Dear brothers and sisters, if another believer is overcome by some sin, you who are godly should gently and humbly help that person back onto the right path. And be careful not to fall into the same temptation yourself.” -Galatians 6:1

I heard Erwin McManus say once that all too often we read the Bible as though we’re always the protagonist, but never the antagonist.  We’re David as he fights Goliath, but not when he committed adultery,  we’re Moses leading Israel out of Egypt, but not when he killed an Egyptian, we’re Peter when he walked on water, but not when Jesus rebuked him!

When we have this outlook in life, it’s easy to slip into a mindset of thinking we’re doing all the good we read about, and aren’t even close to doing the bad. This mindset is dangerous. It hardens our hearts to God’s correction, gets us into pride, isolate us from people, and leaves us vulnerable. We can actually get to the place where we think we’re invincible and never in danger of falling.

When we always view ourselves as the protagonist, we’ll never build the character we need to sustain what God’s called us to, and ultimately, we’ll fall.

We need to recognize that we’re all just one choice away from becoming the antagonist.

If we’re humble enough to recognize this, we’ll start to read God’s Word and other books with a whole new perspective. We’ll start to ask ourselves questions like: Why did these people make poor decisions? Am I displaying similar attitudes or making similar decisions to these men that got them into trouble? Am I actually living out the Word of God that I’m reading?

Always strive to be the protagonist, but don’t be naive enough to believe that you’re incapable of being the antagonist. Ask God for the wisdom and grace to get in the Word and evaluate where you stand on every issue, how you can improve, and what attitudes of your heart you need to change.

Thoughts?

³²Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” -John 8:32

Have you ever noticed how easy it is to deceive ourselves? We deceive ourselves into thinking we’re better than we are, that we’re doing more than we  actually  are, and even thinking that we’re cooler than we actually are!

I’ve found that when you live in a false reality, you’re in bondage.

Recently I’ve had people speak the TRUTH into my life:

I thought I was in shape because I worked out, but someone informed me that I didn’t look so great and I need to change the way I eat.

I thought I handled my finances wisely, until I had someone else evaluate how I was spending my money.

I thought I was doing a great job leading, until someone told me I needed to step it up.

When people told me these things, I did not like it. It hurt. It made me mad. I didn’t believe them. Why? Because I was deceived. I was living in a false reality.

I thought these people we’re judging me and looked down on me, when in reality, they we’re just trying to help me improve my life.

Jesus said, “You’ll know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” Reality checks are truth. They’re a catalyst to change. They’ve made my life so much richer. Reality checks have motivated me to seek help and make changes in several areas of my life. . Without them, we’ll live in deception and bondage.

Let’s make a commitment to seek truth in our lives. To seek reality checks. Because without them, we’ll never become all that God intends us to become.

Nothing motivates like reality.

I love to learn, read books, blogs, listen to podcast’s, and ask people questions. I try to learn as much as I can, as often as I can. However, I’ve found one lesson that keeps coming back to me over and over again. It really is the best lesson ever:

Love God

Love People

In a world where we over complicate everything, Jesus made the true secret to success very simple, didn’t he?

What if we just focused all of our time and energy loving God and loving people?