Fleetmack.com - Think, Trust, and Act

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"I wrote my friend a letter with a highlighting pen, but he could not read it, he thought I was trying to show him certain parts of a piece of paper." --Mitch Hedberg

Think, Trust, and Act
12-30-02

I must at first state that I think I have a few of you confused. These things I have been writing lately are truly my own thoughts and feelings, but they aren't inspired by thought alone. Several people and books have contributed to all the things I write. I don't plagiarize, but at the same time I do not cite any of these books or anything - so to do that for once, this writing is based on/inspired by the book The Purpose Driven Life written by Rick Warren. Stephanie and I are reading this right now for a "class" we're taking. Anyways, I strongly recommend this book to all of you, it's so easy to read. It's set up in "days" instead of chapters - and you read one chapter a day. no more, no less. One chapter a day. Somehow my idiotic self has managed to skip around the book and read multiple chapters in a day, but that's just me - I'm bad at following instructions....which leads me to our discussion.

Following instructions is something I've never been good at. Whenever you see those entertainment centers and TV stands and desks and everything else that is wood grain that you buy at Target and put together yourself - think of me, I'm the idiot who throws out the directions and tries to put it together on my own. The desk then either gets put together incorrectly or is destroyed. I always manage to screw something up, and it's so easy - the directions are right in front of me. Hell, if I speak Swahili or French the directions are still interpreted for me and right in front of me! Why can't I just follow them and get it right?

As if you didn't see this coming, the Bible is the same way. God has given us His word, it's right in front of us! I read His word and understand what is right and what is wrong. Even after knowing this, I seem to throw it to the side and try to piece life together by myself. If I were to foreshadow my future, I'd say it could turn out just like that desk unless I go and get the directions again. I'm not going to spell out the rest of that for you, I'm learning I can't just write everything - take a minute and think of that for yourself...........

According to Warren in his book, there are three things you need to do to abide to God's word. The first two are the easy ones. 1) Accept His word's authority. 2) Assimilate His word's truth 3) Apply His word's principles. In a nutshell what do these things mean? Well, to accept His word's authority is saying you need to realize it is the ultimate "book of laws". It means no more making excuses. We can say things like "everyone is doing it" or "I've always done this" or "it seems logical and feels right." Well, to be blunt and to add some swearing to this writing - those excuses are all horse shit. His word is the ultimate authority despite anything else you can say or think in response to that. To assimilate His word's truth means to read, research, study, and reflect on the Bible itself. Before you can live the Word, you must know the word. And lastly, apply His word's principles. Now this one seems kind of obvious, we already know what He wants us to do, so the third one is easy right? Just do what the Bible says. Sound simple? Well, maybe for you. It is pointless to study and know the word of God unless you put it into practice. So I read the Bible. So I go to church. So I go to a Bible study class. Who the hell cares? Satan could care less if I do these things, just so when all's said and done and it's time to act - if I still sin while having done all these other things, Satan still wins the battle. It's like pitching a no hitter into the bottom of the ninth when the game is tied 0-0, then a guy hits a home run off you to win the game. The rest of your pitching performance was useless, you still lost the game.

So by believing these things, we see now that we must change our actions, we must act how God wants us to act. You don't just grow, you have to want to grow. Kind of like the old joke - how many psychiatrists does it take to change a light bulb? Just one - but the light bulb has to want to change. I think I heard that on a Cheech and Chong movie once, whatever. The point is - All the tools are there, but none of it matters until we do something to change. What good is a light bulb if the switch isn't turned on? It's pointless and dull. What is important to you in your life? This determines what you do with your life, how you make your decisions in life, and where you will end up in life. I only wish each person could say Jesus is what they wanted in their life. Think about this - if drinking and hanging out with your friends is what you want in life, look how easy that is to do! Just think of if Jesus was even more important to you - your decisions would all be made to please Him. That may have made no sense, but it did to me so it's staying written.

"Behind everything you do is a thought". Then what are you thinking when you sin? What are you thinking when you do good?

The things we do as human beings are determined and influenced by what we think. Our actions are based on how we think. The solution is right there - if you are making bad decisions and acting badly - you must change the way you think. Change your priorities. Remove yourself from situations in which temptation has the opportunity to overcome you. Change the way you think. You can apply this to anything in life, not just your Spirituality. Think about it - if you go on a diet and cut out all greasy foods you were used to eating, when your diet is over, will you still think the same things as those old foods? Will you think they are unhealthy or will you think the same about them as you did before your diet? Take your bad habits and rid yourselves of them. Once they're gone it's hard to go back to them. Just start realizing what is right and what is wrong and that will transform your thoughts. Once your thoughts are transformed, you will act in accordance to your new thoughts instead of your old ways. The Bible is your study guide and syllabus, go by it.