Thursday, January 31, 2013
Transformation
It's been said that once you're an addict, you're always an addict. Personally, I think that's ridiculous. I know this because I can say that I used to be an addict, and no longer am. I recently spent 6 months in a home for girls to deal with my drug addiction, among other things. There I learned that I was not only addicted to drugs, I was addicted to a cray life style. I also learned that you don't always have to be an addict, or always "recovering". It's a lie that a whole lot of people buy into, because treatment programs all over the world drill it into their heads. But not all treatment centers allow God into the program. Mercy Ministries does. They base their entire program on biblical principles, and I'll tell you what...it's incredible. They have this saying there, that God isn't in the treatment business, he's in the transformation business. The first time I heard that, I honestly thought it was cheesy. But after a few months, I have found this to be true. God says that we are not destined to live in bondage all our lives, and living under the belief that you are always an addict is living a life of bondage. Sure, some drugs and other things will always be tempting, but temptation doesn't mean that you have to give in. Jesus was tempted all his life, and never once gave in. I believe that with the help of God, people can overcome anything. This includes addiction. Like a lot of people, I have an addictive personality, but with the help of Jesus and people that hold me accountable, I am able to walk in freedom daily. I'm thankful that Jesus loves me enough to set me free from the things I thought would always hold me back. And I'm thankful He gives everyone the chance to experience the same freedom I have experienced!
Wednesday, January 30, 2013
Submission: The Pride Killer
I think it's interesting how often humans fight the concept of parenting. Parents can be obnoxious people, especially to the person who is trying to do life on their own. Humans have a natural instinct to want to do things by themselves and learn the hard way. Parents have a natural instinct to want to be there every step of the way and help the child out. So I guess it would be natural that there would be a conflict. I've been thinking a lot about that conflict lately.
Growing up, I had two very different parenting styles to deal with because my parents were divorced. I had the helicopter mom, and the father who let us learn things the hard way. Experiencing both was interesting. There wasn't a lot of constant guidance to follow. Things were very inconsistent. As a result, I grew up kind of resenting the idea of authority. Anyone who told me what to do, or how to it usually got a mouth full. I won't lie, telling me to do something even to this day still provokes the occasional bad attitude. Definitely a learning process. But back to the point. Authority is something that I believe a lot of people struggle with. But it's not just the struggle of too much authority...it's also the lack of it. A lot of times growing up I was jealous of the kids who had authority figures telling them what to do all the time. I believe that it's natural to want to have a leader in your life. When there is a lack of a constant leader in someones life, a lack of respect occurs as a result. So now, as an adult, I don't respect authority like I should. Ironically, even though I get upset by people trying to tell me what to do, I also welcome the idea of it. But what I find so interesting about all of this is that human authority has a natural flaw because humans themselves are flawed. No one persons authority will be better than anyone elses. God's authority on the other hand is flawless. Yet, I see a huge correlation in the way we respond to god's authority in our lives as we do with human authority figures. We long for Him to guide us, and then get pissed off when He tries. There's a natural want for Him to lead us, and a natural human desire to do it our own way.
Learning about submission I think is the best remedy to allowing God, and people to lead you. I've spent a lot of time over the last year learning about submission. It's hands down one of the hardest lessons I think I've ever had to learn. I'm definitely still learning, but the beginning was awful. I was a hot mess. You could have told me to go left and I would have gone right just because I wanted to irritate you. I fought everything. Slowly but surely though, I learned to trust the people around me. They had great Godly intentions and the things they were teaching me were biblically sound. By learning to trust them, I ultimately learned to trust God. I even got to see the flaw in their teaching. I say this as a good thing, because it further proves that God's authority is the only one that is flawless. People may fail you, but God doesn't. The biggest thing I learned was that by trying to do everything my own way pushes God out of the picture. It leaves no room for Him to do any work in my life. I used to get SO angry that God wasn't doing anything and was convinced that He wasn't even trying. But I was so busy trying to do everything the way I thought it needed to be done, I wasn't even looking for God. Like a good parent, God let me do things my own way and fail...but unlike a parent that doesn't care, He eventually stepped in to show me that I was doing things wrong and showed me the correct way. Failure isn't a bad thing, and God allows us to fail all the time. But He will step in when we ask for His help. I'm a pretty prideful person, so asking for help isn't really in my nature. I usually only ask when I feel like I want to murder someone. The good news is that God is right there, ready to tell me how to do it. Submission kills pride. And it hurts. Learning to submit isn't easy, and usually painful. But learning submission has also allowed me to experience freedom. It's allowed me to learn to ask questions when I need help instead of getting so worked up I quit. I'm still learning to submit to human authority. I even fight God's authority too, but I'm definitely getting better. Right now I'm in place where I have to humble myself daily and submit to authority. It tests me to the limit sometimes. I fight it until I'm blue in the face, but eventually I get to a place where I know what they are saying is correct. A lot of the time I actually knew it all along, but my natural desire to do it my way sometimes outweighs submitting right away.
