Distasteful Choices
They have stricken me, shalt thou say, and I was not sick; they have beaten me, and I felt it not: when shall I awake? I will seek it yet again.
Proverbs 23:35
My heart often breaks when I see people that repeatedly make bad choices. I often wonder why they can not see the error of their ways. Do they not learn from their previous lessons learned? Must they make the same mistake twice? It seems as if the make the same choice hoping for a different outcome. Solomon describes the same situation above regarding the alcoholic.
I have often struggled with how to deal with such an individual. While their choices continue to be wrong and the results continue to be devastating, they sometimes make honest promises to do better. Unfortunately, the promises don't last and they are once again at the wrong end of a poor decision. Should I just write them off? Give up hope and throw in the towel? Quite trying to support and encourage them? It sometimes seems like the best choice with the least amount of frustration!
Fortunately, God never gave up on us. No matter how far we strayed in sin, he still loved us. He did not love our actions, but he loved us enough to send his Son to the cross for our sins. Even when I promise to do better and fail to follow through, God loves me but not my actions.
Perhaps we should follow his example and love the individual and not their actions. God did it for us - shouldn't do it for others?
Proverbs 23:35
My heart often breaks when I see people that repeatedly make bad choices. I often wonder why they can not see the error of their ways. Do they not learn from their previous lessons learned? Must they make the same mistake twice? It seems as if the make the same choice hoping for a different outcome. Solomon describes the same situation above regarding the alcoholic.
I have often struggled with how to deal with such an individual. While their choices continue to be wrong and the results continue to be devastating, they sometimes make honest promises to do better. Unfortunately, the promises don't last and they are once again at the wrong end of a poor decision. Should I just write them off? Give up hope and throw in the towel? Quite trying to support and encourage them? It sometimes seems like the best choice with the least amount of frustration!
Fortunately, God never gave up on us. No matter how far we strayed in sin, he still loved us. He did not love our actions, but he loved us enough to send his Son to the cross for our sins. Even when I promise to do better and fail to follow through, God loves me but not my actions.
Perhaps we should follow his example and love the individual and not their actions. God did it for us - shouldn't do it for others?
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