Christian Living

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Larry Lilly's Letter Thursday March 10, 2011

A man asked me; "Larry, what is the most recurring sin you battle and in your opinion do others also struggle with the same sin?"

I began my answer with a statement from the author of Monte Christo, Alexander Dumas. When Dumas visited the prison where he had been held and where the idea for the book was conceived, he with the emotion born in the dark world stated:

"Woe to those who sent me here. Woe to those who forgot me while I was here."

And there my friend is the biggest battle I wage and it is also the most recurring problem I deal with in counseling. Not that most of my counselee's are ex-cons, but many of the problems well meaning folks attempt to treat with a pill, a program and whatever are rooted in the plain and simple old fashioned sin of Esau and we know that his problems were rooted in the same attitude expressed by Mr. Dumas. While one word identifies the root, it takes volumes and much of a lifetime to come to grips with and implement the biblical solution. The word?

"BITTERNESS."

The human race has been predisposed to bitterness from the creation, as witnessed by the salesmanship of Lucifer in the garden. His entire argument was and is predicated on the false premise that God is unfair and is keeping something from you that you are really entitled to have. The active word is "entitled." The word brought the entire race down to death and is before our eyes bringing a great nation to its knees in repentance or positioning for decapitation by a Chinese sword.

Keep in mind that Adam/Eve lost all that was of lasting value by buying into the concept that "God is unfair and you do not have settle for His treatment." They valued the "now" more than the presence, protection and provision of the Lord in a pristine garden and impatiently demanded instant gratification, when it is rather obvious that the wisdom they so desired would have come with time. The same principle is pushed daily via advertisements such as, "Gain the knowledge you need to succeed with a Doctor of Philosophy Degree in only two weeks via Fiddlesticks University." People get out the CC and enroll. Barnum understated things.

The wag has it "Trouble, unfair treatment, the short end, will make you bitter or better; the choice is yours."

When feelings of unfairness, mistreatment, entitlement arise in your heart toward the Lord, keep in mind the terrible soul pain endured by Esau due to his impatience and demand of instant satisfaction: Heb 12:15:

Looking diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and thereby many be defiled; 16 Lest there be any fornicator, or profane person, as Esau, who for one morsel of meat sold his birthright.

In life we can adapt the phrase of Alexander Dumas and pronounce "Woe" or we can and should repeat and come to believe for ourselves, the phrase of Christ at Calvary: Luke 23:34:

Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do. And they parted his raiment, and cast lots.

Larry Lilly Copyright © 2011 Use with credit

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