Joyce Meyer - Thinking Your Way Out Of Bondage (08/20/2019)
Joyce Meyer teaches on renewing the mind from Romans 12:2 so believers can think and speak like God, overcoming wrong thought patterns from the past, entitlement, complaining, impatience, blame, self-pity, mistakes, jealousy, and stubbornness. By taking responsibility, being thankful, and trusting God, we escape the wilderness mindset to enter God's promises and live victoriously.
Renewing the Mind: A Lifelong Process
Thank you, Lord, for the word tonight and all that it's going to do for us and mean to us. I ask you to help me preach it well and help people hear it and take it in. In Jesus' name. Is there anybody here who still has any trouble with your mind, with your thoughts? Well, you know what? God's changing us all the time. And the renewing of the mind is a process. It takes time. But if we'll be diligent and determined, we can learn how to think the way God thinks and talk the way God talks. And I want you to drink that in. We can learn how to think the way God thinks and talk the way God talks.
The Bible tells us that we have been given the mind of Christ. Imagine that. We can learn to think the same way that Jesus would think. Romans 12:2 is a scripture that every single believer needs to know and understand the power of. "Be not conformed to this world. Don't be like the world. But be transformed." And that means changed entirely. How many of you want to be changed entirely? "Changed entirely by the renewal of your mind. By the renewal of your mind. By its new ideals and its new attitudes so that you may prove for yourselves what is the good and acceptable and perfect will of God." That really means so you can experience the good will of God in your daily life.
Avoiding the Wilderness Mindset
You know, I don't want to just talk about the promises of God. I don't want to just dream about the promises of God. I don't want to be like the Israelites who left Egypt and headed for the promised land and were still wandering around in the wilderness 40 years later. And sadly, that's the way a lot of Christians live. They receive Christ. They start hearing about the good life. But somehow or another, they never seem to manage to live that good life.
And I'm sure there would even be people here tonight and certainly people watching by TV and you'd say, that's me. That was me for a long time. I went to church. I love God. I went to all the seminars. I went to all the camp meetings. I had CDs and cassette tapes back then and every kind of book. And I studied and read, but I still didn't seem to be living the life. I rebuked the devil and rebuked the devil. I always say I rebuked until my rebuker was worn out. I didn't have one good rebuke left in me.
The Real Problem: Mindset and Attitudes
And then I finally found out that it really wasn't the devil that was my problem. It was my mindset and my attitudes that were my problem. And I began to study the Israelites and their journey through the wilderness. And God gave me some understanding that has helped me and also thousands upon thousands of other people. A lot of it was the basis for the book that I've written that many of you have read called The Battlefield of the Mind.
They thought that their enemies were keeping them in the wilderness and that's what we think. If it wasn't for this, if it wasn't for that, if I didn't have this, if I would have had a different childhood, if I had more education, if the devil would leave me alone, if I was married, if I wasn't married, if my kids weren't giving me so many problems. It's always something that's in our way and they thought it was their enemies.
But I can prove to you scripture that it was not their enemies, it was their attitude and your attitude is determined by your thoughts. My attitude is determined by my thoughts and your attitude is determined by your thoughts. There's no way to ever get out of wilderness into the promised land unless you learn how to think like God thinks and talk like God talks. You can't talk out of your mind, you can't talk out of your feelings. You have to talk by faith, according to the Word of God.
Wrong Thought Pattern #1: My Past Determines My Future
The first thing that I'd like to talk about, the first wrong thought pattern that people have, is my past determines and dictates my future. Now, I want to assure you tonight that no matter what kind of a past you have had, no matter what you've done in the past, that might be wrong. No matter what kind of an especially wicked sinner you were, no matter what has been done to you, no matter how people have hurt you or mistreated you, no matter how unfair your life has been, it does not have to affect your future at all. At all.
I want to remind you tonight about Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. You may have read about them. If not, I'll tell you enough that you'll know about it. They were friends of Daniel, and in the book of Daniel, there was a king, Nebuchadnezzar, who commanded that everyone bow down to him. Well, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were godly men, and they were not going to bow down to him.
Standing Firm Like Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego
And so they made a bold statement and said, O king, let it be known to you that if our God can deliver us, he will, and if not, we will not bow down to you. They had their mind made up that they were going to stand firm with God. And that's another thing that we have to talk about yet this weekend, is having a made-up mind. I'm going to talk about it a little bit tonight, but I'm going to talk about it even more tomorrow. We have to make our minds up what we believe, and we have to stop backing off from it.
