Spinning Plates with C.J.

"They probably don't have this on TV anymore, but when I was a kid I remember watching variety shows that sometimes included a popular act known as the Plate Spinner-a guy who balanced several plates atop long flexible rods and kept them all spinning. One by one he would carefully position each plate on a rod and give it a furious spin, until the stage was transformed into a small forest of plates, wiggling and swaying on their sticks. By the time eight or ten plates were in motion, the first plate was slowing down and wobbling dangerously. The spinner would rush over and, with remarkably skilled hands, instantly return the plate to top-speed rotation. Then on to rescue another wobbling plate, then another and another...That's a helpful picture of how legalism can hijack a Christian life. The life of a legalist can become as frenetic as the plate spinner's performance. The plates we spin are various spiritual activities-such as Bible reading, prayer, or sharing the gospel-that are good and vital in themselves when pursued for the right reasons. But often without realizing it, we allow a dangerous shift to take place in our mind and heart. We change what God intends as a means of experiencing grace into a means of earning grace."

C.J. Mahaney, Living the Cross Centered Life