Held Captive by the Should's

Many times, my life is dictated by the things I should do. When I was in school it was, "I should do my homework now, I should go to bed before 2 a.m., I should be practicing right now" and on and on. These are generally good ideas to do anyway, but my life was quickly filled with the things I should do and not the things I could do. Yes, I should start writing my paper more than a week before it's due, but I could be spending time with friends and taking advantage of an opportunity to build relationships that will never be available again. And when I was doing what I could instead of the things I should, I was filled with guilt.

My first prison break from the "should's" was when I decided to start reading Harry Potter. [I haven't read #7, if you have, don't be a spoiler!] I lived on a college campus with a very nice academic library. I had access to a lot of scholarly materials. However, I decided to take a stand against what I should read and what I could read. So I read a Harry Potter, a book that had captivated the pre-teen audience. It was an amazing experience. Yes, the books are very engaging, but I found a great freedom in doing something I wanted to do instead of doing something "They" say I should.

"They". Who is this illusive "they" that seems to control what I do with my own time? I don't know!! But whoever "they" are, they have an extreme amount of influence over my decisions. Do I really mean to let them have so much control? Did they earn the right to have such an influence or did I just take a passive role in my own life and allow "they who shall not be named" take over? Shouldn't Jesus' teachings have more influence over me than a group of stubborn ideals with no credible foundation?

I think about this as I program activities for the upcoming year. Am I doing these things because I should or because I could? I find the best way to break free from the should's is to simply ask "Why" or "Why not?"
We are going to start at 9:00 a.m. with a speaker.
Why?
Because that's how we always do it. That's just how things should work!
But why? We could start with some games to get people relaxed!
Because that's not how things should be done!

Matthew 5:43 says, "You have heard that it was said, 'Love your neighbors and hate your enemy.' But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven."

Jesus could have also said, "You have heard it said that you should, 'Love your neighbors and hate your enemy.' But why? You could love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you!"

My goal is to not do what I should.
My goal is to do what I could and see where God leads me!