Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you.-2 Corinthians 6:17.
I don't believe I ever finished my last 4 days of blogging which was bad of me so here is one blog to encompass those three days. Lets begin with a story that will act as a metaphor for this entire blog today.
I remember when I watched this movie called "The G.O.A.T." it was about a famous basketball player named Earl Manigault and the character was played by Don Cheadle. In this movie he was a insanely good basketball player who of course played in high school and played in some in college. He ended up messing up his career in college ball because he turned to a habit that would try to ruin his life and that would be drugs. He began using drugs alot and it began to take him into a life he never knew he could find. When he came to the realization that he needed to quit because of all that he was losing he had to kick the habit. In order to do that he had to go through withdrawl, this process would cause him to feel pain like he never felt and even made him sick to the point of vomitting. It was not a pleasant experience to say the least. When he finished going through withdrawl he went back to hanging out with friends and ran into a friend who was still using drugs and he found himself ALMOST relapsing but what stopped him is watching is best friend overdose and die right in front of him. The worst pain one could feel right? Suffice to say, Earl stayed clean for the rest of his life and started a basketball program that I believe is still up and running even until today.
Paul's scripture up above in 2nd Corinthians 6:17 is his encouraging word for the believers not be like the world, but to maintain Christian values (not compromising them) while still living in this world. I submitt to you this morning, we sometimes have to go through WITHDRAWL!! Like a drug user the body develops a dependency on the habit and at first what used to feel wrong now feels right. You are still aware that its wrong but you keep doing it. Why? Because your gaining a dependence on it and most times the habit is a way out. Again, using the metaphor of drugs the dependency is coming from constant consumption of the product, and whats its inside of you thats whats coming out. The user and the dealer may say it feels good and they rationalize. To make it practical we make excuses and blame others for our habits that we know we should not indulge in. But Jesus differently in Luke 6:45 "A good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is evil: for of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaketh" It's in your heart, when you keep indulging its no one else, that person just sparks a recognition of those things inside of you and gives them a way to move. It's easy to say "I lie so much because THEY cause me to lie", or " I hate so much because THEY make me so angry". Why is it they and not I. They should never have any control over you like that and if they THEY do then there is your dependency. I am guilty of this, calling on Jesus, trying to teach somebody about the gospel but my dependency aint on him fully. You see when it's on him I cant and wont blame someone else for my sin, I won't make an excuse for why I can't (and subsequently won't ) get right. The issue is I have become dependent and therefore comfortable with my sin. When we do that we are so dependent on the sin and others that we wait on them to move first and we "find a way out". When we know that we need not induldge these habits any more for our own growth we have to go through that withdrawl. I believe I said it on twitter last night, withdrawl from bad habits can be hard, painful, and even frustating. It can also weigh a ton on you, but it is the cross we must bear in order to see growth. You may feel alone, most times when people see you are trying to rid yourself of those habits they either try to get you to fall or they won't want to be around you as much. Sometimes you could be that person in someone elses life.(think about it). It can be days filled with lonely nights, feeling the urge to want to relapse but experience the battle your spirit man and the flesh and as the spirit of God is overcoming the flesh it will weigh on you like a ton but it all will pass away. You may even hurt inside because you feel that lonliness but for God I say lose it all for his gain in your life. However, those who truly LOVE would never let you go through this alone unless it was absolutely necessary. The point is that God wants you not to desire the attention of the habits or those people, he wants you to desire his attention. We all must walk this walk in our quest to grow stronger in him. It maybe something like over eating or fornicating, or stealing, or lusting or anything. It will benefit you all the more to "seek ye first the kingdom of heaven, and all his righteousness; and all these things will be added unto you"-Matthew 6:33.
Peace to all...God Bless.
