Have It Your Way

The memory of my first job in high school set off a thought. I worked at Burger King and since I love to eat, this job proved to be a blessing for me. During that era, Burger King provided our lunch or dinner depending on the shift worked. Yep, I consumed my fill of whoppers with cheese, fries and coke. Heaven!!!

But the memory triggering my thought centered not on the food, but Burger King’s slogan. See, you could order the standard, traditional or established Whooper. Then again, the Have It Your Way slogan emphasized the idea of customization. They urged you to add or remove any of the basic ingredients to your hamburger. In other words, between the sesame seed buns, you get your whopper the way you want it. My perfect order?

A Whopper with cheese… ketchup, mayo, pickles and onions. Add extra lettuce and tomatoes, but absolutely no mustard!

Many of us desire to Have It Our Way when it comes to living this life. We prefer not to live according to the standard or established book of life, the Bible. We prefer to customize—adding or removing parts of scripture in order to live the way we desire to live. This made me consider my perfect order. I thought about it… what about my life? If I could Have It Your Way, my perfect life might look something like this:

Lord, I would like a Life with cheese, please. Add extra ketchup, mayo, lettuce, and tomatoes. Hold the pickles, and onions, but absolutely no mustard!

Translation…

Lord, I want the ketchup—everything sweet and tasty to occur in my life.
Lord, I want the mayo—things to be clean and go smoothly. Things that add flavor.
Lord, I want the lettuce—things to be crisp, fresh, green and new.
Lord, I want the tomatoes. But not just any tomatoes, but the big ripe red ones—things that are ready to go. No, not the green ones. I don’t want to patiently wait for them to grow and mature.
Lord, most of all, I want the cheese—the premium. I want everything super good in my life. I know it cost extra for the cheese, but it’s equal to a rich life, not just an ordinary one.

That sounds great doesn’t it? But that’s not all…

Lord, I also want you to hold the pickles—leave out anything sour or bitter.
Lord, hold the onions—all the trials and tests that bring pain or tears.
Lord, hold the mustard—really because I just don’t like mustard. Basically, I don’t want you to give me anything in this life that I don’t like.


Sigh…


Sad isn’t it. See, the sesame seed buns represent my birthday and death day. The burger represents my life between the buns. But instead of trying to have it my way, I ought to just say, Lord, You order my life for me. Give me both the sweet and sour, the good and bad, the smooth and the rough, the trials and the premiums. Give me what You know is good for me. I know my life (the burger) is held together by your hands (the sesame seed buns).  When it’s all customized by You, I will be a Whopper of your glory.

I don’t know about you, but I’m glad I don’t get to Have It My Way in this life. I would overindulge in things not healthy for me and run away from trials designed to grow me and ultimately give Him glory. I trust Him to order my life for me and have it His way. The truth be told, Jesus tells us this in so many ways no matter what we think or try to do. He simply says, “Go ahead and try to have life your way, but in the end, I will HAVE IT MY WAY!”  So, I’d rather just submit and bow to His way now. Why? Simply…