CONCERT OF PRAYER

Pray Week 914

“Our own Folly”

When a man’s folly brings his way to ruin, his heart rages against the Lord. (Proverbs 19:3)

An energy bar manufacturer started a ‘Share Your Adventure’ campaign and is listing new challenges on the back of the wrapper for people to share via Twitter. They have also added the text: ‘Adventure Safely – All Risk and Liability is Yours’. It is sad that we all have to be cautious to protect ourselves from foolish lawsuits in today’s society.

Is it the policeman’s fault that you got a ticket for speeding? You were speeding after all. Is it the restaurant’s fault that you scalded yourself by spilling hot coffee? Would a posted warning sign about the coffee being hot have prevented you from spilling it in the first place? I think not. The bottom line is that people generally do not want to be held accountable for their own actions and are always looking to cast the blame for their actions on others. How many attempts to kick the football does it take before the blame lies with Charlie Brown and not Lucy?

We have become a society of unaccountable victims. It all began with Adam when God asked him if he had eaten the forbidden fruit. It was a ‘Yes’ or ‘No’ response type of question. Yet Adam responded with an answer that placed the blame for his actions on Eve and upon God. “…Have you eaten of the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?”The man said, “The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit of the tree, and I ate.” (Genesis 3:11-12) Notice that in Adam’s victim mentality it was ‘her’ fault for giving him the fruit. Notice also that it was God’s fault for giving him the woman in the first place.

People suffer a variety of personal issues and addictions and until they accept the responsibility for their own actions, they will not be able to effectively deal with and overcome these issues. It is true that we are shaped by the synergy of our past experiences, both good and bad. However, there reaches a point in all our lives when it is time to let go of the past, learn from it and move on. We must not let our past destroy our present or future. We must no longer default to blaming others for the choices we make.

What personal issues weigh you down? Look in the mirror and accept responsibility for your own present choices and actions. If I choose to overspend my income I have no one to blame for my indebtedness but myself. If I choose to over indulge in a variety of ways, I have no one to blame but myself when I reap the ruined life I have sown.

Seek out Godly counsel if you want to change but do not know how. Most Christian churches can help with access to a variety of support groups but you have to make the choice to be accountable for your actions. God will meet you there. He will give you the strength and the guidance you need to be accountable to Him and responsible for your own life choices.

For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith. Who is it that overcomes the world except the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God? (1 John 5:4-5)

May God give you the grace and strength to be an overcomer and a victim no more.