I am reading a book by well known Christian Counselors : Dr. Henry Cloud and Dr. John Townsend. I am reading one of their books called; Safe People - How To Find Relationships That Are Good For You And Avoid Those That Arent. They talk about how God created a Safe World but that changed when sin came into the picture. Sin came into the picture when Adam and Eve gave into the temptation of Satan to deny their humble dependence on the Creator. In the book they share 4 dynamics that are seriously destructive to our safety. 1) - We are envious. 2) - We think we are self - sufficient; 3) We think we are entitled to special treatment; and 4) - We transgress against Gods laws. Something I am relating to and struggle with quite often is number (2). We think we are self - sufficient. I am going to share here some of what they write because I have experienced it; The Laodicean church (spoken of by Jesus in the book of Revelation in the bible) pretended they had no needs and were confronted for it: You say, I am rich; and I have acquired wealth and do not need nothing. But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked (Rev. 3:17). The problem is we often teach self-sufficiency as a positive character trait. Its common for hurting Christians who reach out with depression, anxiety, marriage problems, and family issues to be told, You dont have enough faith or You arent victorious enough. We think the person who doesnt have problems (or hides his problems) is a model of maturity. This is a far cry from what Jesus taught in his parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector. The screwed-up, needy tax man cried out about all his sin and neediness to God, and went home justified (Luke 18:14). The Pharisee, however went home empty-handed. How does our self-sufficiency ruin safety? Primarily by preventing us from experiencing our impoverishment. People who have it all together are not hungry, or thirsty, for God or others. They do not feel a lack within when they are alone or in distress. They do not connect with God or other people, because they do not experience any need for it. End - They also list an example that I will also share: In my first decade as a Christian, I (John) hung around all sorts of groups, theological persuasions, and personality types. I suppose I was searching for the kind of believers with whom I fit, and who seemed to fit me. Pat of that journey involved a guy named Harry. I respected Harry. He seemed to have his spiritual act together. He was one of those people whod been spending at least an hour a day in devotions for years. He witnessed regularly and taught a Bible study. He had strong convictions, and hed done it the hard way: by searching the Bible, not by piggybacking on someone else. I respected Harry, but I didnt always feel safe around him. I found that as long as my life was together, we got along. But if my weaknesses leaked out, Id have to endure a lecture, or, what was worse, a feeling of disapproval. So I hid my flaws and remained victorious. The problem was, in small ways, I started becoming a Harry junior. I presented my strong side to the world and stayed away from failure. And I adopted Harrys theology, which was to evaluate all your actions by their value to the kingdom of God. If your action helped people spiritually, it was good. If not, it was at best a waste of time, and at worst it was out-and-out destructive. Harrys warped approach to spirituality did not take into account the actual components of good relationships: love, belonging, trust, togetherness, and so forth. These qualities, however, are also a great value to the kingdom of God (Matt. 22:37-40.). End - I know this is long. Bare with me... I would have to say for me that the issue of Relationships have been my greatest struggle in life. How I LONG for loving and SAFE relationships in my life. Be it in all areas.... home, church, work, family. The cry of my heart is; Lord, CHANGE ME. With Thanksgiving tomorrow and the amount of time we will be spending with family and friends .... and the STRUGGLE that often comes during holidays in these relationships.... I pray... that God can renew my mind and help me understand and walk DEPENDENT on HIM. NOT independently ...which is a lie. I dont have to be perfect. Its okay to be weak and cry out for help. And I dont want to be OFFENDED by the weaknesses of others. I dont have to hide my flaws in order to be loved and accepted. Remember the lie is; We think that the individual who doesnt have problems (or who hides his problems) is the model of maturity. Remember this is NOT what Jesus taught. Jesus taught that; In our weaknesses we are made strong. Independence from God is the Lie. From the beginning. Amen. Happy Thanksgiving ~
Posted on: Wed, 27 Nov 2013 17:21:31 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015