I don't think any of us are ever going to be in a place in life where we are beyond the point of needing to submit to authority. In a parent child relationship, in the work force, even out in every day life, we all have to listen to The Man. But past that, we are all also accountable to listening to what God has to say about things. As a Christian, it's my job to listen to what God says, but it's also my job to humble myself and listen to what those in charge of me have to say. I think in some ways, submission makes life easier. It takes the pressure off of the need to always be right. It allows room for failure, and it allows room for correction. Submission is a life long lesson, but I think it may be one of the most valuable lesson any one person will ever learn.
Growing up, I had two very different parenting styles to deal with because my parents were divorced. I had the helicopter mom, and the father who let us learn things the hard way. Experiencing both was interesting. There wasn't a lot of constant guidance to follow. Things were very inconsistent. As a result, I grew up kind of resenting the idea of authority. Anyone who told me what to do, or how to it usually got a mouth full. I won't lie, telling me to do something even to this day still provokes the occasional bad attitude. Definitely a learning process. But back to the point. Authority is something that I believe a lot of people struggle with. But it's not just the struggle of too much authority...it's also the lack of it. A lot of times growing up I was jealous of the kids who had authority figures telling them what to do all the time. I believe that it's natural to want to have a leader in your life. When there is a lack of a constant leader in someones life, a lack of respect occurs as a result. So now, as an adult, I don't respect authority like I should. Ironically, even though I get upset by people trying to tell me what to do, I also welcome the idea of it. But what I find so interesting about all of this is that human authority has a natural flaw because humans themselves are flawed. No one persons authority will be better than anyone elses. God's authority on the other hand is flawless. Yet, I see a huge correlation in the way we respond to god's authority in our lives as we do with human authority figures. We long for Him to guide us, and then get pissed off when He tries. There's a natural want for Him to lead us, and a natural human desire to do it our own way.
Learning about submission I think is the best remedy to allowing God, and people to lead you. I've spent a lot of time over the last year learning about submission. It's hands down one of the hardest lessons I think I've ever had to learn. I'm definitely still learning, but the beginning was awful. I was a hot mess. You could have told me to go left and I would have gone right just because I wanted to irritate you. I fought everything. Slowly but surely though, I learned to trust the people around me. They had great Godly intentions and the things they were teaching me were biblically sound. By learning to trust them, I ultimately learned to trust God. I even got to see the flaw in their teaching. I say this as a good thing, because it further proves that God's authority is the only one that is flawless. People may fail you, but God doesn't. The biggest thing I learned was that by trying to do everything my own way pushes God out of the picture. It leaves no room for Him to do any work in my life. I used to get SO angry that God wasn't doing anything and was convinced that He wasn't even trying. But I was so busy trying to do everything the way I thought it needed to be done, I wasn't even looking for God. Like a good parent, God let me do things my own way and fail...but unlike a parent that doesn't care, He eventually stepped in to show me that I was doing things wrong and showed me the correct way. Failure isn't a bad thing, and God allows us to fail all the time. But He will step in when we ask for His help. I'm a pretty prideful person, so asking for help isn't really in my nature. I usually only ask when I feel like I want to murder someone. The good news is that God is right there, ready to tell me how to do it. Submission kills pride. And it hurts. Learning to submit isn't easy, and usually painful. But learning submission has also allowed me to experience freedom. It's allowed me to learn to ask questions when I need help instead of getting so worked up I quit. I'm still learning to submit to human authority. I even fight God's authority too, but I'm definitely getting better. Right now I'm in place where I have to humble myself daily and submit to authority. It tests me to the limit sometimes. I fight it until I'm blue in the face, but eventually I get to a place where I know what they are saying is correct. A lot of the time I actually knew it all along, but my natural desire to do it my way sometimes outweighs submitting right away.
I don't think any of us are ever going to be in a place in life where we are beyond the point of needing to submit to authority. In a parent child relationship, in the work force, even out in every day life, we all have to listen to The Man. But past that, we are all also accountable to listening to what God has to say about things. As a Christian, it's my job to listen to what God says, but it's also my job to humble myself and listen to what those in charge of me have to say. I think in some ways, submission makes life easier. It takes the pressure off of the need to always be right. It allows room for failure, and it allows room for correction. Submission is a life long lesson, but I think it may be one of the most valuable lesson any one person will ever learn.
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