They didn't say, well, you know, we believe that God will deliver us, and then if he doesn't, we're going to get depressed and wander around the wilderness and be mad all day. They said, let it be known unto you that if our God can deliver us, and they didn't really mean that if he was able or not able. They meant that if it was in his best plan to deliver them from that furnace that he would. But they said, either way, we are not going to bow down to you.
Well, they did go in the fiery furnace, and the king turned the furnace up seven times hotter than it normally would have been. And he had them bound, hand and feet, when he threw them in there. And in one of the verses, it's so amazing, it says that the king looked in the furnace, and behold, there were four men in the furnace. He put in three, and now there's four. And it not only was there four men in there, but they were loosed. They were no longer bound, they were loosed.
Coming Out Without the Smell of Smoke
And I love that, because sometimes in the furnace of affliction is where our bonds are broken off of us. It's where we learn the most, and we need to learn how to trust God in those times, and not despise them. Trust God not only for the good things in your life, but trust Him with the bad things in your life.
Pastor Mike, who's been up here, he and I were talking about something that we went through together in a certain situation many, many years ago. And it was a very, very, very, very, very, very confusing and difficult thing. And neither one of us now would trade that experience for anything, because it helped us become who we are today. It helped us become who we are today.
But the thing that I want to mention to you about Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego is the Bible says that when they came out of the furnace, they didn't even smell like smoke. And you know what? I've come out of about 15 years of being sexually abused by my father, repeatedly, over and over and over. And you know what? I don't smell like smoke. I don't smell or act or behave or have a life that would represent somebody who's been abused. I'm not an abuse victim. I'm not a victim of anything. I'm an overcomer in Christ. Amen?
And I think a lot of people come out of things, but they still kind of have the stench of it on them. And I want you to learn tonight that you don't have to have any leftovers from your past. You don't have to look like your past, smell like your past, act like your past. You don't have to identify with your past. You don't have to worry about your past. Because when God forgives us, He totally forgets it, wipes it away forever.
Biblical Heroes Didn't Dwell on Their Past
I was thinking this afternoon, and this is not something that I've ever really thought about before, so I think it was just something that God really put on my heart. You know, if you look at all the different people in the Bible that we respect, I don't see any of them talking about their past, and they all had one. I mean, Peter is not sitting around with the boys saying, Oh man, I tell you, after denying Christ, I just don't know. I mean, you know, I just don't know if I can do this apostle thing or not. I mean, my gosh. I mean, I didn't just deny Him once. I denied Him three times. And man, I cussed and used bad language. And I, whoa. And in His deepest hour of need, and I let Him down after all He had done for me.
I never hear, I never see anything in the Bible that Peter ever discussed that at all, or ever mentioned it at all. I think they had some understanding, we need to get here tonight. The only time you ever hear Paul talk about his past is when he's talking about how great God's grace is to forgive him and to use him the way that he did. And really, that's the only reason why I ever bothered to talk about my past, is just to let you know that no matter what you've gone through, you can overcome it and still have a great life.
Paul was a persecutor of Christians. He looked for opportunities to stone Christians. But he never talked about, oh my gosh, how can God use me? I don't know. No. What about King David? Murder? Adultery? Lived in deception for a whole year after that? Didn't even take responsibility for what he did? Yet, he never sat around and said, well, man, after what I did, I sure can't be king. Come on, think about this. None of those people that we admire let their past affect them.
And if you're going to let your past affect you, then you're not going to enjoy the future that God has for you. And I don't care if it's your past of when you were five years old or your past of this morning or whatever you do tomorrow that may be wrong. God's mercy is new every day and we need to learn how to soak it in and shake those things off and go on. We can't live in the regrets of the past. Regret will just suck all the life right out of you. Dread will suck all the life right out of you. You have to learn how to live now.
Living in the Present with Faith
Now, faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. The only time that we know that we have is right now. Yesterday's gone. I can't get that back. Jesus didn't say, I am the great I was. Tomorrow's not here yet. I don't know what's going to happen then. Jesus didn't say, I am the great I will be. But I do have today. And He did say, I am the great I am. Amen. Don't ever think I can't get over my past.
Wrong Thought Pattern #2: I'm Not Responsible
Wrong thought pattern number two. Somebody please do it for me. I'm not responsible. Well, these are people who have an entitlement attitude. They want everything, but they don't want to do what they should do to get it. People like that annoy me probably more than any other kind of person. I have had to work very hard to get from where I was to where I am. And I'm not talking about just in ministry. I'm talking about even spiritually to overcome the junk that I went through. I've had to dig in with God and go through a lot of things.
