Monday, January 30, 2012

Synergy

Walk into any school in the world and one of the first things you'll notice is the groups kids form.  Generally speaking, people flock to each other.  They make friends and form groups to tackle life together.   Sociality is something hard - wired into our very existence. 
Ecclesiastes 4:9-10 says:  " 9 Two people are better off than one, for they can help each other succeed. 10 If one person falls, the other can reach out and help. But someone who falls alone is in real trouble."  Think about it.  Whenever something really cool happens in our lives, the first thing we (generally) want to do is tell somebody about it.  Whenever there's something that is really important to us, we invite everyone we know; weddings, graduations, award ceremonies, etc.  But what about the bad things?
A lot of times, we walk through life and whenever something bad happens, we seem to shrink into ourselves and not tell anybody.  You don't want to call all your friends and tell them you just lost your job or that you're so far into debt you don't know what you're going to do for food.  That's when you need your friends the most, though.  It's the moment when they can come by you to encourage you and be there to help and comfort you.  Relationships are great when you can go and hang out, but they really shine when you come together to help each other.
Let's take it a step deeper though:  accountability.  Just about everybody wants to hide when they do something wrong.  Even in television we see this:  The young protagonist is playing baseball and breaks a window.  What does he do?  He tries to hide it; fix the glass or just pretend it didn't happen.  People tend to do the same things when it comes to sin.  We let ourselves think we're alone and there's nobody that does the things we do.  1 Corinthians 10:13 says, "No temptation has seized you except that which is common to man."  Sin is easy to fall into, and it's easier to not tell anyone and keep it a secret, but it makes it harder to get out of.  Ephesians 5:11 tells us, "Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them."  Let that sin out!  It's hard to do, but tell your friends about your sin.  I'm not saying that you walk around your town and tell everyone you meet exactly what you do with your free time when you're alone, but find a close friend and just talk to them.  Let them know what you're going through. You may be surprised to find out they go through the same thing.
For a lot of guys, pornography has a HUGE grip.  It's so easy to get into and I would bet that 99 out of 100 guys have gotten into it, and when you get into it, it's hard to get out.  It's something dirty that (most) people just don't like to talk about.  Try finding a trustworthy friend to talk to about it.  When you let it out, it's a lot easier afterwards to keep accountable, and you can have your friend be praying for you while you struggle.  That's the cool thing about accountability.  If you keep your friend informed on when you mess up with any kind of sin, it puts it on the forefront of your mind.  The next time you have the urge to sin, think about having to tell them.  It's not always going to work, odds are you're going to mess up.  People are imperfect.  Romans 3:23 says, "for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God"  The important thing is getting back on your feet when you do.  1 Corinthians 10:13 continues, "And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it."  Whenever you are struggling with sin, find something to distract you from it!  call your accountability partner, pray about it, read your bible.  There are so many options out there.  you just have to find the one that works for you!

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