A wise man said this to me long ago.
Whenever I hear someone says, "I will try" or "All I can do is try," this verse comes to mind. I asked one of my students, who was a compulsive class disruptor, if he was making any progress with his behavior. He said, he tries. Of course, that day he never showed any improvements, in my opinion. I believe what he meant was that he was hedging his bets and was still giving himself wiggle room under the guise of change.
Accountability is both a blessing and a curse. We all have good intentions to change for the better, but there is a fear of stretching ourselves outside our comfort zone for fear of failure and accountability. However, when we do achieve success, accountability will have been the catalyst for such a change. But the success only lasts as long as we hold on to the accountability. Thus, double-edged sword.
Synthetic procedures are sometimes used to help us change. But such procedures are short-lived. An obese person who undergoes bypass surgery loses the weight but he must also make a paradigm shift in order to keep the weight off. He must reach deep within their psyche to change his attitude towards food and what causes the addiction in the first place. Absent such change, he could backslide.
While all these sounds good, none of them will really work. Real change must come from within, what I mean by that is more spiritual than emotional or physical. Temptations are only temptations because we have to first be drawn away from our own lusts. There must be both mental and spiritual change. That change is only achieved through Jesus.
Looking into ourselves for inner strength against evil must be the first step to real change. We have to rise above the things of the flesh, the world, the temptations and the filthiness of this world and humble ourselves before God, read the WORD which is our only way to salvation.
(James 1:14 and 21)
Until my next rant... LOVE ONE ANOTHER!
Whenever I hear someone says, "I will try" or "All I can do is try," this verse comes to mind. I asked one of my students, who was a compulsive class disruptor, if he was making any progress with his behavior. He said, he tries. Of course, that day he never showed any improvements, in my opinion. I believe what he meant was that he was hedging his bets and was still giving himself wiggle room under the guise of change.
Accountability is both a blessing and a curse. We all have good intentions to change for the better, but there is a fear of stretching ourselves outside our comfort zone for fear of failure and accountability. However, when we do achieve success, accountability will have been the catalyst for such a change. But the success only lasts as long as we hold on to the accountability. Thus, double-edged sword.
Synthetic procedures are sometimes used to help us change. But such procedures are short-lived. An obese person who undergoes bypass surgery loses the weight but he must also make a paradigm shift in order to keep the weight off. He must reach deep within their psyche to change his attitude towards food and what causes the addiction in the first place. Absent such change, he could backslide.
While all these sounds good, none of them will really work. Real change must come from within, what I mean by that is more spiritual than emotional or physical. Temptations are only temptations because we have to first be drawn away from our own lusts. There must be both mental and spiritual change. That change is only achieved through Jesus.
Looking into ourselves for inner strength against evil must be the first step to real change. We have to rise above the things of the flesh, the world, the temptations and the filthiness of this world and humble ourselves before God, read the WORD which is our only way to salvation.
(James 1:14 and 21)
Until my next rant... LOVE ONE ANOTHER!
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