There have been a few times in my life when I have said, “I’ll never ….” and, invariably, it has come back to bite me! One that comes immediately to mind was the infamous, “I’ll never live in a trailer.” Now, I have absolutely nothing against people who live in trailers – – in fact many of my friends and family have, or do, live in trailers. It was just that I felt that “trailers aren’t for me!”

Well, in 1976, when we moved to Phoenix, there was only one place that we found where we could afford to live … yep, you guessed it, in a trailer in a trailer park! I have pondered a number of times why that was the case (I firmly believe that everything in a Christian’s life is ordained by God, and nothing is a coincidence), and the other day God shared with me the answer: When we say, “I’ll never” we are exhibiting more than a little bit of pride. What we are saying, whether we want to admit it or not, is that we feel we are a little bit better than those who do the things that we say we’ll never do. And, as a result, God will humble us in regard to our belief.

Let me share a few “I’ll nevers” with you that I have been exposed to, and the results:

Me: “I’ll never live in a trailer” … You know the results.

A friend, a Police Officer: “I’ll never let my kids wear all black, I know what that leads to” … Yep, his kids often dressed in all black, and, yep, they were involved with drugs.

A friend, a teacher: “I’ll never homeschool my kids” … Yep, circumstances resulted in her having to homeschool her kids for a semester.

One of the things that everyone has to deal with, whether they are Christians or not, is making sure they don’t feel that they are better than others, whether those “others” are a group or a particular individual.

You see, “better than” implies greater value. And, when it comes to God, we all have equal value – – He sent his son, Jesus, to die for all of us. That is how we need to value worth: How much do we mean to God, not what others think about us, or what we think of others! And, you know what? God loves us all the same, whether we live in a trailer, allow our kids to wear black, or homeschool them! So, with that in mind, I’ll never say I’ll never again!!!