Who is the rat?

My life kind of runs in themes these days.  This week's theme started out last Sunday with me forgiving the man who ratted me out to the wife about the affair.  I only talk about this to tell a story, with a decent moral at the end.

I was thinking about this whole concept of ratting someone out.  We have people we trust with secrets, and when those secrets are betrayed, we feel like we've been "ratted out" for our behavior.  I mentioned I hadn't thought of this man in a long time, but for the longest time, I blamed him for the turn of events in my life.  I finally figured out it was my own fault for what I'd done.

If I hadn't done what I did, then the "rat" wouldn't exist.  I was the one that put myself in that position, so ultimately, I was responsible for the "rat".  I had nobody to blame but myself, so in a sense, I kind of ratted on myself with my behavior.  Someone found out about my behavior that shouldn't have and made a phone call to someone else, and here I am today.

So, was the rat right in doing what he did?  In my mind, then, no.  He violated one of the "man rules".  That stupid, unspoken code that men expect of other men.  I would have appreciated it if he'd have called me on my behavior, but it didn't work out that way.  I said the man rules were stupid.  Who are we to make our own rules to justify bad behavior?  He broke the man rule.  I broke God's Commandment.  And I was mad at him?

Where was my anger at me at the time?  I blamed everybody else.  It was the wife's fault.  It was this and that...for the longest time, I admitted it, but never accepted responsibility for it.  Then I figured out it was MY fault because I had a choice and I made a bad one.

Last week, I had this idea for a blog about the What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas & what goes TDY stays TDY thing (for my military brothers).  It never works out that way, though, and there's a reason for that.  Bad behavior is always going to come to light.

One of the many reasons I have happiness in my life is that maybe not at the exact moment, but upon reflection, I can see God working in my life.  I'm in awe of what God can do.  I've created or been responsible for my share of the bad things in my life.  I never really saw though, until the last few months, that for the greater good, I'm going through just enough bad to make me learn a valuable lesson.

I read my Bible a lot these days, and I don't recall the exact passage but it talks about God punishing us, like a father who loves and punishes his children.  I brought a lot of what's happening in my life upon myself.  Not all of it, but enough of it.  I think about how bad it could be though, and can see that God is working His plan for my life now.  I'm actually kind of excited to see where He will lead me.  I know wherever, whatever it is, I'll have what I need, and have something I didn't have 8 months ago, which is a relationship with my God and with Jesus.  I don't have to worry about a rat in my life anymore.

So, why the title who is the rat?  Well, it's my humble opinion that anytime someone has to ask this question, they need not look any further than the nearest mirror.  The rat, the person responsible for whatever it is you're worried about being ratted out for, is staring at you.

God bless you all and have a great weekend.  If you're not busy Sunday, say about 11:00 a.m., there's this neat little church in Ogden and there's room always for one more!