Thursday, January 16, 2020

Brokenness and Our Response

In our culture there seems to be about four ways to respond to the idea of brokenness in our lives. They are, in no exact order:

1. Deny brokenness.
2. Celebrate brokenness.
3. Wallow in brokenness.
4. Acknowledge and Repent of brokenness.

Only (4) is the proper response. While much of the world, especially here in America, has used (1) as a tactic, it's become very "in" to take on (2). We celebrate it as "authentic" and demand others do also. (3) is an admission of brokenness, but it's not a godly sorrow--it's a sorrow that leads to death (cf. 2 Cor. 7:10). I have engaged in (1-3) all too often in my life, and I go through periods even today of (2) and (3) (how silly--to celebrate my deficiencies in character only then to be defeated by them!).

The proper response is to become more like Jesus, and to die to myself each and every day. The italicized portion is vital to the Christian walk, because I'm a box-checker. It feels good to get something off the list and never worry about it again. But in life, with spiritual things, if you check it off not to think of it again, you'll quickly find you've been losing the battle for some time. But rather than deny you have any problems, wallow in sorrow, or celebrate yourself for your failures, instead simply repent and ask God to help you. Every single day. We're all getting there--care to tell part of your story?