as you learn to overcome (See Ecclesiastes 4:10).
Know your new identity
You are not “only human!” You are a new creation, endowed with a divine nature and glory! And He who is in You is much greater! (1 Corinthians 6:17, 2 Corinthians 5:16-17, 2 Peter 1:3-4, 1 John 4:4.)
Hold God’s hand
Live by Proverbs 3:5-8. Refuse to lean on your own logic, analysis, or feelings. Don’t process life alone but bring God and His Word into your thinking in every situation. Spend time with God, lean into Him, be attentive to His voice, cling to His hand. (Psalm 63:8 & 139:10, Isaiah 41:10 & 13, Deuteronomy 33:27).
Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy, to the only wise God our Savior, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and ever. Amen (Jude 1:24-25).
Thank you, JB – so much wisdom packed into so few words! And so very true – we are just all unfinished “works in progress”. If we can just learn to trust Him and allow ourselves to be clay in The Potter’s hands… (Attempts to sculpt myself always end in disaster!)