Life on this earth can be one big story of major contradictions. Those who have ever known what it is to love another person are constantly perplexed by how the very same person who can cause our hearts to melt, can also be the very same person who hurts us in unimaginable ways. If you own a car, you know well that, as much as vehicles can give us wonderful driving pleasure as we cruise on the highway, it’s no fun when they break down and we are forced to break the bank to fix them. I can name any number of the things we love in life and the story of contradiction would undoubtedly be the same.
I’m quite convinced that the very same thing applies to our own behaviour. There are times when we stand back and look at we have done and have no choice but to smile because we really have done a good thing. Sadly, the opposite is true. Moments come in life where we are shocked by our own cruelty, meanness and deceitfulness. We stand face to face with the reality that we are capable of doing some pretty bad things. In thinking about this, I was reminded of the famous press conference by boxing legend, Muhammad Ali. Here’s a snippet of it:
Truth is, though, that the kinds of bad things Ali was talking about here were more about showmanship than about any really horrible things of which he could be ashamed. When a man has just lost his temper and smacked his child in a fit of rage though he wouldn’t ordinarily do that, that’s a bad thing. When a young woman, depressed about failing a job interview, goes out and has a meaningless sexual encounter with a guy she doesn’t know at all, that’s a bad thing. There are times, for most of us, when we are faced with the reality of how bad we can be. So what do we do?
The first thing is to recognize that we’re not alone. In some way or at some level, we all fall short. One of the most prolific writers of all time and the man responsible for writing the biggest chunk of the New Testament in the Bible said this:
“For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing.”
Even those who, by human measurement, are called saints really are not. We should always be real about our failures but, at the same time, not settle in them and accept them, especially if they destroy us and hurt others. If you are overwhelmed by your own weaknesses, we believe in a God who wants to welcome you and walk with you. That can’t happen until you own up, take responsibility and act. We want to share the message of this God with you. If you’d like to know more, click on the banner below.