Mallori Smith as Annie
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Selfrighteous Misunderstanding of Success
When we work hard toward a goal and achieve it we should be proud of our success and we should grow confident that when we give effort toward an outcome we can do it. However, often we succeed just because we were in the right place at the right time. Some people are just lucky.
When we experience this kind of success we often believe that somehow we deserve it. If it is something we really want, or even prayed for it is easy to begin patting ourselves on the back. Even after wandering in the wilderness for 40 years because of disobedience people will still be people and if we lose focus on the fact that we are wicked and lost without God’s provision of a Savior we begin to think we did something when in reality we were just there.
“4 Do not think to yourself after the Lord your God has driven them out before you, “Because of my own righteousness the Lord has brought me here to possess this land.” It is because of the wickedness of these nations that the Lord is driving them out ahead of you. 5 It is not because of your righteousness, or even your inner uprightness, that you have come here to possess their land. Instead, because of the wickedness of these nations the Lord your God is driving them out ahead of you in order to confirm the promise he made on oath to your ancestors, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.”
A Tribute – Dallas Willard
Dallas Willard has been one of my most favorite thought provoking authors. As an esteemed professor of philosophy at USC he was respected in both the academic and Church culture. His book, The Divine Conspiracy, ranks as one of the most important books I have ever read. He passed away after a long bout with cancer this month. Sadly, I never heard him speak in person, but thanks to technology and YouTube I can still appreciate the great personality behind the great books and thoughts he proclaimed. Here is a clip of him sharing the importance of asking questions and owning doubts. Something we tend to shy away from in the Church.