When Self-Help Fails You
James 1:13-15 Whenever you feel tempted to do something bad, you should not say, “God is tempting me.” Evil cannot tempt God, and God himself does not tempt anyone. You are tempted by the evil things you want. Your own desire leads you away and traps you. Your desire grows inside you until it results in sin. Then the sin grows bigger and bigger and finally ends in death.
Yesterday we saw that the global self-help industry is worth over $US 45 billion annually. That’s projected to grow to $US 70 billion by decade’s end. Judging by the how much people keep spending, over and over again, you’d have to wonder how much of a difference it’s making.
Look, I’m not suggesting for one moment that it’s all rubbish. Albeit that there are some charlatans out there only after people’s money, of course there’s some good advice too.
But have you ever tried this self-help thing? You identify something in your makeup that’s not right … something you want to improve. You get some advice, you pull yourself up by your bootstraps, you tell yourself things’ll change … but you just slip back into the same old behaviours again.
Don’t worry, you’re not alone. I think we’ve all been there. But … why?
James 1:13-15 Whenever you feel tempted to do something bad, you should not say, “God is tempting me.” Evil cannot tempt God, and God himself does not tempt anyone. You are tempted by the evil things you want. Your own desire leads you away and traps you. Your desire grows inside you until it results in sin. Then the sin grows bigger and bigger and finally ends in death.
It’s all about the desires of our heart. You can’t change your behaviour unless you change what you want. And the consequences of those desires get worse and worse … and worse. So when self-help fails you … go to God. He will help you change the desires of your heart.
That’s His Word. Fresh … for you … today.
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