"We are meant to be free enough to really love God and one another, but true freedom can happen only if we completely trust in God's ultimate care for us. And to really trust God, we must begin to relax our grip and ease our concern about all the lesser sources of security to which we have become attached. This can feel risky indeed. In our culture, the three gods we trust for security are possessions, power, and human relationships. To a greater or lesser extent, all of us worship this false trinity." (Citation below)
I haven't always preached Grace, but this list causes me to call to mind those who turned from God under that other ministry I once utilized. Leaving a true relationship with God, they eventually poured themselves into acquiring possessions, chose to be their own god by deciding what was best for them and their future, and brought others into their deception for sexual gratification and the hope of finding love, all the while hurting and being hurt. The most tragic thing about all of that is that they settled for something good, as opposed to the best that God had for them, if only they had trusted Him.
May, Gerald G. Addiction and Grace: Love and Spirituality in the Healing of Addictions. San Francisco, CA: HarperOne, 2005. Print. p. 32. The above quote may have been edited for clarity and understanding outside its context.
Possessions, Power, and Human Relationships
Gerald May says that these three things are manifestations of how we trust. As I think about these, I ask myself how Grace has brought change in each area, as contrasted with how culture says we are to live:
- Possessions:
- Culture: accumulate more stuff to demonstrate status and find happiness.
- Grace: consider yourself a steward with resources to bless others.
- Power:
- Culture: live as a predator and manipulate and use others for selfish reasons.
- Grace: consider yourself a protector and help others to attain wisdom for finding healthy, happy lives.
- Human Relationships (closely related to the area of Power, relationships are needed for the exertion of Power, but here the distinction is more intimate):
- Culture: fulfill your needs through others, rely upon them for true meaning in life, while driven by fear of losing them.
- Grace: consider your union with Christ as first and foundational, allowing all other relations to be independent of you.
I haven't always preached Grace, but this list causes me to call to mind those who turned from God under that other ministry I once utilized. Leaving a true relationship with God, they eventually poured themselves into acquiring possessions, chose to be their own god by deciding what was best for them and their future, and brought others into their deception for sexual gratification and the hope of finding love, all the while hurting and being hurt. The most tragic thing about all of that is that they settled for something good, as opposed to the best that God had for them, if only they had trusted Him.
It didn't have to be that way.
Grace=Peace,
Jeremy
May, Gerald G. Addiction and Grace: Love and Spirituality in the Healing of Addictions. San Francisco, CA: HarperOne, 2005. Print. p. 32. The above quote may have been edited for clarity and understanding outside its context.
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