“Character, like a photograph, develops in darkness” – Yousuf Karsh (Canadian photographer)
Why is it so hard to do the right thing? I can remember every time I made a decision to be “bad” and having that feeling of knowing that it was not right. One moment in particular was when I first realized that I had become the person that I had always said I wouldn’t. During some ungodly hour at a person’s apartment that we hung out at often because they were the access point to anything we wanted to indulge in, I had a moment of clarity. As I sat back in the middle of the couch it was revealed to me what I had become. At this moment in my life I was in a highly dysfunctional relationship full of deception and deceit, was using alcohol and marijuana causally, and had opened the gateway to the next level. When I sat back and pondered and scanned the room during this brief moment of sobriety I realized I was doing all the wrong things with all the wrong people – no wonder I was unhappy. Now this moment didn’t last long but it was enough to make me think. First thought – How did I get here? Second thought – How do I change? Third thought – To hard.
So… why is it so hard to do the right thing? Holiness (meaning: dedicated or devoted to the service of God or the church). In 1 Peter 1, as Peter is reporting in his letter he speaks of the importance of being holy. Peter says to roll up our sleeves, put our mind in gear, and be totally ready to receive the gift that’s coming when Jesus arrives. He also says to be self controlled and not to conform to sinful personal desires; be holy in all that you do - or do the right thing. When Peter was motivating and telling his listeners of the importance of being holy and making the right decisions; he knew that it was hard to understand because we are sinful by nature. How can we live holy lives when we clearly live in an unholy world? We should live as strangers or foreigners here and not merely settle down and make ourselves at home in the world.
I watch so many men wasting their lives, not making good decisions – I was one of those men at one time. I used to assume the life that I lived was inevitable, that I was stuck and powerless to change. I had tried lots of times to change but nothing seemed to work. I have a family history of drugs, alcohol, sexual immorality and failure – I assumed “that’s who I am.” I learned to manage my lifestyle and accept it – to the point of celebrating my sinful, immoral life while making it my identity. It took me realizing that I was the problem. That the truth was that I needed to change; that I couldn’t change myself; and that I needed another power to change me – Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit was that power that changed me. It’s the only power that truly changes anyone.
So… why is it so hard to do the right thing? Holiness (meaning: dedicated or devoted to the service of God or the church). In 1 Peter 1, as Peter is reporting in his letter he speaks of the importance of being holy. Peter says to roll up our sleeves, put our mind in gear, and be totally ready to receive the gift that’s coming when Jesus arrives. He also says to be self controlled and not to conform to sinful personal desires; be holy in all that you do - or do the right thing. When Peter was motivating and telling his listeners of the importance of being holy and making the right decisions; he knew that it was hard to understand because we are sinful by nature. How can we live holy lives when we clearly live in an unholy world? We should live as strangers or foreigners here and not merely settle down and make ourselves at home in the world.
I watch so many men wasting their lives, not making good decisions – I was one of those men at one time. I used to assume the life that I lived was inevitable, that I was stuck and powerless to change. I had tried lots of times to change but nothing seemed to work. I have a family history of drugs, alcohol, sexual immorality and failure – I assumed “that’s who I am.” I learned to manage my lifestyle and accept it – to the point of celebrating my sinful, immoral life while making it my identity. It took me realizing that I was the problem. That the truth was that I needed to change; that I couldn’t change myself; and that I needed another power to change me – Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit was that power that changed me. It’s the only power that truly changes anyone.
I am convinced that every man wants to do the right thing. Even though I didn’t know the bible or really understand Jesus, God or the Holy Spirit; I always knew what I was making was a bad decision. That it was going to lead to something worse or would have the potential to end disastrous – I know now that the Holy Spirit is that feeling in our souls that we try to cover up with addictions, distractions and pain in an attempt to make our decisions seem right. We know what is right! We all know deep down that serving our Lord and having a relationship with Jesus Christ is right; why do we massively fail at making the right decisions? – Lack of self control.
Studies show that alcohol and marijuana are gateway drugs, meaning they lead to bigger and more intense actions and addictions. Sexual immorality (the quality of not being in accord with standards of right and good conduct) is the gateway to a life of lack of self control. Throughout the bible there are cultures that raise and fall, groups of people that raise and fall; this occurs when sexual immorality enters the picture and is celebrated. Throughout the bible you can pull references and points of interest to prove a point – I’m not going to do that. I will tell you that taking sex out of the context of what God called it to be, perverts the act altogether. That there is more to sex than mere skin on skin; it is as much a spiritual mystery as a physical fact. God says that “the two become one.” If we want to become spiritually one with God we must NOT pursue the kind of sex that avoids commitment and intimacy; which leaves us lonelier than ever; this kind of sex can never “become one.” Sexual sin violates the sacredness of our own bodies, these bodies that were made for God-given and God-modeled love for “becoming one” with another. Our bodies our sacred and is the place of the Holy Spirit. We can’t live how we want, spitting on Jesus’ bloody face as we speak with our actions that His death wasn’t good enough. The physical part of us is not some piece of property belonging to the spiritual part of you; God owns the whole thing. We must show God in and out of our bodies.
Studies show that alcohol and marijuana are gateway drugs, meaning they lead to bigger and more intense actions and addictions. Sexual immorality (the quality of not being in accord with standards of right and good conduct) is the gateway to a life of lack of self control. Throughout the bible there are cultures that raise and fall, groups of people that raise and fall; this occurs when sexual immorality enters the picture and is celebrated. Throughout the bible you can pull references and points of interest to prove a point – I’m not going to do that. I will tell you that taking sex out of the context of what God called it to be, perverts the act altogether. That there is more to sex than mere skin on skin; it is as much a spiritual mystery as a physical fact. God says that “the two become one.” If we want to become spiritually one with God we must NOT pursue the kind of sex that avoids commitment and intimacy; which leaves us lonelier than ever; this kind of sex can never “become one.” Sexual sin violates the sacredness of our own bodies, these bodies that were made for God-given and God-modeled love for “becoming one” with another. Our bodies our sacred and is the place of the Holy Spirit. We can’t live how we want, spitting on Jesus’ bloody face as we speak with our actions that His death wasn’t good enough. The physical part of us is not some piece of property belonging to the spiritual part of you; God owns the whole thing. We must show God in and out of our bodies.
The close up, the ability to do the “right thing” or make the “right decision” comes from something much deeper than the decision at the time of creation; the ability to make right decisions comes from the ability to have self control. The ultimate lack of self control comes from allowing our bodies and thoughts to be empowered by immorality in most cases sexually. When we have a life that is a destructive cycle, we have to find where it began. We have to find where we first allowed our bodies to be sold off into forms of prostitution in the forms of sex, drugs, greed, or something as simple as course speaking (or cussing). If we are having a hard time making right decisions then we must have self-control – “Summing it all up, friends, I'd say you'll do best by filling your minds and meditating on things true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious—the best, not the worst; the beautiful, not the ugly; things to praise, not things to curse. Put into practice what you learned from me, what you heard and saw and realized. Do that, and God, who makes everything work together, will work you into his most excellent harmonies.” Philippians 4:8-9.
References: 1 Corinthians 6; Philippians 4
Image Reference: http://www.buzz22.com/2010/05/evidence_based_product_management/
References: 1 Corinthians 6; Philippians 4
Image Reference: http://www.buzz22.com/2010/05/evidence_based_product_management/
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