There is a story circulating in the mainstream media right now about a young girl from Louisiana that has been dubbed “Gorilla Glue Girl”.
She used Gorilla Glue (a permanent glue) in the place of her normal hair spray. Which resulted in her hair being glued to her head for over a month.
I watched in horror as she showed all the different ways she tried to get the glue out of her hair to no avail. (I know how frustrating it is when I get Krazy glue on my fingers and it doesn’t come off right away so I could not even imagine the dread of having permanent glue in my hair).
My heart broke for her, because not only was she trying to deal with the reality of her hair being permanently glued, she was being ridiculed for her bad decision.
I could empathize with her, because I know what it’s like to make a bad decision and wish you could take it back. Nevertheless, there are a few lessons that we can learn from her situation.
Lesson #1 – One bad decision can get you stuck.
Tessica (GGG) had been gracious in admitting that she made a huge mistake. She probably never dreamed that this one decision was going to keep her hair stuck in the same position for over a month.
Often we make decisions out of our emotions, desperation, or just plain ignorance not realizing that we may be glued to the consequence of that decision for an extended period.
The best thing to do is to own your mistake. Pride and shame will keep you from admitting that the reason you’re stuck is because of your bad choices. But you are not the first person to make a bad decision and you certainly won’t be the last (Romans 3:23). Repent to God for your irresponsible choice, ask God to forgive you, and then allow God to heal you from the inside out (1 John 1:9).
Keep in mind, there are always consequences to our decisions, but God is merciful in that he will never leave us, even in the midst of our trouble.
Lesson #2 – There is always a solution.
A plastic surgeon offered to help Tessica with her debacle free of charge. He was confident that he could assist her in being set free from her hair bondage and set her free he did. With marginal damage to her scalp, and a 6-week healing process she was able to get back a part of her life that she probably feared had been lost.
When they asked him how he went about finding the solution he made this statement about the Gorilla Glue product “any compound can be broken down”.
It made me think about sin, how it is a part of our DNA and how it keeps us in bondage. However, because of the sacrifice of Jesus and his death, burial, and resurrection, we are no longer slaves to sin.
The solution for sin was Jesus coming to destroy the works of the devil (1 John 3:8). His blood, applied to our lives, breaks down the compound of sin.
When we repent and believe in the gospel of Jesus, we are regenerated (Titus 3:5), the old sin nature is extracted from our DNA and we are made into new creations (2 Corinthians 5:17). A glorious gospel indeed!
No matter the problem, there is always a solution. The ultimate solution is Christs’ forgiveness. And through repentance and forgiveness “any compound of sin can be broken down” by the power of God!
Lesson #3 – Don’t live in regret
A reporter asked Tessica what she was going to do with her hair after her healing process and she said go back to wearing it as she did before.
You can allow the pain of your mistakes to haunt you or you can learn from your experiences and make better decisions. Rehearsing what you should have, could have or would have done can create a cloud of regret that will follow you around for the rest of your life if you allow it.
If you have repented of your sin, you don’t have to go around feeling guilty or condemned (Romans 8:1). Although we may feel convicted when we sin, we are not condemned, but that is not an excuse to keep sinning. As Jesus said “Go and sin no more” (John 8:11).
It’s been said that “experience is a good teacher” and it is. But we can also avoid problems in our lives by learning from the mistakes of others.
God is always teaching us life lessons, to grow us to maturity and help us to think critically. And if we pay close attention, we can catch a glimpse of his wisdom and his goodness in everything, even Gorilla Glue.