And to be honest with you, I just have a hard time with wimpy, sniveling, whiny... Well, I'm just being honest with you. It just annoys me. Will you stop it? Now, you may have seen the program where I talked about my brother. And if not, I want to just share just a little tiny bit of his story. My brother was found dead in Los Angeles in an abandoned building. My brother! Alcoholic, drug addiction, hopeless, mind messed up from all the drugs. He never would take responsibility for his life. As long as I knew him, he was irresponsible. And he wanted everybody else... He not only wanted, he expected everybody else to take care of him.
The Cost of Irresponsibility
One period of time, Dave and I invested four years in him and an unbelievable amount of money. And he, I mean, he got well. He was working for us. He was traveling on the road with us. Some of you might have even seen him, if you've been coming to my meetings for years. Good-looking young guy. Name was David, and he was over six foot tall and just as handsome as he could be. And 10 years younger than me. And I thought he was really going to make it.
But you know, he lived with us, and when we finally asked him to get his own apartment, we felt like it was time for him to do that, everything started going downhill again. The only way he would do what was right was if somebody else was making him do it all the time. And let me tell you something. Sooner or later, we have to learn how to manage our own selves. We can't expect somebody else to always be the one who wipes up our messes, finds our scriptures, does our praying, and does everything for us.
And I'm just telling you, whether it's you or somebody that you know, sooner or later, you've got to cut people loose and make them stand on their own two feet. Otherwise, you cripple them. Well, I finally figured out that if I hadn't helped him after four years, then he didn't want to be helped. Well, he left and moved out to Arizona. He'd always go out there, it seemed like, when he wanted to hide. And I didn't hear from him for years. The only time I'd hear from him was when he got in jail or got in trouble. And then he'd want money, want me to send him money.
Entitlement vs. Personal Responsibility
And at one point, him and a girl that he was living with wanted me to open a bank account for them and put a certain amount of money to every month so they'd have money to live on. I'm like, are you crazy? People who want somebody else to be responsible for their life. It's an entitlement mentality. And we've got that going on today in the world and we've got it in America. And it is stinking thinking and there is nothing godly about it. And not only is it stinking thinking, it is dangerous thinking. Because the Bible says we reap what we sow. We're supposed to work. We're supposed to be responsible.
Now, yes, if somebody really needs help, then we should help them. But that's a totally different thing than having an entitlement attitude that everybody owes me something. I remember when my brother looked at me. And I'm not trying to be disrespectful to him. I told Dave, when we found out that he had died, I said, I am going to get some value out of his life. I am going to share his life to show people the difference in two people who were raised in the same household. And I was treated much worse than he was.
And when after he died, they sent me what they called his personal effects. And everything that was left from that man's life fit into an eight and a half by eleven manila envelope. I could hold his life up here in an envelope. And God is letting me help people all over the globe. And it's not because I'm special and he wasn't or I had more opportunities and he didn't. It was because I decided to believe God and not only just to pray but to do my part. And he was willing to believe God if everything came to him miraculously and none of it was hard for him.
Rejecting Entitlement and Taking Responsibility
I remember when he looked at me one day and said, I am very disappointed in the way you've treated me. You are very disappointed! You are disappointed! I'm just trying to tell you, you've got to lose that mentality if you've got one that somebody else is supposed to fix everything for you. And I'm sure a lot of you are not like that, but surely I've got maybe a million watching by television that might be. And you know what? I only tell you this stuff because I really do care about you.
You know, I could pat you on the head and just tell you nice things so everybody would love me and like me and think I'm nice. But I'm trying to help you grow up. I'm trying to help you have what God wants you to have. I'm trying to help you be the person that God wants you to be. And sometimes as children, we've got to have a little spanking once in a while. I want to keep somebody else from ending up like my brother did.
It's just amazing to me that my brother, who could have been with us traveling the world, helping people, blessing people, died alone in an abandoned building. It's just, there's just no excuse for it. The only reason was, was he wouldn't do his part. And I'm going to ask you to get some backbone, get rid of your wishbone and get some backbone. Amen. And make a decision. If God can bless anybody, God can bless me. But it's not all up to God. I'm a partner with God and I will do my part. God will give me the strength to do my part. If you won't give up and you won't be a whiner. And you won't think everything's too hard. And you'll go through whatever you need to go through. Not only will you come out not smelling like smoke. But Jesus will notice you.
