The enemy within! Your worst enemy is yourself. Save me from myself! Ever say that? I’m sure you’ve heard it. I am my worst enemy? Why?
We always fall short of our best intentions. We fail ourselves. We fail our children. We fail our spouses. Everyone does. No one can claim otherwise. Who shall save us from our selves? Can we save ourselves; if so, how? We can always try to “make things right,” but what about irreparable damage we may have done along the way? There are just some things that cannot be made right again: e.g., driving under the influence and taking the life of a family or child because of it. How does one repair that kind of damage?
We are inconsistent. We do not practice what we preach. We do no live up to our own standards. Our children are the first to point this out to us. And so we say to them, “Do as I say, not as I do.” We have rules and values that we embrace and preach and teach to our children, that we ourselves regularly break. We say, “Just tell me the truth. Be honest for once in your life!” Then we turn around and tell our own little white lies, half-truths, and outright lies—with full self-justification of course! What makes us think that our children will do better or should do better than us?
Even the best of us can become self-absorbed. For example, ask yourself, why do you exist? Or why do your children exist? Now imagine answering the first question by saying: “I exist in order to please myself. The world should revolve around me. I should have what I want, when I want, and how I want it, my way. It’s all about me!” Few of us would ever say this, as adults. Yet, even as adults, who hasn’t actually behaved as such, at various times in their lives? As to your children, would you ever say, “My children exist in order to please me and satisfy all my desires for love, recognition, honor, and pride. In short, my children exist in order to meet and serve all my ego needs.” Would you ever say that? Yet, how many parents are guilty of doing exactly that?
So, if we do not exist simply to please ourselves, why do we live? Another way of asking the question is: What are you about? What is your life’s aim, its purpose? What will be the outcome of your life at life’s end? If you succeed in life, how will that have been measured—by money, things, position? Just what is the essential nature of actual success?
For the sake of argument, consider “Judgement Day.” No doubt we will be judged for our actions, what we have done. But will we not also be judged for whom we are, what we have become over the years—our character? Indeed, do not our actions stem from who we are? Likewise, will we not also be judged for our intentions, what we purposed? The intentions behind our actions make a big difference as to whether they are to be applauded or appalled. Furthermore we are likely to be judged for our ignorance as well. You’ve heard of the saying, “Ignorance of the law is no excuse for breaking it”? It has to do with willful ignorance. You didn’t want to know because you wanted to avoid responsibility. And that is no excuse!
Finally, have you ever done something bad? I mean really bad, something that would horrify you if anybody found out. Do you have guilt, real guilt; the kind of guilt that settles-in and sinks deep into your soul? You knew it was wrong; you knew it when you did it. But in spite of it, you chose to do it anyway. Many will have to admit, yes, they have. Yet, when it comes to being good or bad, we humans tend to grade ourselves on a curve rather than in absolute terms. We think, “Well, at least I’m not as bad as…!”
That’s why. That’s why we need a Savior. See, the sad truth about human nature is that we cannot really self-repair. There are no self-help courses or books or action-steps that we can take to turn ourselves into perfect little saints. Indeed, even if there were, most of us would rather NOT take steps to become “the perfect little saint”—it would make us very unpopular for one. We also think that it would be just too boring to be so. We’d rather be befriended and liked than to be worshiped and respected from a distance.
Thus, as Jesus said, “Can a bad tree bear good fruit?” No! It cannot. And so, for us humans good and evil are relative. It is only by comparison with others that some of us could think of ourselves as “almost perfect in every way.” True, some are better than others, others are far worse, but no one is perfect. But for those of us that all too easily see ourselves as not-so-bad or, in fact, pretty good. Think of standing before an all Perfect, Holy, and totally Righteous God in Judgement. Then ask yourself, are you sure you do not need a Savior?
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