Be Alert, Be Aware and Not Someone’s Stepping Fool

Since I’ve been a logically thinking adult and as I’ve continued to mature, it has never ceased to amaze me at the amount of people who go above and beyond to help those who are unwilling to help themselves. Maybe it is a family member or a close friend or an acquaintance that we try to do well for but regardless, we do our best for. Among this amazement includes myself as I have done too much for those who did not truly appreciate my efforts nor were they willing to do for themselves. Therefore, anything that others do for them is void and invalid and does no good.

This is similar to the old Chinese proverb “Give a man a fish and he’ll eat for a day but teach him to fish and he’ll eat for a lifetime.” The more you give to people, who are unwilling to do for themselves, the less accountability they will have for themselves. It does nobody any good. For one, it takes away from the efforts of the person or people that go to bat for this individual and two; it makes these people feel as though they are entitled to the help but with Christ, there is no person or people entitled:

But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble.”

–James 4:6

Of all the things going on in this world and the recent mass shootings that have taken place in the United States, you may be asking yourself why is this of any significance and the reason is simple: we, as Christians, allow ourselves to be walked over for far too long and usually, by the same people. From my personal experience, we typically do not see it until it is too late but when we look back, it’s rather obvious what was taking place. Rarely is it the case that the other party was unaware of what they were doing and enjoyed taking complete advantage of the situation.

While Christ does want us to have a good heart and to help with joy, we must remember that Christ wants us to do things using logic and common sense. As I look back over my life, I am able to see that I have not used logic in many of the situations that I found myself in nor did I use common sense. Many people questioned the decisions that I made and while this is something we will find many times from the outside world, we should take note and be aware of what we are doing regardless of how it may seem. More importantly, though, we are to pray over the situation and never be afraid of what God is telling us.

Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and shew thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not.”

–Jeremiah 33:3