• Be continually grouchy with your family and expect them to love, honor and want to be around you.

• Demand miracles from your staff at work and expect total loyalty from them - and to just love working for you.

• Be a Christian who consistently gives God less than He has instructed in Scripture, and yet expect Him to pour extravagant blessings on your life.

• Treat your body like a filthy worthless trash can, and stuff every kind of unhealthy food or product into it, then sit around and wonder why you feel lousy so much of the time.

These examples are just a few illustrations of “It Just Don’t Work That Way, Dummy!”

Here’s how it really works, dummy. Family. Originally designed to be our Safe Zone. A place of encouragement, forgiveness, acceptance, and patience. When you are constantly ignoring everyone, or coming through the door spewing anger and resentment - after unending rounds of this garbage your family will probably agree with the first person who quietly mentions disowning you.

And your workplace? Not one of you unfair, demanding business owners pay your employees enough to get them to outright lie and say, “My boss? Absolutely the best there is! Kind, cheerful, understands that we are not perfect robots and has reasonable expectations of us employees! Everyone just loves working there!”

Christians. You really believe that You alone, without the blessings of your God, got you where you are today? That you owe Him nothing? He has promised to bless you, yes, but He also promised those blessings according to your commitment to Him.

And everyone of you that inhabits a human body … surely you understand the concept of ‘garbage in, garbage out?’ A steady diet of sugary desserts, fattening foods, and processed meats - combined with your snacks of drugs and alcohol while you veg on the couch? Definitely not the recipe for feeling great and on top of the world.

But, it definitely is your choice. We live in a country where you and I are free to choose our lifestyle and the way we treat people. You just need to be prepared for the inevitable consequences of your carefully selected decisions. I would suggest that you have an Emergency-Go-Bag filled with your worthless foods and beverages standing by the back door. So that when your family has had enough of your behavior, you will be ready to lurch that weak, broken body out that door.

And you detested, unreasonable business owners? Remember that you were already warned, when your employees begin filtering into your office with their resignation notice in hand. Giving reasons ranging from, “Sorry, but my dog is too lonely with me working 83 hours a week” to “I’ve been offered a better position working for the local Hate-Miser for minimum wage, so I’m outta here!”

Like the title says, life just doesn’t work well that way … Dummy.

Send any response to andybowman839@gmail. com. Podcasts are available at Coffeetimecolumn. com.