Traps

Family Trap

Dr. Mike 2021, Traps , ,

Luke 14:26

“If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple.

Family is the basic building block of a healthy society. Within the healthy family, one learns values, builds character, shares the joy of victories and sorrow of defeats. The healthy family teaches us the importance of relationships and provides a safe haven for each member. The strong family lays the nucleus for a strong society.

On the other hand, a dysfunctional family leaves its mark on each individual member which carries with them throughout their life. When a child is raised by a single parent, or an abusive parent, those memories and scars are imprinted and carried in a person’s entire life. A destructive family weakens the social fabric of any nation.

Yet Jesus, raised by a Jewish family structure whose culture emphasizes the importance of family stated that HE is more important than family.     

Yes, family is important; probably the most important social fabric in your life. Yet as a disciple of Jesus Christ, family takes a secondary priority of roles. The trap is believing family is all you need.

Typically, God, family, and country are three values many Americans adhere too. And they are good, wholesome values worth keeping. The tripping point though is making family or country the central-core of one’s life rather than God. We see this happen often when children leave home and start their lives apart of their parents. Mothers who typically have made their children the central focus of their life have a greater difficulty handling the transition then those mothers who have lived a life with the Triune God their central-core of living.

When God is the central-core of life, our identity is found only in HIM. We do not confuse our roles with our identity. The role of father and mother do not identify us. They are temporary assignments. Our identity is found in Jesus Christ which is permanent and the foundation of our life. When we place him above family and ourselves, we reap the benefit of having a meaningful relationship and guide for the rest of our life. And that includes a guide with helping us navigate the difficult challenges of parenthood.

When we compare Jesus with our family or ourselves, the attitude of hate which Jesus used, is a strong language that demonstrates the priority of placing HIM first in relationship with ourselves and with family. When Jesus is the central-core of our lives, everything else falls into its proper place. Life takes on more meaning and purpose.

In fact, the road of discipleship with Jesus is one adventurous journey worth pursuing that includes your family, friends, and country. Yet, to be effective, Jesus needs to be the central-core of your life. Enough said.

Rooting For You in Christ!

Dr. Mike

Encourager & Author of e-Books

 *  Dancing With God: Life-Giving Theology Explained
 *  Great Business Emulates a Good God
 *  Be Radical…Follow Christ!
 *  Simply The Messenger
 *  Unequally Married

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Money Trap

Dr. Mike 2021, Traps , , , ,

…give me neither poverty nor riches;

    feed me with the food that is needful for me,lest I be full and deny you

    and say, “Who is the Lord?” or lest I be poor and steal

    and profane the name of my God.

Proverbs 30:8-9

Money is simply the medium of exchange between two parties. Somewhere back in time, someone came up with the inspiration that paper supported by something of value was easier to carry around for trade rather than livestock, land, and crops. Eventually, paper money became the norm.

Yet money is the god of many. Those who have it want more; and those who don’t have enough want more. And then there are those who treat money as an evil necessity and the cause of world problems who believe everyone should have more than enough without having to work for it.

Then there are times when our pride blinds us into thinking that money is evil and poverty is good. Others feel guilty they have abundance; they are OK with those less fortunate to rob and steal from others. Then there are others who make their life mission to earn more than they can spend in multiple lifespans. They never have enough and too much is their baseline.

Today’s Scripture came to my attention as a young man entering the business world. Still young in the faith, I wasn’t sure how to relate with money. This Scripture helped me to stay focus. I enjoyed working, earning, and spending on those items which brought me pleasure. Besides, food, shelter, clothes, car, and entertainment, I also gave to causes which were close to my heart. My desire was not to be wealthy, retire early, nor live a lavish lifestyle. Instead, I chose to walk with my Lord and learn how to live the life HE gave me.

In the prayer Jesus taught his disciples (Luke 11:3), he requests from his heavenly Father only food for today. He shared parables of people who invested their time accumulating food where they had to build larger barns (Luke 12:18) to store the crops for future period and emphasized they risk abandoning their walk with God. Jesus also said the rich will have greater difficulty entering God’s Kingdom (Luke 18:25). However, HE also emphasized that nothing is impossible for God.

