In review, we have seen in two previous articles (here and here) that God is the least source of our problems; Satan is the second least source.
This flies in the face of those who ask, in the face of problems and difficulties, “Why did God let this happen to me?”
The response to this accusation against God is that He is the solution: Christ is the answer.
Blaming Satan by saying, “The Devil made me do it,” is easily denied by James 4:7: “Submit yourselves therefor to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from thee.”
In this verse God is shown as the solution if we resist the devil. God can’t be both the problem and the solution.
Other people’s poor choices affect us. No, this is not opening the door to blame- shifting. Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) is an illustration of this principle.
You may recall a drunk driver ran through a school-bus safety zone killing several children. The children were where they were supposed to be doing what they were supposed to do. The drunk driver’s poor choice, i.e. driving while intoxicated, vitally affected them.
We are all subject, from time to time, to decisions made and actions taken by others, on our behalf or otherwise, having profound and sometimes detrimental effects upon us.
When I drank my first beer December 31, 1951, at age 17, I did not know I was vitally affecting the lives of six people who were not known to me at that time. They would be my wife whom I married when I was 22 years of age and the five children that marriage produced. In fact, that poor choice affected my entire family until January 16, 1969.
As critical as this is, other people’s poor choices affecting us is the third least source of our problems.
Next time: The Number One Source of Our Problems
Rev. Thomas (Tom) C. Lacy, Advisory Board Member of the Virginia Christian Alliance and Founder and Director, of New Hope Counseling Service.
