Imagine yourself drowning in an ocean or lake… you are gasping for air and for your life. Suddenly, there’s a life raft! A life raft and an outreached hand! You just got rescued! You are overwhelmed with joy! You are thanking God like crazy! You are safely hoisted onto the boat, and then splash! You jump right back in!
This example may sound crazy, but it happens all the time. I’m not talking about being saved from drowning, I’m talking about getting out of a dangerous, life-threating, destructive, stupid, or just plain bad situation… and then foolishly “jumping back in.”
We have all seen that friend who is in love. They are being treated like you-know-what, but they are in love as they say. They finally get the shocking and blatant evidence that their mate/ cheater/abuser whom they are so in love with, has given them a black eye or STD. Guess what? They get mad, break up, and within a week, they’re back in his arms.
Everybody has either been in or witnessed that type of love sickness, but what about other areas? How many times has someone been rescued financially, and they “jumped right back in” to an even worse financial situation. People consolidate credit cards and jump right back into debt. They file bankruptcy and go on a shopping spree. A parent helps their grown kid with two months rent, and then he uses half of it on a new gaming console. For the ladies, they might even have gone shopping for some jeans, shirts, belts, earrings, shades, make-up, shoes, handbags, bracelets, happy drinks all around, and something special for their man! This is the same as that drowning someone who jumped right back in the lake immediately after being rescued!
What about homework? The deadline is looming. You have been procrastinating like crazy. You are doing everything else besides homework, including sleeping. Now you are about to enter class. You’re hiding your face. You take a seat way in the back. You start acting sick. You are sick! Why? Not because you missed the assignment, but because you got lucky and then messed up again! Meaning, the professor moved the deadline, and you blew that one too! The new deadline was your second chance! It was your life raft! But oh, the bed was calling… Oh, the club was calling.
What about that person who has been warned repeatedly about being late to work? They are given one final warning, or they will be fired. You would think that was their “one more chance” opportunity; that this would be their “life raft.” You would think they would realize that everything is hanging on their employment. Their rent, car note, health benefits, food, even deodorant and yes, the almighty iPhone they love so much! Logic says, “You have one more chance to save everything you own and enjoy.” Foolishness keeps hitting the snooze button after a long night out! That’s the same long night out after you were warned earlier that day! Now you’re fired and Verizon wants their monthly take and their hidden fees!
When former football star O.J. Simpson was acquitted of murder charges back in the 90s, as controversial as it might have been, he got a second chance at life. Some say he got away with murder, literally. For those who were too young in the 90s, it was the trial of the century. It divided the entire country. Fast forward to 2008, the same O.J. gets convicted of armed robbery and kidnapping after charging gangbusters with associates into a Las Vegas casino. It was over some sports paraphernalia! Crazy! In 2017, he was paroled after serving nine years in prison over some football junk! Nine years! O.J. was known for jumping tackles back in the day, now he looks like the fool for “jumping back in the lake.”
Who knows why people take second, third and fourth chances for granted. If anyone ever tells you they have never done something stupid, twice or three times after getting a “life raft,” don’t believe them. Human nature has a way of making a fool out of all of us, myself included. Raise your hand if you and your man were ever in a panic waiting on your “monthly” that was two weeks late. Raise your other hand if this is the third time this year! Oh, passion has found its fool!
So, when it comes to jumping back in the same lake you just got rescued from, you better make sure you have some options you can live with. Until then, cannonball!
References
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