Complaining: A Dangerous Habit
1 Corinthians 10, 9 and 10. We should not tempt the Lord and try his patience and become a trial to him. We should not critically appraise him and exploit his goodness as some of them did. And were killed by poisonous serpents. Nor should we discontentedly complain as some of them did. And they were put out of the way entirely by the destroyer.
If you go back and you read in the Old Testament. The Israelites were murmuring and complaining and murmuring and complaining. And they wanted to... Everything was Moses' fault and God's fault. And they wanted to run back to Egypt. And they didn't like the manna. And they didn't have any water. Never mind that God parted the Red Sea. Never mind that God drowned all their enemies in the sea. They forgot the song they sang. Never mind that water came out of the rock. And that miracle bread came out of the sky. Never mind all that.
We forget what we should remember and we remember what we should forget. Amen. Some of the stuff we have on our mind we ought to forget all about it because it's useless nonsense. Don't sit around and think about, well, I remember what you did to me. I mean, years ago when Dave and I first got married, we would get into some kind of a little argument over something. And I'd start bringing up everything from day one. And he looked at me one day and he said, where do you keep all that stuff? Where do you keep all that?
The Dangers of Complaining and Murmuring
Well, see, that's proof in itself that we haven't forgiven. The Bible says love takes no account. Well, I was a good accountant. I had a list of it all. And that was stuff I needed to forget. I needed to remember the good things and let go of the bad things. You know, if you listen to me tonight, I could save your marriage. Anyway, they murmured and complained and grumbled. God just got fed up with it. And his protection lifted and serpents got into the camp and bit them and 23,000 people fell dead in one day.
Now, you're probably thinking, whoo-hoo. Yes, I'm glad I live in the dispensation of grace too. But grace is not an excuse to live a sloppy life and think we're going to get by with it. Grace forgives us, but it also gives us the power to overcome. We have to have a mindset to overcome. And after 23,000 of them died, they looked at Moses and said, we have sinned. What a revelation.
And here in 1 Corinthians, it says that these scriptures are recorded again. What happened back in the Old Testament is recorded here again for the New Covenant believers so we don't make the same mistakes that they did. Complaining is a huge problem if you will just get a mindset to be thankful. And we have to work at it. I have to work at it every single day of my life. There's probably 20 things that come up every day that I could complain about. And sometimes I still do it. But thank God I have come a long way. I may have a way to go, but thank God I'm not where I used to be.
Confession Time: Too Much Complaining
How many of you will be honest tonight? Let's have a little time of confession. You'll admit right now that you complain way too much. Well, see, I told you I had the right message for the right group. Amen. And you know what? If you leave here tonight and it's raining, don't let one person utter one word of complaint. I mean, just zip your lip and say, I am going to get to my car without complaining. Thank you, God, that I was able to go to that meeting. I am not so sweet that I will melt if I get a little bit of water on me. My goodness.
No matter what we have, the flesh always wants more, more, more. We make decisions, complain about the results. We schedule more than we can do and complain about how busy we are. We buy things, complain about all of our bills. We overeat and complain about what we weigh. Ooh, I'm digging deep tonight, ain't I? How many of you are going to have the nerve to come back tomorrow and see what I got for closing day? We have children and complain about them. We get married and complain about that.
Well, the antidote for complaining is one thing and one thing only, and that's being thankful on purpose. On purpose.
Wrong Thought Pattern #5: I Can't Wait Any Longer
Wrong thought pattern number five. I can't wait any longer. I have to have what I want right now. Impatience is the fruit of pride. We think we should have what we want now. We think we deserve better than what we have. We're too important to have to wait. We want it now.
Well, the Israelites complained too. It's recorded in Numbers, many other places. They were impatient, the Bible says. Don't keep wanting what God's not giving you. Be thankful for what He is giving you and trust Him to give you the rest of it, if and when the time is right.
The word patience comes from the Greek word hupomon. I'm probably not pronouncing it right, but it's H-U-P-O-M-O-N-E. And it says in the Greek that it's a fruit of the Spirit that only grows under trial. So we need to thank God for our trials because, according to James, they are working patience. The Bible says that trials bringeth out patience. Well, they broughteth out a lot of things out of me before we ever got to patience. Nothing shows you what you're really like. More than a good little problem.
Wrong Thought Pattern #6: It's Not My Fault
Wrong thinking pattern number six. Well, I may have a mess in my life, but it's not my fault. I'm gonna give you six words, and they are six of the most powerful words in the English language. If you can learn to say these six words, you'll be an overcomer. I was wrong. I was wrong. It's my fault.