Life is living between two extremes. Being rich or being poor are two extremes of wealth. For many of us, we will learn to live life in between. And I am OK with that. For it places us right where today’s Scripture highlights the better place to be. Enough for today so I continue to lean on the Triune God, favorably walk with HIM, and bring HIM no shame but honor and glory for WHO HE IS.

Money is a necessity in today’s world. God knows what we need and will always provide the means to satisfy our needs. The money trap is emphasizing the cash rather than the God of wealth.  God owns everything. He can easily open the gates of prosperity for you to enjoy. But HE also knows prosperity can easily destroy you unless you have the character to manage the wealth. HIS purpose is to prepare you for eternity; not live comfortably and satisfy every insatiable desire you have. When you come to know HIM, you will also come to know yourself and realize the wisdom of living between the two extremes.

Rooting For You in Christ!

Dr. Mike

Encourager & Author of e-Books

 *  Dancing With God: Life-Giving Theology Explained
 *  Great Business Emulates a Good God
 *  Be Radical…Follow Christ!
 *  Simply The Messenger
 *  Unequally Married

Encourage a Friend…Share Today’s Message!

Copyright 2013-Present | Abbaco LLC | All Rights Reserved

The Victimhood Trap

Dr. Mike 2021, Life Tools, Traps , ,

Job 7:1

“Has not man a hard service on earth, and are not his days like the days of a hired hand?

1 Timothy 4:10

For to this end we toil and strive, because we have our hope set on the living God, who is the Savior of all people, especially of those who believe.

Victimhood is anti-God. The mindset blames others for their situation and wants justice and compensation for their pain. Rather than accept personal responsibility and extend Godly grace toward the other side, they would rather play the martyr and exploit the sympathy of others.

Victimhood is a disease of the soul. The seed of human potential slowly dissipates and lays dormant under the mental chains of demonic slavery. The good works the soul was designed to produce for the benefit of others will never come about. Instead of being a contributor toward the future benefit of mankind, the person becomes a burden and expensive cost for society to manage.        

Victimhood is the mental curse of hopelessness. A mindset which steals one’s future. A person without hope lives a dark, shallow life. Fear becomes their companion. The alternative though is hopefulness; the catapult toward a richer life.

Wherever you place your hope, will be tested. You will either become stronger, or your hope will disintegrate before your eyes. Many a man and woman have experienced the painful darkness of emptiness where doubt and futility reign. Where hope for any favorable solution seems impossible.  Yet as Romans 15:4 reminds us, hope is always available.  One only needs to know where to look for real, lasting HOPE.

We can tell you where not to look for hope. They are the enemy of hope. They want to control and manipulate your attitude for their benefit. They will bombard you with negative, dark images to sway you away from your potential and leave you beaten from the anguish of your situation.

These are the many politicians, advertisers, and media influencers who use tools of deception and propaganda to sway your thinking toward them. They package their product, or their solution as your hope for the future. Yet as history has repeatedly shown, the majority of their promises only leads to more hopelessness in the long run. The best solution is to tune them out and refocus your thinking on where real hope is found.

The Book of Job is an excellent story of a man who was swallowed into the pit of hopelessness. Everything rich and near to him was taken away including his health. In self-pity and self-righteous indignation, the reader travels with him and his companions as his thoughts and actions take him from despair to the restoration of real hope. Through his entire ordeal he learns real hope is only found in God.

The first encounter with victimhood in the Bible is Lucifer being thrown from heaven for rebelling against God and becoming Satan. Instead of accepting personal responsibility for his ignorance and behavior, he blames God for his situation. His hope now is not in God but in his own ability to sway the human race to fight for him against God and for the delusional utopia he dreams of producing. This evil spirit is the main culprit behind the plot to steal your hope.    

Therefore, instead of following the pathway of false hope, secure real hope by placing your trust in Jesus Christ. He is mankind’s only proven hope. 

Rooting For You in Christ!

Dr. Mike

Encourager & Founder of
Vocational Leadership 360!
Author of e-Books:

 *  Dancing With God: Life-Giving Theology Explained
 *  Great Business Emulates a Good God
 *  Be Radical…Follow Christ!
 *  Simply The Messenger
 *  Unequally Married

Encourage a Friend…Share Today’s Message!

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