Bad Idea
And when trouble came to King Ahaz, he became even more unfaithful to the Lord. He offered sacrifices to the gods of Damascus who had defeated him, for he said, 'These gods helped the kings of Aram, so they will help me, too, if I sacrifice to them.' But instead, they led to his ruin and the ruin of all Israel." II Chronicles 28:22-23
After about the fourth or fifth pop rivet that tore away from the metal I was working with, I finally concluded that pop rivets just might not be the solution to my problem. I know, I know ... I'm a genius. One attempt wasn't enough. Not 2, Not 3, Not 4 ... You've been here before haven't you? The billion dollar question for the day is ... Why is it, after proving an idea to be bad, do we continue to try it thinking that the outcomes will be different the next time. If I only give it more time, more energy and more resources, it will finally work. So ... we pour more money into a sinking business. We stick with relational patterns that produce negative results. We mindlessly defend unfruitful practices because we just "know" it's going to work.
As it turns out, we're not alone. In our verses for the day, we see King Ahaz take his bad idea all the way to a national disaster. God was disciplining him for his sin of idolatry, but he couldn't see it. He figured if they sinned more and with greater enthusiasm, all would be well. It was insane then and it's still insane today ... the idea of doing the same thing over and over again expecting different results. Ahaz ruined his life and his entire nation because he would not walk away from a bad idea.
I believe I'm pretty accurate in saying that there are some bad ideas that we, for whatever reason, are guarding, justifying and still acting upon. These bad ideas are harmful not only to us, but to all those around us. Perhaps it's time we set aside these "pop rivets" and begin to seek out God's perspective and to trust his instructions above anything else. Let's not squander our lives, our families, and our futures on any more bad ideas. Life is too precious and too short. O ... and for all the bad ideas we've already acted upon, forgiveness is God's divine reset button. He will remember our sins no more.
Grace and Peace,
Tom
After about the fourth or fifth pop rivet that tore away from the metal I was working with, I finally concluded that pop rivets just might not be the solution to my problem. I know, I know ... I'm a genius. One attempt wasn't enough. Not 2, Not 3, Not 4 ... You've been here before haven't you? The billion dollar question for the day is ... Why is it, after proving an idea to be bad, do we continue to try it thinking that the outcomes will be different the next time. If I only give it more time, more energy and more resources, it will finally work. So ... we pour more money into a sinking business. We stick with relational patterns that produce negative results. We mindlessly defend unfruitful practices because we just "know" it's going to work.
As it turns out, we're not alone. In our verses for the day, we see King Ahaz take his bad idea all the way to a national disaster. God was disciplining him for his sin of idolatry, but he couldn't see it. He figured if they sinned more and with greater enthusiasm, all would be well. It was insane then and it's still insane today ... the idea of doing the same thing over and over again expecting different results. Ahaz ruined his life and his entire nation because he would not walk away from a bad idea.
I believe I'm pretty accurate in saying that there are some bad ideas that we, for whatever reason, are guarding, justifying and still acting upon. These bad ideas are harmful not only to us, but to all those around us. Perhaps it's time we set aside these "pop rivets" and begin to seek out God's perspective and to trust his instructions above anything else. Let's not squander our lives, our families, and our futures on any more bad ideas. Life is too precious and too short. O ... and for all the bad ideas we've already acted upon, forgiveness is God's divine reset button. He will remember our sins no more.
Grace and Peace,
Tom
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