Put Your Oxygen Mask on First | Debbie Taylor Williams

Every May 26, I have fond memories of my mother on her birthday. Early memories, such as her singing and teaching me the motions to “I’m a Little Teapot” fill my mind. Memories of standing beside Mama at the kitchen sink, looking up at her and saying, “I want to be a mommy just like you,” are fresh in my mind. Mother was the first one to introduce me to God. Besides teaching me to daily read my Bible and pray, she taught me about God and His activity in the world. One day, for example, when trying to teach me the concept of God creating the world, she gently placed a brown paper bag over my head in order to darken the room. Then she read, “the earth was formless and void, and darkness was over the surface of the deep; (Gen 1:2) going on to explain how, out of the void, God created the world.

Every June 1, I think about my daddy on his birthday. If you’ve been to one of my Bible studies, you’ve heard me speak of his conversion; that at age 46 he realized he had been playing church; that it was about more than a pastor and sermon; it was about a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. He asked Jesus to forgive him of his sins and committed his life to Christ as Lord and Savior. His life was radically changed. As a young teen, I had the opportunity to see the difference Christ makes in a person’s life. No longer did Daddy “sleep in” or play golf on Sunday mornings. He was the one who was up, ready to get out the door, and go to church. He couldn’t get enough of Jesus and the Bible. Daddy was “on fire” for God. His newfound joy and love for God impacted others and made a huge impression on my life.

Both my parents not only read the Bible, they lived it. As I think about their walk with Christ, I’m reminded of an instruction given on airlines that emphasizes our responsibility in relation to others. “In the event that the oxygen level in the main cabin becomes unstable, oxygen masks will drop. Secure the mask to your head using the elastic band and breathe through the mask normally. Make sure your mask is securely on before assisting other passengers or your children.”

Sometimes as parents and friends, our tendency may be to tell others how they ought to live. However, if we’re not living what we’re saying, it may be like trying to put the oxygen mask on them while we’re gasping for contentment, peace, or joy.

To what oxygen mask am I referring? The oxygen mask of a right relationship with God. The oxygen mask where God isn’t stored in an overhead bin, but rather is invited into your life. The kind where even when you get the breath knocked out of you in a tumultuous relationship or you’re losing financial altitude, God’s there. He’s just as present as the oxygen mask on an airplane and you “put Him on.”

Today, many are hurting; gasping for air, to know what to do, when and how. If we genuinely care about our children and the person with whom we’re traveling through life, isn’t it time we grab the oxygen mask of our salvation, stretch the width of it around our minds, and put it on? When we “put on” our salvation and the Lord Jesus Christ, then we help not only ourselves, but others as well.

How do we “put on Christ”? Begin by putting Him first every day. As you slip out of bed, slip on your knees. Pray, “God, thank You for this day. Fill me with Your Spirit so that I live by Your mind, emotions, and will rather than mine.” Tell God you want to serve Him and His purposes. Go to a quiet place and open your Bible. I like to focus on a different attribute of God every day. Reading verses that explain who God is and His desired relationship to us opens our spiritual lungs to the oxygen of His life, whereby we are renewed within. Pray in relation to God’s attributes in relation to your life, family, friends, and nation. For instance, if I praise God for being love, it prompts me to repent if I’ve been unloving to someone. Having repented, I then ask God to fill me with His love. I pray family and others will respond to God’s love and love others as He loves them.

Following our time of Bible reading and prayer, we can be sensitive to God’s Spirit, who quickens our hearts during the day. For example, after praying that God fill me with His love, I may have an encounter with someone who frustrates me. If I am being sensitive to God’s Spirit, I will be loving in spirit and better able to see the person through God’s eyes. That is what is referred to in the Bible as “living by the Spirit;” and is the opposite of living by our natural temperament. Needless to say, the results of living by God’s Spirit are far more pleasant than living by our natural reactions. Fewer arguments, less unmanaged stress, more peace and joy result when God’s Spirit is breathed in and exhaled through our lives.

My mama and daddy did a huge favor for me. They put the oxygen mask of the God on and then placed it on me. What about you? Are you spiritually impacting your children or only taking care of them physically and financially? Are they drawn to put the oxygen mask of Christ on themselves because they see in you what it looks like to have a living, breathing relationship with God? If not, why not begin today? Put the oxygen mask of Christ on yourself. “Put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provisions for the flesh in regard to its lusts,” Romans 13:14.