However, they quickly were put to use. The Wasabi peas became the consequence for our kids using a word that's not kind or a word that's not allowed or a word that contains potty humor. I have girls. You'd think potty humor would not humor them but oh my how it does...
We have only had to have the kids eat a Wasabi Pea a few times as it really does the trick in keeping their words clean! They've told me I needed Wasabi a time or two...but somehow I seem to bypass my consequence. I'm cool like that.
The other day, one of my girls was walking out of the bathroom with the grossest look on her face. I asked her what was wrong to which she replied, "I said a bad word so I ate a piece of Wasabi."
I didn't hear her say the word; I would have been none the wiser that she even said anything. But in her heart she knew it was wrong and so she gave herself a consequence for it. Bless her little heart!
I was reading today in 1 John 3 and the scripture just hit me upside the head, as powerful as the taste of a Wasabi Pea in fact. John 3:21 says, "Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence toward God. 22 And whatever we ask we receive from Him, because we keep His commandments and do those things that are pleasing in His sight."
The NLT says it like this, "Dear friends, if we don’t feel guilty, we can come to God with bold confidence. 22 And we will receive from him whatever we ask because we obey him and do the things that please him."
My daughter felt guilty for the word that she used. In response, she gave herself the consequence that is due the action. And then it's done. That's how we try to operate in our home, once the consequence is given, that's the end of it. We try not to re-hash the issue or bring it up repeatedly, the lesson has been learned. Time to move on.
The same with the Lord. When we ask forgiveness, for whatever it is, however big it is, He forgives. There may be some consequences that are due the action, depending on the nature of the issue, but forgiveness is still there. Sometimes we make decisions that leave us with life-long consequences. That does not mean forgiveness is still not present. Forgiveness can be present in the midst of a consequence. Absolutely.
But based on this scripture, the real issue is condemnation. If our hearts condemn us over every sin we have committed, then, according to this scripture, we will not approach God with confidence. Therefore our prayers are going up to God without any weight behind them, there is no power in them if they are not going up to God in faith. And if we are always living in a constant state of guilt, then we are living a powerless and defeated life. And often times we don't even realize it.
Having grown up with such a tremendous root of shame in my life, condemnation comes very easy for me. I can camp in condemnation for a long time before I snap out of it. And sometimes I don't even realize that I'm camped there, because it's easy for it to become a normal way of life. Think about it, it's easy for us to go through our day to day unaware that we are allowing our "heart to condemn" us. Perhaps you have a nagging feeling in the back of your mind, always thinking that surely something is wrong. Maybe you allow your thoughts to dwell in a place they ought not dwell, steeped in negativity. Or you rehearse the past like it's happening in the present. And it's subtle. Because it's simply become part of who you are. Before you know it, you are living camped in condemnation, and you don't even know it.
Friends, when we camp in that place, we have no faith. And life without faith is, well, not life at all. Faith is the essence of everything we do as a believer. Faith is what takes us through the Prison, like Joseph. And Faith is what takes us to the Palace. The Bible tells us that without faith it is impossible to please God. So that tells me that if I allow my heart to constantly condemn me, I'm not pleasing to God. Imagine that! The World tells us the complete opposite. Be punished repeatedly for your actions. Over and over. Rehash it, rehearse it, relive it. But God says, "I forgive you the moment you ask me to! Now let's move on together because THAT is what is pleasing. My child living a joy-filled and free life, that's what is pleasing."
God is pleased when we leave Camp Condemnation. Nothing good comes from staying there. We get dirty. We get stinky. No amount of showering in the wilderness gets all the dirt out. It's not until you leave camp and get home and take a proper shower that you truly get clean.
So today, let's leave that filthy camp. It was never built for us anyway. Let's let go of the things we've done in the past, they don't determine our future. Let's do our best to please God with our lives. Let's do our best to live righteous. And when we don't, let's be quick to repent and leave Camp Condemnation. Let's be people that never let our faith be jeopardized. We need our faith; it's our access to the Almighty God. Faith packs a powerful punch. And for the record, so do Wasabi Peas.
