Grow up

“Life is hard. It’s even harder when you’re stupid.” That’s a phrase I used to hear when I was active duty and, while its tone and rhetoric are negative, the main theme is true. Life is hard and we can make it even harder by what we choose to do.

Take, for instance, the feud between CNN and President Trump. I won’t rehash it here but let’s say neither side appears capable of adult conversation. The difference is one is a politician and the other engages in daily political rhetoric – you figure out which is which.

How about the pipe bomber from Bangladesh who prematurely detonated his homemade 5-inch pipe bomb in one of New York’s city subway passages injuring himself and four others? It’s reminiscent of the jokes told in military circles about the terrorist bomb instructor who dies when one guy tests his device in class. (In case you aren’t aware, most military and police have a very fatalistic sense of humor. It’s a defense mechanism.) While tragic in a sense, that’s definitely one way to make life harder – if one survives.

Take drug use, or criminal activity, trans-gender disorder, or laziness, even. All of these decisions over which we have individual control at least at the outset serve to make life harder when life is already hard enough. Heck, in a commonly quoted set of Bible verses, Matthew the Apostle hints at the difficulty of life by telling us to, “not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” (Matt 6:34, NIV)

But what happens when we find ourselves on the wrong side of stupid? What can we do when we know our choices are wrong but seem powerless to change? What strength do we have once we voluntarily change our own brain chemistry?

Well, it’s not easy, I’ll tell you that. God is the God of all things, but the Bible also warns of the peril of failure, or what Christians call “backsliding” once God’s truth is known.

“If indeed they have escaped the corruption of the world through their knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, only to be entangled and overcome by it again, their final condition is worse than it was at first. It would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness than to have known it and turned away from the holy commandment passed on to them. Of them the proverbs are true: ‘A dog returns to its vomit,’ and, ‘A sow that is washed goes back to her wallowing in the mud’” (2 Peter 2:20-22, Berean)

Life is hard. It’s even harder when you’re stupid. To know the love of God and return to sin is the epitome of stupid. I’ve done it. You may have done it. Welcome to the club – you got the t-shirt. Now grow up, start digesting God’s Word like a mature Christian, and go wash the t-shirt.

That’s right, being stupid is a tough condition, but it doesn’t have to be fatal. While the Bible warns us against such poor choices, it also gives us the hope that God will not leave us in our forsaken state if we elect not to die in our sin. God made us “in his own image.” The Bible is pregnant with images of forgiveness and repentance and second or third or seventy-seventh chances. Why? God made us in his own image. He foresaw the corruption in The Garden, the need for Christ’s crucifixion, and the weakness of man in this fallen paradise. God knew some of us would be strong and sin little, and some of us would be weak and sin much, and He planned to free us from whatever pit we’ve dug ourselves into. (Matt 18: 21-22, Lam 3:21-23, 1 John 1:9, 2 Pet 3:9)

First, recognize that you are not alone. No, Paul clearly says in Romans that we have all “sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” (3:23, NIV). Even Paul, who was markedly one of God’s most effective evangelists, had flaws that he prayed for God to remove. However, God’s response was to instruct Paul to live in grace. (2 Cor 12:7-10) So, no, you are not alone.

Living in grace and choosing continually to sin aren’t the same thing, but God’s solution for stupid choices looks a lot like his plan for Paul so it’s a good place to start. Start with repentance and recognize that God hasn’t forsaken us; rather, He sits in wait for us to rely on His strength and turn away permanently from that sin that so markedly mars our lives. If you’re stuck in addiction, or you’ve surrounded yourself with enablers who support or who make equally bad choices, God’s strength and grace are still sufficient.

Don’t get me wrong – it’s not easy. There is a reason we choose images like “digging yourself into a pit” to describe the difficulty of escaping bad choices. Without help, you’ll never climb out of that pit. The answer is back in Matthew and it’s just the start of recovery.

“But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added unto you.” (Matt 6:33, Berean)

For those of us stuck in our rut or trying to escape our own pit of despair, starting is the hardest part. Seek God’s face. Read His word. And try. Just try. The first step – the first denial of that craving – the first choice to not be immoral – that’s the hardest. But once we’ve taken it our goal of freedom from sin is one step closer. Don’t look back at what’s behind or at the turmoil around; rather, look ahead. Behind is death. Around is trouble and chaos. Ahead is life. Ahead is Christ. And don’t get discouraged if you take a step backwards. Two steps forward and one step back still makes you one step closer to your goal than you were when you started.

If God is for us, who can be against us?

(Photo is a screenshot of Abraham Hunter's "Never Forsaken" - www.abrahamhunterart.com, www.facebook.com/abrahamhunterart)