Non-negotiable

non·ne·go·ti·a·ble

/ˌnä(n)nəˈɡōSHəbəl/

adjective

adjective: non-negotiable

1. not open to discussion or modification.

   "the essential features of the constitution are nonnegotiable".

Ask yourself these questions:  What are the non-negotiable things in my life?  What do I revere?  What is my ultimate joy? Finish the sentence: Without _____________, I am nothing.  

Dangerous thoughts.  Dangerous waters to tread here.  Because what we love defines who we are.  What we love shapes us, what we revere we resemble, either to our ruin, or our restoration.   

So, you ask, what do I love?  I thought about this, and, while I would love to provide some profound and innately good and selfless answer, the truth is oh so much uglier.  Because, most of all, I revere, love, chase after, yearn for the approval of others.  I crave acceptance,  people to see my heart, to know my true intentions, to NOT think ill of me or misunderstand me.  

How sad.  
How pitiful.  
How selfish.  
How prideful.  
How human.

So what SHOULD be my non-negotiables?  Love.  Love God.  Love my neighbor. Period.  

I'm working on that--it's a bit like cleaning house.  I dust and mop and vacuum and still, there are the dustballs that hide in the corners, under the bed, and on top of the refrigerator.  Spider webs in the corners of the ceiling, dead bugs in the light fixtures, rings on the coffee table where someone left a wet glass for too long.  Eventually I will get it all, clean it all, throw all the dirt out and be made shiny and clean and new, but I am not there yet.  A work in progress.  But a new creation in Christ.  The old is gone, the new is here.

And that, my friend, is truly non-negotiable.