The devil is not the nature that is around us, but the nature that is within us.
Every set of temptations that we face deal not with questions of self-control, but questions of faith and trust. We choose not to eat 35 hot wings, 2 large pizzas, and wash it all down with a 64 ounce banocolate (that's chocolate and banana mix, by the way) milkshake, because we have faith that the satisfaction we get from not gaining weight will be more than the satisfaction of flavor. It all comes down to economics. The whole argument between self-control and faith, hinges on an idea based in economics. There is a term thrown around in economics called "Opportunity Cost", which is the cost of the highest priced alternative you give up when choosing something else. For example, the opportunity cost of going to college, is the amount of money you would have gained working during the time you spend in the classroom or studying. However, many people would argue that the money you gain in the long run, from having a college education, is higher than its opportunity cost.
Throughout the Bible, God makes several promises to mankind. He puts limits on desires that He, Himself, coded into our DNA. Many of us, myself included, have often looked at these limits or rules, as a test of our self-control, but a simple investigation will prove this might not be true. If God was just trying to test our self-control, why would He spend so much time making rational limits? Why would God not just choose random things, such as: do not scratch your nose or only clean your house on odd days or don't laugh at things that are funny. All of those would be pretty good tests of self-control, because it's hard for me not to scratch my nose, even when it doesn't itch. If God was only interested in getting us to have more self-control, why give us promises like, "if you do sex my way, it will be more fulfilling" or "if you put barriers around your temper, I am full of justice"? God wants us to put our faith in Him, and not ourselves.
He wants us to have faith that the satisfaction from the promises He gives, will outweigh the opportunity cost. We are so impatient and untrusting, that we want to decide when we get our reward. Someone wrongs me, and it's hard to trust that one day God will make all things right. So, I choose to start a nasty rumor or lash out in anger against the one who harms me. I have a desire for intimacy, but I refuse to believe in God's promise of sex. So, I choose to lust, look at pornography, or engage in pre-marital sexual activity. Self-control is a tool to get what you want, but the problem is, we do not believe that God will provide what we want. It becomes easier to control yourself, when you truly believe that what is waiting for you, is better than what you have. When you believe that God's promises hold more value than the opportunity cost of your sin.
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In order to be entered to win the contest to win a fabulous prize: Click Here.
Pray
That God will help you begin to start trusting in His promises, instead of your own ability to get what you want.
I So Hate Consequences
Friday, January 15, 2010
The greatest trick the devil ever pulled, was convincing the world he didn't exist.
Our inability to see past our immediate circumstances, leads us to act as if the future holds no consequences. We make decisions that in the moment feel as if they are harming no one, or, at the worst, hurting only ourselves. However when the dust settles and the smoke clears from the rubble that has become our broken lives, we look back and understand that the destruction could be traced back to one small decision. Entire friendships are destroyed by one word, marriages torn apart due to one moment of weakness, relationships burn due to the fire of an anger left unchecked since childhood. In order to justify a decision, our minds, combined with our temptations, make us believe that there are no lasting ramifications for our sins, but as we learned on Sunday, that is a lie.
It may not be a direct effect from one decision, but a habit which began because of one decision. Most addicts will explain to you that they never intended to destroy their marriages, lose their jobs, or ruin their lives, when they found their vice. Some of us believe that the things that we struggle with now will be nothing more than memories when we're older; yet, the things most adults struggle with can be traced back to decisions or habits in their past.
If you don't believe that your inability to predict the consequences of your actions is a vital part of your sin problem, trace back the history of every deep regret you have. In the moment that you made that decision, were you planning on causing immense emotional and spiritual problems for yourself? Of course not. No one wants to harm themselves, but because of the evil nature of our hearts, we strive to find ways to justify our sin. Just like Adam and Eve, we want to play God, and rebel against our Creator, in order to satisfy our temptations. They believed that God was just trying to keep them under His thumb; however, we know God was trying to protect us. God's Word is clear on how we should live our lives, but we choose to believe that we know what is best for us instead. If you continue making decisions based on your own understanding or reasoning, you will find yourself faced with heartbreak, again and again. Choose to lean on the understanding of the Creator of the universe, it's possible He knows a thing or two about life.