Well, this has taken a while. It's kind of floating over the crowd. I take responsibility. I don't make any excuses. I was wrong. It's my fault. Now, obviously, we're not wrong about everything all the time, but there are many times when we are. And it would be so much easier to just say that than it would be to spend years trying to avoid the truth. It's not my fault.
You know, blame started in the garden. Adam and Eve got themselves in a mess, and he blamed Eve, and she blamed somebody else. Blame, blame, blame. I was wrong. It's my fault. It'll save you lots and lots and lots of time. Would you like to practice one more time? Say, I was wrong. It's my fault. Do you know how many arguments that will save you? Thousands and thousands of arguments that will save you. Just like, oh, it was my fault. I'm sorry. I was wrong. Well, then it's just like... Oh.
Now, your flesh may get the creepy crawlies when you do that. I know mine. It's like... Why does it always have to be my fault? And then what about the ifs and the buts in life? If I had more money, if I had a better job, if I had more education, if I wouldn't have been abused as a child, then we could be like the spies who were sent in to check out the fruit in the promised land. Well, the fruit is good. It's wonderful fruit. And sure enough, everything God said is in there. But... There's giants in the land, and we're not able to overcome them. But ifs and buts, ifs and buts.
Overcoming Disadvantages with the Right Attitude
You know what? Any disadvantage that you have in life, you can overcome it with the right attitude. Well, the devil says, life's not fair. Many of you think, well, if only. If only. No, that's when the conquering spirit of Christ needs to rise up in you. And you need to say, I don't care what's against me. I know who's for me. And with God's help, I'm going to conquer it all. And I'm going to do something great in my life.
And I can almost hear the devil wish me, well, yeah, you know, if you would have just known this when you were 20. I don't care if you're 102, it's not too late for you to get started. Luke 19. And Jesus entered Jericho and was passing through it. And there was a man called Zacchaeus, a chief tax collector, and he was rich. And he was trying to see Jesus, which one he was, but he could not, on account of the crowd, because he was small in stature, or let's just put it plain, he was a very short man. Short, short.
Well, he didn't just lay down and get all mad and say, well, if I just wasn't short. If only I was taller. He ran on ahead and climbed up in a tree. Because he was determined to see Jesus. You know, if you've got enough determination, you'll get a creative idea that will help you overcome your handicap or what you can't do.
Zacchaeus: Determination Draws Jesus' Attention
You know, when God called me to do this, I remember a very good friend of mine, at least I thought she was, I found out later she wasn't, but... She said, I heard what you said that you think you're going to do, that you're going to preach to all these people. And she said, frankly, we were talking about it, we meaning the rest of my friends, and we don't think you've got the right personality. Well, I should have said, I didn't know to them, but I should have said, bingo, you're right. I don't have any of the right qualifications to do this. That's what makes it such a miracle.
See, all God is looking for is for you to believe him. And with God on your side, his anointing overrides everything else. So Zacchaeus ran ahead, climbed up in a tree so he could see Jesus. I think Jesus is looking for more people that will climb trees. And I want you to watch what happens. This is so amazing.
Verse five, Luke 19, verse five. And when Jesus reached the place, he looked up and said to Zacchaeus, hurry and come down here for I must stay at your house today. Now, when I was reading this today, I noticed the word must. I never saw that before. It's almost like Jesus was saying, I have got to get to know you. Because there are not very many like you. And I want to hang out. I want to come to your house.
He didn't go to very many people's houses. Why did he notice Zacchaeus? There was something about the spirit in Zacchaeus that drew the spirit in Jesus. And Jesus noticed him. Let me tell you something. If you won't give up and you won't be a whiner. And you won't think everything's too hard. And you'll go through whatever you need to go through. Not only will you come out not smelling like smoke, but Jesus will notice you. He will notice you. I love that. I must come to your house today.
Self-Pity, Mistakes, and Jealousy
There's other wonderful people like this in the Bible, but I don't have time to tell you about them. Number seven, I feel sorry for myself because I have so many problems. Poor me. Nobody's got it as bad as me. You know, self-pity is idolatry. We're turning in on ourself and idolizing ourself. When we should be having compassion and empathy for other people. We turn that beautiful gift of compassion that God's given us. We pervert it and turn it inward. Poor me. Nobody's got it as bad as me.
The next time you're invited to a pity party by the devil because he's the one who gives those parties. Why don't you just decline the invitation? Say, no, thank you. I've been. I already know that I won't have a good time.
