First things first
I am Christian by adoption but I am human by birth and this is my story.
The philosopher George Santayana once said, "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it." Which later was recoined as 'Those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it.' I have a problem with this statement because it assumes that man can learn and change his very nature. I strongly believe that pride, greed and lust will always be the master over mankind. The result of such a foundation will be war, poverty and an overriding desire to put oneself first. I am not a pessimist but a realist which is different. My belief is not based on a feeling but history and scriptures. In Jeremiah 17:9: The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it? And Proverbs 14:12 There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.
Scripture teaches that man is broken by his very human nature. We are not capable of changing without God's intervention. We will continue to make decisions that we think are right only to find out that they have destroyed a relationship, finances or led to death. We cannot keep relying on ourselves to make this world a better place. We have been at it for over 5000 years and we have not changed.
King Solomon, the son of David, king of Israel and the man know to be the wisest of all had this to say: Ecclesiastes 1:
3 What profit hath a man of all his labour which he taketh under the sun?
4 One generation passeth away, and another generation cometh: but the earth abideth for ever.
5 The sun also ariseth, and the sun goeth down, and hasteth to his place where he arose.
6 The wind goeth toward the south, and turneth about unto the north; it whirleth about continually, and the wind returneth again according to his circuits.
7 All the rivers run into the sea; yet the sea is not full; unto the place from whence the rivers come, thither they return again.
8 All things are full of labour; man cannot utter it: the eye is not satisfied with seeing, nor the ear filled with hearing.
9 The thing that hath been, it is that which shall be; and that which is done is that which shall be done: and there is no new thing under the sun.
10 Is there any thing whereof it may be said, See, this is new? it hath been already of old time, which was before us.
11 There is no remembrance of former things; neither shall there be any remembrance of things that are to come with those that shall come after.
12 I the Preacher was king over Israel in Jerusalem.
13 And I gave my heart to seek and search out by wisdom concerning all things that are done under heaven: this sore travail hath God given to the sons of man to be exercised therewith.
14 I have seen all the works that are done under the sun; and, behold, all is vanity and vexation of spirit.
Do you think King Solomon was a pessimist or a realist? I think King Solomon understood life in light of man's sin and God's Almighty Hand. He recognized that God was in control of every aspect of nature. He created a perfect system of recycled air, water, and food but the only thing He did not control was man. Man was left to find God and with it, eternal life or man could find little gods to worship and with it eternal separation from God. What follows is my journey with Jesus. I was a man who was busted but later was broke than broken then unbroken. It is my hope and desire to be humorous, honest and honoring at the same time. I truly am convinced that unless a person is born again; they will repeat history. If they have alcoholism in their childhood then it will be a struggle into adulthood. If they were a victim of sexual perversion as a child then it will be a struggle into adulthood. The list goes on and on and as each day passes so does the repetition of bad choices and history will repeat itself over and over again up to the 5th generation.
May God use this to encourage and maybe to stop you as you walk the broad road that leads to destruction and causes a course alteration to the narrow road that leads to everlasting life.
YOU ARE READING
Taming of the Dude: One man's Journey with Jesus
Non-FictionA personal memoir that explores four stages of life that transform a busted man into a person who is unbroken. The book explores life as a person who is busted at birth but is broke at salvation until he realizes that he is broken until death but ha...