Explore
In order to be entered into the contest to win a fabulous prize: Click Here.
Pray
For the strength to say no to your temptations, and to lean on your Heavenly Father's understanding, instead of your own.
Our inability to see past our immediate circumstances, leads us to act as if the future holds no consequences. We make decisions that in the moment feel as if they are harming no one, or, at the worst, hurting only ourselves. However when the dust settles and the smoke clears from the rubble that has become our broken lives, we look back and understand that the destruction could be traced back to one small decision. Entire friendships are destroyed by one word, marriages torn apart due to one moment of weakness, relationships burn due to the fire of an anger left unchecked since childhood. In order to justify a decision, our minds, combined with our temptations, make us believe that there are no lasting ramifications for our sins, but as we learned on Sunday, that is a lie.
It may not be a direct effect from one decision, but a habit which began because of one decision. Most addicts will explain to you that they never intended to destroy their marriages, lose their jobs, or ruin their lives, when they found their vice. Some of us believe that the things that we struggle with now will be nothing more than memories when we're older; yet, the things most adults struggle with can be traced back to decisions or habits in their past.
If you don't believe that your inability to predict the consequences of your actions is a vital part of your sin problem, trace back the history of every deep regret you have. In the moment that you made that decision, were you planning on causing immense emotional and spiritual problems for yourself? Of course not. No one wants to harm themselves, but because of the evil nature of our hearts, we strive to find ways to justify our sin. Just like Adam and Eve, we want to play God, and rebel against our Creator, in order to satisfy our temptations. They believed that God was just trying to keep them under His thumb; however, we know God was trying to protect us. God's Word is clear on how we should live our lives, but we choose to believe that we know what is best for us instead. If you continue making decisions based on your own understanding or reasoning, you will find yourself faced with heartbreak, again and again. Choose to lean on the understanding of the Creator of the universe, it's possible He knows a thing or two about life.
Explore
In order to be entered into the contest to win a fabulous prize: Click Here.
Pray
For the strength to say no to your temptations, and to lean on your Heavenly Father's understanding, instead of your own.
Stockholm Syndrome
Thursday, January 7, 2010
I am my own affliction. I am my own disease. There ain't no drug that they can sell...The sickness is myself!
We are slaves. We are all held hostage by something unseen. Unfortunately, we have identified with our captors, and we have become our own afflictions. We were created to be in perfect harmony with our Creator, and we were stamped with the image of God. However, we messed things up, and now, due to the curse of our sin, we are the corrupted and diluted image of our Holy and pure God. We are rebels by nature. Even in the Garden of Eden (living in perfection) we could not help ourselves, we still fought against our Creator. Although, we like to believe that we are just good people, who occasionally do bad things; the truth is, that we are bad people, who occasionally do good things. I know this comes as a hard pill to swallow, but if we examine the evidence, we'll find it to be truthful.
As a race we often like to minimize our sin, and believe that it's not as big of a deal as God believes it is. Well, Jesus won't let us get away with that. We often look at rapists and murderers, and believe that we're good people in comparison to them. Yet, the Son of God puts the rest of us on the same level, by explaining that if we even look at someone who isn't our spouse with lust, then it's the same as adultery or having hateful thoughts or feelings towards someone is the same as killing them. Based off of this explanation, if I am honest with myself I'm an adulterer, a murderer, a thief, a cheat, a deviant, etc... So, with this knowledge, why do we believe that we're good people, when the all-knowing God of the universe just told us we were the same as the "bad people"?
