The Way

Proverbs 14:12

Have you ever experienced an addict at their worst?   They don’t care about anything or anyone more than getting their next high?   It makes sense to outsiders that they are ruining their lives, but the addict doesn’t really care about the consequences of the addiction.  An addict is totally out of control with no ability to help him or herself.  How is your self control?  Do you feel confident in your ability to control yourself in all areas of your life?  What areas do you sense a need for improvement?  Your assessment of your situation matters to this discussion, because it is highly likely you are unaware of your true condition. God has placed eternity in our hearts.  Another way to talk about this is that there is a God-sized hole in our hearts and all our attempts to fill it fail miserably. We still try and we can have fleeting moments of success.  These false fulfillments can give us moments of pure bliss, and though this bliss can be very intensive, these highs become the goal as they become more and more difficult to obtain.  Soon we are working hard just to be at normal.  We all do this, and not just addicts, for our true condition is beyond our ability to fix ourselves.

Your sense of willpower matters.  If you feel you have control over most of what life is doing, you are mistaken and have little chance of improvement.  Can you really get it done when you want to?  Addicts at rock bottom have an opportunity to see themselves as they actually are which is at the mercy of their own weaknesses with no way out, but the rest of us just don’t get it,  Similarly, a rich person often sees no need for God, while a poor person has nowhere else to turn.  I am not arguing that all poor people are righteous and the poor are evil; it is that the poor clearly understand their helpless situation in life.  Successful people who have no relationship with God have a way viewing their accomplishments as a result of their own effort.  They are ignoring all of the breaks (both seen and unseen) that have led to their success.  It is possible to be successful (by the world’s standards) outside of God’s will, so why do life God’s way and what does that look like?  We will discuss this next time: The 10 Most Important Truths You Must Consider