40 Days to Lasting Change by Kyle Idleman

Author:Kyle Idleman
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: AHA, Devotional, Transformation, Change, Awakening, Honesty, Action
Publisher: David C. Cook
Published: 2014-11-07T05:00:00+00:00

‡ parent dad

Day 22

The Usual Suspects

Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, “Let me take the speck out of your eye,” when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.

Matthew 7:3–5

A few years ago, I pulled into a crowded parking lot. After circling enough laps to complete a NASCAR race, I finally found what may or may not have been a compact-car spot. I squeezed my truck in, sighing with relief. Ominous storm clouds swirled overhead. The wind was picking up. I needed to hurry.

As I opened my door, the wind literally took the door out of my hands. I watched my truck door slam into the car next to me, a relatively new-looking Toyota Camry.

I left my insurance information for the owner of the car, thinking I would have to pay for the damages. A few days later, I was on the phone with my insurance agent, explaining how the wind had ripped the door out of my hands. And he said something that shocked me: “Well, this isn’t your fault.” I told him there was no way it was the other guy’s fault because he was in the store at the time.

My agent replied, “No, it’s not your fault, because this is what we call an act of God.”

I said, “Really, this is God’s fault? We can blame Him for this?” And it turns out that act of God is a legal term. So instead of taking responsibility for parking too close and not hanging on to the door tight enough, I got to blame God.

And that’s what many of us do. If your marriage doesn’t meet your expectations; if your child rebels; if you lose your job; if the economy collapses; if there is a famine in the land—we call it an act of God.

Easy Targets

There are many different people the Prodigal Son could have blamed for the position he found himself in, but he didn’t. He could’ve taken on the role of the victim in all of this and said, “It’s not my fault.”

He could have blamed his friends. After all, he spent all his money on partying. It’s safe to assume he probably blew through his money buying drinks for a group of newly acquired friends. When the money disappeared, they did too.

He could have blamed the pig farmer and complained that he wasn’t being treated fairly. Never mind a fair day’s wage, the farmer wouldn’t even let him satisfy his appetite with the food the pigs were eating.

And don’t you think the Prodigal Son could’ve blamed his dad for being too permissive or too passive? After all, what kind of father just gives his child his inheritance when it’s asked for?

Mom and Dad tend to be easy targets for projecting blame.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.