Number eight, I've made too many mistakes to be blessed. Well, you know what? God does not bless us because we're perfect. He blesses us to show how great he is. In loving people that in the natural are not worth loving. And the Bible says that even while we were still yet sinners, he died for us. Before we ever cared or ever knew, he died for us. He knows we're going to make mistakes in the future and he's already decided to forgive us. Isn't that wonderful?
God doesn't bless us because we deserve it. He blesses us because he's good. And I wish I had time to read you about three scriptures on praying boldly, but I don't. However, I'm going to tell you, you need to start going boldly before the throne. And you don't go in your name, you go in Jesus' name. And you pray and when you pray, you open the door for God to bless you because he's looking for someone through whom he might show himself strong.
I want the world to know how good God is. But we can't keep praying these wimpy, pitiful, Well, God, if you could just, if you would just do this one little thing for me, God, I promise I'll never ask you for anything else.
Bold Prayer and Zacchaeus' Determination
I will never in my life forget the woman who came to the altar for prayer when I used to still have meetings small enough that I could have prayer lines at the end and pray for people individually. And she said, she was so sheepish and she said, would it be okay if, could I ask for two things? How sad is that? When the Bible says that God is able to do exceedingly, abundantly above and beyond all that we could ever dare.
Ephesians 3:12. Oh, I love this scripture. In whom, because of our faith in him, we dare to have the boldness and the courage and the confidence of free access, an unreserved approach to God with freedom and without fear. Can I ask for two things? Why, you can come boldly before the throne and say, God, I'm going to ask you for everything I can think of. And if you don't want me to have any of it, just don't give it to me.
You don't have to be afraid you're going to make a mistake. You don't have to be afraid that God's going to get mad and bang you over the head with his mallet in heaven. Come boldly to the throne and say, I'm your child. Let me, let me tell you something. My little grandkids don't have any problem asking for what they want. They learn the rules quick. My kids don't have any problem getting their point across.
If I want something, I ask Dave. Sometimes at night I'll be sitting in my chair and I'm so comfy and Dave, you know, Dave's... One of the things that Dave's really good about is he does a lot of little things for me. And I'll say, oh, can you get me a bottle of cold water? And then just about the time he sits down, I'll say, hmm, I forgot. Could you heat my heating pad? No, I need a Kleenex. He's now gotten to the point where he'll say, okay, tell me everything you need while I'm up one time. So I think God's kind of like that. Don't spread it out. Just come tell me everything you need at one time. Let's just do this.
Wrong Thought Patterns: Jealousy and Stubbornness
Wrong thought pattern number eight. I've made too many mistakes to be blessed. I'm going to give you number 10 and then I'm going to go back to nine. Number 10 is it's my way or no way. Number nine. I want to have what everybody else has got. Jealousy and envy is a killer.
Now look, God has given so many different gifts in the body of Christ that it is absolutely amazing. And the gifts that God has put in other people are for your enjoyment, not for you to want what they have. The gifts that God's put in you are for my enjoyment, not for me to want, to try to have.
We talk about this a lot, how God has gifted people in different ways. And God gives different things to different people. We all look different. We have different personalities. We have different talents and abilities. We all come from different backgrounds. We were never intended to all be alike. So number one rule is stop trying to make everybody be like you. Celebrate diversity. Celebrate diversity. Don't look at what somebody else has got and want it.
Now what if my body, the different parts of my body, acted the way that we do in the body of Christ sometimes? What if my eye said, I'm just fed up with looking at your ring. All I get is contact lenses and eye makeup, glasses. I want a ring. I want my own ring. And then what if, what if my hands looked at my shoes? My shoes, aren't those jet, aren't those great shoes? I mean, ladies, those are great shoes right there. Awesome shoes. And they're comfort shoes. I got that little thing in there. Good arches. Anyway, those are good looking.
Well, you know, I have to have a little help. My hands probably really don't want to do it, but they have to help me. So what if the hand said, I'm tired of helping the feet put its shoes on all the time. The feet don't help me put nothing on. Come on now, you can tell where I'm going, right? So I want my own shoes.
Now, just what if God answered the body's prayer? Just what would happen? Okay. Eye, you want a ring. There it is. And hands, you want some shoes. There you go. Now. Now. Wait a minute, I'm not finished. Now, there's a big problem with this, though, you see. I got what I wanted, but it's disabled me. Because now, my hands can't do anything, because they've got the shoes they wanted. And my eyes can't see anything, because it got the ring it wanted. And you know what? We better thank God he doesn't give us half of the stuff we want.