Are You Riding the Brakes?

    A dating couple rented a bicycle built for two and went out for a ride. After a few miles, they came to a long steep hill. It took a great deal of struggle for the the two of them to complete what proved to be a very stiff climb. When they got to the top the guy in front turned to his girlfriend and said, “Man, that was a hard climb.” The young girl in back innocently replied, “Yes it was! I was so afraid we’d roll back down that I kept the brakes on all the way up!”
    Are you peddling forward or riding the brakes?” This could be asked about a number of areas of you life.
    What about your marriage? Are you peddling forward or riding the brakes? Are you an encourager? Are you looking for every opportunity to compliment, praise, and build up? Or do you look for every opportunity to “win”, or to “get even”, or “show her how wrong she is”? Do you spend as much time expressing appreciation as you do displeasure? How you answer these questions reveals a lot. Many spouses will say things like, “There’s not much good to be said.” When they do, the questions are answered – You are riding with the breaks on. Your marriage problems are not your spouse’s problem, they are yours!
    What about work? Are you one of the most dependable employees the company has? Are you the one to turn negative conversations into positive? Do you turn the gossip into praise? Are you happy that the company makes money off of you? Or do you look for what you can get out of them. Are you the secret sore spot who sows discord in the lunch room? I hope you are not riding the brakes.
    Do you see how this concept can be applied to most areas of life? Are you peddling for the church or riding the brakes? Maybe this could be a new theme question in our circles. A great test question in just about every situation could be, “Am I peddling forward or riding the brakes?” Or how about this one, “Am I be the kind of person I’d want riding/peddling with me?”