If blowing it were to be courses in a college degree program I would have several Doctorate's on my resume! Not to mention more than the one book I've written on the subject. I don't like to make excuses except when it benefits my delusion that I'm not to blame. Not the case here today with this subject. If ever there was truth in "forgiving 7 times 70" I am the case over and over. But I get ahead of myself. I've begun to engage road rage. I've cussed at people. I've broken promises. I've lied to those who I loved and who love me. I've stolen, harbored resentment, and hated all in the name of "me." There are other things I've done that I won't print here. You have your list and a lot of it probably looks like mine does. There are people who seem intent on not learning from their mistakes as well as successes. Sometimes I'm that person. Why did I turn out this way? What is it that takes place in my brain that I blow it? Why do I blow it so often?
Scientists tell us that we use less than 1/10th of our brain. What does the other 9 percent do? One of my problems is that I think and analyze too much. After all Freud once said, "A cigar sometimes is just a cigar." It's in trying to figure out actions I've been tempted to take or have taken that bog me down and prevent change to take place. I'm, it seems, forever making amends for something I have either done or not done somewhere with someone. All this blowing it, analyzing it and acting upon the new information is a waste of time and focus. What if, novel suggestion, I were to put the cart after the horse and simply do what was right the first time? Wow! When I first became a Christian Jesus transformed my life miraculously sparing me the need to fight off my addictions or to abandon my old way of living. Things not from God seemed to drop off me as the burden was lifted. I spent the next 2 years living free from all of that "stuff". Then the bubble burst. I chose to sin. Not your "what have I done?" sin; but rather the "I know this is wrong and I'm going to do it anyway for my own pleasure." That relationship I had been enjoying with Jesus was forever changed. I had, like Peter, betrayed my best friend, Jesus.
"Blowing it." is both intentional and unintentional. Unintentional is no different from intentional if carried out. Both are less than and a major affront to our Christian witness. I've turned off more people than turned people on to Jesus simply because of my actions. William James said, "We may have a God in heaven who forgives us our sin, but mankind does not." Wise man. It's the former that should be the focus; God in heaven than the later; mankind. Taking our eyes off the goal is detrimental to our development and surrender to Christ. When a race car driver pulls his dragster to the start line his focus changes completely as he looks towards the goal line and nothing else. His focus doesn't change again until he crosses that goal line. Perhaps that's part of the solution to our leading question. Focus so intent we cannot see any distraction much less engage them. The goal of the drive on the freeway is to get to point B with little or no problem. Why should I care if someone is cutting me off or driving in a manner that irritates me? Why should I care if my boss plays favorites or my friend chooses to dis our relationship? Why should I care as long as I have my primary best friend in Jesus? You get the picture.
Key to not repeating the past is learning from it. Learning not what could have altered the situation but rather learning what took our eyes off the goal, Jesus. We get hung up on all the mundane crap that takes our attention away from Jesus and keeps it on the problem that brought about our blowing it. The problem was taking our eyes off Jesus. The result was blowing it. You see, there are only two classifications of sin. There is the sin that leads to death (blasphemy of the Holy Spirit) from which there is no forgiveness. Then there is ALL other sin. Doesn't matter what as all other sin can be seen as a sin against God and nothing more. All sin is against God for the believer. Because God wishes relationship with us, he forgives us many times over and remembers our sin no more. Mankind does not. My job is to return to God, not blow it, and to show Christ to the world through my thoughts, words and deeds. Reflect Jesus to the world around me. Should we keep ourselves in good relationship with God, the other relationships in our lives will be good. Even with ourselves. Why? Because everything in our life reflects either our relationship with God or our relationship with the world.
It seems so easy to say but so hard to do. Remembering your first love, your first focus and your only love, Jesus, is the only thing that matters. All other things are lesser and included. Do good and you will be blessed Do evil and you won't be blessed. Simple. Keeping that right focus on the goal which is in Jesus keeps us from "blowing it" in the first place. A heart content in Jesus is a heart content with their world.
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