ISSUES…We All Got ‘Em Part II

Proverbs 4:23 NKJV Keep your heart with all diligence, For out of it spring the issues of life.

In our previous blog post we wrote, “The genealogy of every issue in our lives can be traced back to a particular event or series of events.  These events are usually traumatic and have the power to frame how we perceive and process life.  Left unresolved, these events subsequently produce internal conflict.  And, it is this internal conflict – around a particular event i.e. abandonment, abuse, disappointment, betrayal, etc. – that gives birth to our issues.”

As a result, we find this progression unfolding in our lives:

1. The traumatic EVENT: what happend to you

2. The unresolved CONFLICT: what happened in you

3. The lingering ISSUE: what you allow to happen through you

As you read this blog, you’re probably tempted to think of all the people who really need to hear this.  Let me encourage you, my friend: this blog post is for you, too.

WHY?

Because self-examination and personal responsibility are ground zero for all meaningful and lasting change.

THE FIX

Jesus hit the nail on the head in Matthew 7:3-5 when He said, “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? ⁴ How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? ⁵ You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.”

Most of us are the way we are because we don’t realize there is a plank in our own eye.  All we see is the speck in our brother’s eye. I would argue even further that if we were to deal with plank in our own eye we would soon realize that the speck we thought we saw in our brother’s eye was only an illusion created by the plank in our own eye. The imperfections or “issues” we saw in others were a direct result of our distorted vision.

In his book, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, Stephen Covey observed, “We see the world, not as it is, but as we are──or, as we are conditioned to see it.”  This conditioning is usually the result of our environment, which determines our experiences, which ultimately shape our expectations from ourselves and others.

ENVIRONMENT: the culture in which we were nurtured i.e. family, ethnicity, education, both nature and nuture, etc.

EXPERIENCES: what we were exposed to; good and bad

EXPECTATIONS: our belief systems based on my experiences

Your issues typically revolve around how you were conditioned to respond to unmet and sometimes unrealistic expectations of ourselves and others. And because that’s all you’ve ever known, you justifyit.  What’s abnormal to everyone else is perfectly normal to you. And it’s usually an issue of good ol’ P-R-I-D-E (Proverbs 6:16-17 “These six things the Lord hates, indeed, seven are an abomination to Him: ¹⁷ A proud look [the spirit that makes one overestimate himself and underestimate others]…”

How can the prolonged and often pronounced effects of this perverted conditioning be reversed?

1. Admit “I” have an issue and expose it to the truth of God’s Word (Romans 12:1-2; James 1:22-25).

Abraham Maslow, the father of modern psychology once intimated, “What is necessary to change a person is to change his awareness of himself.”  

2. “I” need help

3. Jesus is “my” Solution and my victory over this issue (Romans 6:14 AMP) For sin – your issues, hurts, habits and hangups – shall not [any longer] exert dominion over you, since now you are not under Law [as slaves], but under grace [as subjects of God’s favor and mercy].

That’s where we will begin our conversation tomorrow…can’t wait.

Amazed by His grace,