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“Baby Steps”
In the fictional comedy movie “What about Bob” Bob,
played by Bill Murray, was encouraged by Dr. Leo Marvin, played by Richard
Dreyfuss, to take “Baby Steps” to overcome his many fears and phobias. Bob
“Baby Steps” through much of the movie with his goldfish “Gil” in a jar tied
around his neck.
Moving from the world of fiction, here is the quote from
Dr Sanjay Gupta in his Fit Nation column in the June 15th 2009
issue of Time Magazine:
“Just before you picked up this magazine, you probably
made a decision that affected your health. Maybe you bought the pizza instead
of a salad. Or are sipping soda instead of water. Perhaps you decided once
again to delay the beginning of your long-planned exercise routine. Every day
there are hundreds of seemingly trivial decisions that individually may not
mean a whole lot but in combination can add or subtract a substantial amount
of time to or from our lives”.
I think that Dr. Gupta has hit upon a universal truth
that applies to growth. We watch the “Biggest Loser” or “The Last 10 Pounds
Boot Camp” TV shows where they see instant weight loss results and we would
like to see those same quick results in our walk with God. We may focus on
the next big spiritual event or retreat or we may focus on big decisions like
who we will marry or what our life’s career will be.
Ultimately I’m beginning to realize that it is really
those “hundreds of seemingly trivial decisions” that direct and mold our
lives. The things we read, the images we view on our computer, the hours of
sleep we get or don’t get, all shape our lives in greater ways than the few
“big” decisions that we all think of as life changing. Indeed, by making
these small decisions we may find ourselves better positioned to make wise
big decisions.
By living intentionally we begin to make a small change
in a single area of our lives. It starts with a desire to change and that
moves us to an action and after that the action is repeated until the action
becomes a habit. Now if your experience mirrors mine, the minute I try to
make a small change, all heck breaks loose. I never thought it would be so
difficult to try to stick to a certain time to go to bed. Maybe it is my own
flesh, my own control issues or that I resist trying to change many years of
haphazard living. Perhaps chaos has become my friend.
I am paid in my job to be highly organized but that all
changes in my spiritual life where I find that I have little intentionality.
In any case, we can expect opposition when we try to change. We draw a line
in the sand and it becomes a challenge to change even the seemingly simple
areas in our lives. That is where the encouragement comes in. I don’t think
that there is anything more wonderful than hearing someone say, “Wow that
sounds like you have some growth in your life.” For many of us, that simple
praise and affirmation is something that we never received at home as kids
and we seldom receive in our jobs.
Now, I am not talking about accountability here. There
is certainly a place for accountability in our lives but often accountability
is like the tail wagging the dog. If we are stuck in an area of our life
accountability can backfire and make us feel guiltier and eventually result
in us dropping out of the accountability system because we either have to be
deceptive about how we are doing or keep admitting to our accountability
partner that we have failed once again.
Seeing ourselves as a “hopeless failure” is where the
enemy of our souls would like to keep us because once we reach that low point
he can keep telling us the lie that we obviously aren’t qualified for God’s
use or service while we are in this condition. Soon we are back trying to
earn our way back into God’s grace and make ourselves acceptable to Him again
– something that is neither possible nor what God wants, anyway, as His Son
paid the price of sin for us.
I have mentioned the concept of “Displacement” before
and this is where that comes in. True and lasting change and victory over sin
happens as we allow the good things of God to fill that space in our lives
and displace the corruption that has formerly made its home there. This is
the concept of putting on that new life that Christ has given you. Paul said
it well:
COL 3:1-17
Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things
above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on
things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now
hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you
also will appear with him in glory. Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs
to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and
greed, which is idolatry. Because of these, the wrath of God is coming. You
used to walk in these ways, in the life you once lived. But now you must rid
yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and
filthy language from your lips. Do not lie to each other, since you have
taken off your old self with its practices and have put on the new self,
which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator. Here there
is no Greek or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave
or free, but Christ is all, and is in all. Therefore, as God's chosen people,
holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility,
gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances
you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over
all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect
unity. Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one
body you were called to peace. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell
in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as
you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to
God. And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of
the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.
Fear and Faith can’t be friends – they can’t occupy the
same space. Faith will send the Fear packing. The Peace of Christ will
likewise send Discord and Anger on their way. I think you get the idea. The
concept is that we can’t drive sin out of our lives but God can and by us
embracing Him and putting the good things of God in our lives, He can
displace these things that do not belong there. The best that self discipline
alone can accomplish is to clean our house temporarily. The risk of just
cleaning up our act is that if that space in our life is clean, but left
empty, we can end up vulnerable to more attacks.
LK 11:24-26
"When an evil spirit comes out of a man, it goes through arid places seeking
rest and does not find it. Then it says, `I will return to the house I left.'
When it arrives, it finds the house swept clean and put in order. Then it
goes and takes seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in
and live there. And the final condition of that man is worse than the first."
So what I am proposing is that we begin to take Baby
Steps – points of personal decision. We make the little decisions of life,
intentionally. We begin to embrace the good things of God and allow them to
drive out the things that we can not. We allow a tsunami of God’s Grace to
sweep over us. We find a person to stand along side us to give us the
encouragement as changes and growth happens in our life. And we find a church
environment where we can corporately join with others who are in this
process.
Richard Lewis
Pathway Christian Church
Riverside, California
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