Institutionalized

From The Shawshank Redemption

Red: These walls are funny. First you hate 'em, then you get used to 'em. Enough time passes, you get so you depend on them. That's institutionalized.
Heywood: I could never get like that.
Prisoner: Oh yeah? Say that when you been here as long as Brooks has.
Red: They send you here for life, and that's exactly what they take. The part that counts, anyway.


Have you become "institutionalized". Are you surrounded by walls, perhaps walls that you have grown so comfortable with that you don't even realize they are there? Have you become complacent? Do you challenge yourself? Do you challenge what you hear or read? Do you test everthing? I ask this only because I have been "institutionalized" before and looking back it is scary how easy it is to slip into that mode.

We need to ask questions. A favorite author of mine wrote, "Questions bring freedom. Freedom that I don't have to be God and I don't have to pretend that I have it all figured out. I can let God be God. Questions are rooted in humility. We need to ask questions and humble ourselves in order to pursue God."

God is a mystery. He has given us an invitation to seek Him. He has removed the obstacles through His Grace. He has given us His Spirit as a built in sounding board to test our questions.

"Questions are not scary. What is scary is when people don't have any."

Peace,
Lion's Den Man