Maybe the key is that we like to view sin as a series of bad habits, which lead us to continue making bad decisions. However, habits have a beginning, and if you fight hard enough, they can have an end. I have a terrible habit of biting my nails, but I can remember a time when I didn't bite my nails. It becomes clear that the individual sins that each of us struggle against are not just bad habits, but symptoms of a much larger problem. I can clean up individual sins, but the temptation to rebel against my Creator still thrives deep inside me. And left to your own devices, you will continually fall into the same old temptations, again and again.
Now, that everyone feels good about themselves, I want to let you know that this isn't the end of the story. There is hope that arises from our broken lives. There is a solution, but it's not a quick fix. This is an overhaul, which relies on you completely letting go of who you are, and becoming a slave to the righteousness of Jesus Christ. You're humanity has led you to destruction, but by asking the Son of God to make you over, you can rediscover the image of God that was implanted in you long before you were born. Maybe you shouldn't feel good about who you are, in fact you probably shouldn't, but you can take pride in what Christ did for you. Even though we live in sin and depravity, the God of the universe loved us so much, that He gave up His own Son as a perfect sacrifice, so that we could live forever in relationship with Him. The truth is, we are bad people, but we serve a God who is Great, Pure, and Holy.
Explore
In order to be entered into a contest to win a fabulous prize: Click Here.
Pray
That God will grant you the humility to understand that we are bad people, but you can make us holy.
We are slaves. We are all held hostage by something unseen. Unfortunately, we have identified with our captors, and we have become our own afflictions. We were created to be in perfect harmony with our Creator, and we were stamped with the image of God. However, we messed things up, and now, due to the curse of our sin, we are the corrupted and diluted image of our Holy and pure God. We are rebels by nature. Even in the Garden of Eden (living in perfection) we could not help ourselves, we still fought against our Creator. Although, we like to believe that we are just good people, who occasionally do bad things; the truth is, that we are bad people, who occasionally do good things. I know this comes as a hard pill to swallow, but if we examine the evidence, we'll find it to be truthful.
As a race we often like to minimize our sin, and believe that it's not as big of a deal as God believes it is. Well, Jesus won't let us get away with that. We often look at rapists and murderers, and believe that we're good people in comparison to them. Yet, the Son of God puts the rest of us on the same level, by explaining that if we even look at someone who isn't our spouse with lust, then it's the same as adultery or having hateful thoughts or feelings towards someone is the same as killing them. Based off of this explanation, if I am honest with myself I'm an adulterer, a murderer, a thief, a cheat, a deviant, etc... So, with this knowledge, why do we believe that we're good people, when the all-knowing God of the universe just told us we were the same as the "bad people"?
Maybe the key is that we like to view sin as a series of bad habits, which lead us to continue making bad decisions. However, habits have a beginning, and if you fight hard enough, they can have an end. I have a terrible habit of biting my nails, but I can remember a time when I didn't bite my nails. It becomes clear that the individual sins that each of us struggle against are not just bad habits, but symptoms of a much larger problem. I can clean up individual sins, but the temptation to rebel against my Creator still thrives deep inside me. And left to your own devices, you will continually fall into the same old temptations, again and again.
Now, that everyone feels good about themselves, I want to let you know that this isn't the end of the story. There is hope that arises from our broken lives. There is a solution, but it's not a quick fix. This is an overhaul, which relies on you completely letting go of who you are, and becoming a slave to the righteousness of Jesus Christ. You're humanity has led you to destruction, but by asking the Son of God to make you over, you can rediscover the image of God that was implanted in you long before you were born. Maybe you shouldn't feel good about who you are, in fact you probably shouldn't, but you can take pride in what Christ did for you. Even though we live in sin and depravity, the God of the universe loved us so much, that He gave up His own Son as a perfect sacrifice, so that we could live forever in relationship with Him. The truth is, we are bad people, but we serve a God who is Great, Pure, and Holy.
Explore
In order to be entered into a contest to win a fabulous prize: Click Here.
Pray
That God will grant you the humility to understand that we are bad people, but you can make us holy.
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