The Core Hope

It is not often that I have time to sit down and watch television strictly for pleasure. During one of those rare moments, I stumbled across a popular YouTube series entitled, “Pop The Balloon”. It’s a potential dating/looking for love show in which contestants “pop” their balloon to display they are no longer interested in moving forward with the person being presented to them. I noticed that sonme of the contestants voiced that “religion”, “spirituality”, and even a “relationship with God” as important qualities in their potential mate. However, those individuals that claimed to have a relationship with God often leaned on their church attendance (going once or twice a month or having been raised in the church) or trying to be a good or trying to pray more as a indicator to validate their claim to their potential match.

All of this struck me as somewhat odd. Not because those actions aren’t good things, but because they really did not reveal much if anything at all about that persons spiritual or religious beliefs. 1 John 2:23 proclaims, “No one who denies the Son has the Father. Whoever confesses the Son has the Father also.” Simply put, you can’t have God without having and understanding His son, Jesus. Lots of people claim to know God and have a relationship with Him, while attempting to remain amigious about their beliefs on Jesus. The Bible teaches says that they are a packaged deal. You can’t get one, without the other. Perhaps the better question, whether you find yourself on an episode of “Pop The Balloon” or not, should be, “Who do you believe Jesus to be?”. The answer to that question alone will shed more light on a persons true relationship with the one true God.

• Trey Wiley

Now anyone that really knows me knows that I LOVE donuts! lol…In fact, I would go so far as to say that the majority of my family loves donuts as well. We are a donut family haha. So being a lover of donuts and needing to not eat donuts (to help me lose the weight I need to) there occurs a conundrum. I “love” this thing but I need to stay away from it. The very thing that brings me pleasure is the same thing that I need to abstain from.

Stay with me.

I’m a strong guy. I mean physically. Large. Obtuse. Big. Broad. Immense. Hefty. Call it whatever you choose to, but physically I realize I’m usually stronger than most of the people around me. But that strength does nothing for me in my battle to abstain from those things that will ultimately cause me harm. What I mean is this; the older I get the more I learn that things aren’t always what they appear to be. Strength without discipline is weakness. I know that that statement isn’t grammatically correct, but I believe it to be true. Strength without discipline is weakness. And sometimes maybe strength shouldn’t be measured by what a person can do rather real strength should be measured by what a person can do without.

In the book of Judges (Chapters 13-16) we meet a man by the name of Samson. Samson is immensely strong and because of this he eventually becomes the target of schemes and plots to overtake him. We know that eventually he is overtaken because he tells the woman he’s with his secret and she betrays him. When you study the life of Samson in deeper detail you will notice constant situations where Samson gives himself over to pleasure or convenience rather than exercising discipline. And ultimately this lack of discipline cost him his life.

The strength of NOT doing something; even when you can. The strength of not saying something; even when they said something to you first. The strength of not indulging; even when it feels so good to do so. Obviously in most of our lives when we talk about temptation, indulging, and discipline the stakes are extremely higher than a donut but I believe its the same principle. The strength of not giving in to whatever it is in your life that ultimately is standing in the way of you being all that God has called you to be. That is true strength. Samson’s strength without discipline became his weakness and ultimately cost him everything. Those stakes are too high for me. What is that thing (or things) that is standing in the way of you growing closer and more intimate with your Creator? Sometimes its a thing and sometimes it’s a person. What or who is your “donut”?