Day 2402 of the 7 day Bible verse challenge.

Proverbs 12:15 NIV

We've been talking about a few of the worthless things in life that do nothing but keep us distracted and prevent us from growing in Christ. Without question, one of the most worthless and downright dangerous of them all is this arrogant thought that we have it all figured out. That mindset not only doesn't do anything for us, but it keeps us from learning because we think we already know everything we need to know. So when it comes to the possibility that we don't know something, or Heaven forbid, that we might be wrong, we just don't know how to handle that.

There's this newish hobby running rampant where everyone comes up with their own truth. I say newish because it's probably been around for a while, but it has sure picked up steam the last couple of years. People have decided that real truth, God's truth, common sense kind of thing just doesn't really fit what they want. It doesn't allow them the latitude to do as they wish because of things like consequences and the reality of making mistakes. Who needs to be burdened with reality and consequences when you can choose to ignore all that and run around like a mindless chicken with its tail on fire pretending that everything is okay?

It's just so much easier to decide for ourselves what's right. Doing everything we want under this guise of power and authority is a much bigger boost to the ego than the humble path of reality. God may have already set in stone (literally) what is right and true and holy, but that was a long time ago and we all know just how fond of history our society is these days! After all, why submit to someone else's definition of what's right when we can make our own up as we go? Yeah, that definitely seems like a much wiser and more independent way to live.

Too bad that it's going to lead straight to a painful crash when the real truth turns out to be unavoidable. But it will sure be fun while it lasts, right? I guess maybe that's the problem. Fools love fun. They love what makes them feel good. They love burning right past the idea of consequences and responsibility toward whatever they want. Fools prefer to make their own way no matter the cost because that sense of pride and power gives this shot of adrenalized euphoria that they need to feel good about themselves. But friends, all of it forces us to overlook this very simple and very real truth:

God isn't changing His mind.

So we better change ours. The fact is that we don't get to decide what's right. We don't get to run through life doing whatever we want without ever being questioned. We don't have the ability or the intelligence level to know everything. So we really shouldn't live like we do. Doing so will only keep us blind to the damage that's being done in our hearts and minds by living carefree. I understand that it makes us feel more important to convince ourselves that we get to call the shots. But it doesn't make it real. It's just a lie that keeps our minds focused in the wrong direction and keeps us from actually improving.

I know that nobody wants to be smacked upside the head with the reality of our mistakes. We don't want to accept the truth that our version of right might not be right. But we can either keep walking that worthless and delusionary path of thinking we know best or we can turn onto the path that actually helps us. The fact is that we need advice. We need help. We need to stop thinking we can find our own way and realize that Christ is THE way. Thankfully, He's right there ready to help get us back on the path that leads to Him. But we have to be willing to lay ourselves and our pride down because they'll only get in the way if we don't.

#LeaveNoSoulUntold