Maybe You Need a New God

Carlos joined us for our Free Store conversation on Wednesday morning and continued leading us in a study of the book of Galatians.  Our discussion centered around ideas of sin and brokenness.  Carlos started off by telling us that he was born with Scoliosis and it seemed to be getting worse as he got older.  He said that even though it was genetic and not something he brought on himself that he still had to deal with it.  We laughed when someone said that you can't change your genes but you can make them worse.

Carlos explained that there were different kinds of brokenness.  Transgression involved the bad things we do but yet do them without bad motivations.  He said this was like accidentally running over someone with your car.  Carlos said that sin was bad behavior done intentionally.  He said this was like intentionally running over someone with your car.  Sheila told Carlos that he shouldn't be driving which gave us a good laugh.  And we laughed more when someone said that being run over is a problem whether it was intentional or not.

Carlos told us that if we intentionally did bad things over and over again that we eventually get overcome by them.  At that point our bad habits have a hold on us and we can feel powerless to deal with them.  Our friend Eddie said that when he was nineteen years old he drank for six months straight from sun up to sunset.  He said that he couldn't stand the family fighting.  Carlos asked him what helped him at that time.  Eddie said that his wife told him that if he didn't stop drinking he would lose her.  He realized that he had an option and realized that she was "something I didn't want to lose."  He also told us that his mom and stepdad had made the choice to do drugs and stay in their life of crime and they were both in prison as a result.  It made us sad to think about the ways that people can damage their lives.  Someone said that God doesn't abandon those in prison and that people can learn from their mistakes in life.

We talked about how a person can get to the point that they just don't care about the bad things they do.  Carlos asked us what we thought would cause a person to get to that point.  Eddie said low self-esteem.  Janice said we might think we are hurting others by doing bad things.  George said that through a death or a divorce you just get to a point where you "don't care no more."   Janice told us that she almost lost her children from drinkin and druggin.  She was told that she had to straighten up or that her kids would be taken from  her.  At that point she realized she had a choice to either sober up or lose her kids and be institionalized and maybe die.  She told us that she has been sober for twenty-seven years which we celebrated with applause.

At this point Carlos shifted the conversation by telling us that we have primary responsibility for our own lives but that we can be secondary support for others.  Our friend Danielle said that you gotta take the initiative to change your life.  Carlos then asked us why we thought it was important to be gentle and humble in our approach to dealing with other people?  Eddie said you shouldn't think you're high an mighty.  He also said that Jesus was humble enough to wash other people's feet.  Someone else said that if a person has been overcome by something that they feel defeated and humiliated and that they need gentleness because they are exposed and vulnerable.

Carlos said that God is with us even when we do things that get us into trouble.  Our friend Paul said that someone had told him at one point, "maybe you need a new God."  They asked him where his God was when he was drinkin and ruinin his life.  Paul said that God was with him but not partakin which made us laugh.  Eddie said that we should think before we act and remember that for every action there is a reaction.

As our discussion moved to a conclusion Carlos reminded us that responsibility means that we have the ability to respond to things in our lives.  Janice told us that she tries to take care of everybody else and neglects her own problems.  Mickey said it was funny that we try to help other people with their problems when we can't fix our own.  Carlos asked Janice what problems she had that she wanted help with?  When she started talking about her dad Carlos stopped her and reminded her that we were asking about her issues which made us all laugh.  Janice took it with good humor and said that she just wasn't getting things done at home like folding the clothes and keeping the house clean.  She said she gets home and just loses all motivation to do anything.  She is a bit discouraged because she has recently completed her education but can't get a job.  So we encouraged her that completing her education was very important.  And we joked with her that now whenever we see her we are going to ask if her house is clean.