Like the brakes on a bus
When I was a student I was a bus driver for Intercape. I really enjoyed it and the R50 a day that I earned then was quite a good salary for the time. Something the owner, Johan Ferreira, was very serious about, was safety. The buses were big and fast and a small mistake could cause a major accident. Therefore, we had to know exactly how to control the bus.
The most important thing about such a big bus is obviously the brakes. The brakes had to be well-maintained at all times. Going downhill you had to slow the bus down by using the gears, taking care that the brakes don’t heat up. If you stepped on the brakes all the time, they could heat up and then they simply stopped working. Then it was steel on steel with no ability at all to slow down the bus with possible catastrophic results. When something like that happened, the driver was no longer in control. He could jump on those brakes, the speed will not decrease. Speed takes control of the bus.
There are gravel pits in some passes and at certain downhills. They are put there to give those vehicles with brakes that are not working and drivers who are not in control of the bus a chance to break their speed. In a way the gravel takes control of the vehicle and forces it to stop.
When you drink too much, it’s like brakes heating up. Then there is no stopping you and something else takes control. You say things you never before had the courage to say. You do things your mother taught you never to do. You grow stronger and others grow smaller and before you know it, you’re sitting on your backside with a black eye.
Sometimes friends stop you before you embarrass yourself, but at other times there is no gravel pit at the bottom and you fall down.
18Don’t drink too much wine. That cheapens your life. Drink the Spirit of God, huge draughts of him.
When you drink too much, it takes control of your life. You are no longer in control and cannot determine the outcome. You are not in control of what your tongue and your hands do. All you will have is probably a heap of guilt the morning after.
No, rather give control to Someone you can trust. Someone who knows what it is all about. Someone who will not let you down and leave you with that heap of guilt.
Real joy, real wisdom, real peace, real strength are only apparent when the Holy Spirit is on control.
If you are lacking joy, wisdom, peace or strength, go and look who is in control of your life…
Reflection
Do you have joy, wisdom, peace and strength?
Who is in control?
Do you sometimes drink too much?
Prayer
Lord, I know all these things. I know that I have to give full control to the Holy Spirit, but I struggle. I need help! Amen
