Hard Falls, Pt. 3
Hazardous Attitudes
Not only are pilots trained to avoid hazardous flight conditions, they are also trained to recognize their own hazardous attitudes. The FAA has identified five specific attitudes that are dangerous: Antiauthority, impulsivity, invulnerability, macho, and resignation. I find it interesting that our mythological figure displayed three out of the five. He disregarded his father’s warning. That’s antiauthority. He didn’t believe the risks of flying too close to the sun were a personal threat. That’s invulnerability. He was overconfident in his abilities. That’s macho.
Attitudes are known risk factors when it comes to flying an airplane. All pilots understand that they are susceptible to attitudes that can get them killed. They are constantly on their guard to identify and counteract them when they appear. It’s simply a matter of life and death.
This reality is not just true in aviation, it’s true to life. The wrong set of attitudes can deceive us into doing something foolish or dangerous. We have all experienced this. At one time or another, each of us has been deceived. Anyone who tells you differently is deceiving you.
If you are really serious about making progress in this area, you must be open and transparent before God. So with this mind, here’s the third thing that I encourage you to do:
3. Ask God To Bring Every Lie Into The Light.
This is where you take a courageous dive into the river of risk. When you ask God to reveal the lies that you have believed and lived, you are jumping headfirst into the realm of divine revelation. It’s not an easy thing to do. The Devil will resist your efforts to discover God’s truth. In fact, he will hate you for it.
I remember Cherry telling me one day that she was praying for God to reveal her sins to her. I was impressed that she would pray such a courageous prayer. I affirmed her and considered how this might work out to my advantage—typical male behavior. Then she said, “I’m asking God to reveal your sins to you too.” Ouch!
1 Cor. 4:5 says, He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of men’s hearts. God has promised us that He will expose us and chasten us whenever necessary. It is far less painful to send a lie to the grave, than to let the consequences of the lie wrap you around a nasty mess.
Ps. 90:8 You have set our iniquities before you, our secret sins in the light of your presence.
4. Repent Of Every Falsehood That Has Hold Of Your Mind.
The Greek word for “repent” actually means to change the mind. Before your actions change, your mind has to change. Whatever controls the mind, controls the mouth, feet, hands, eyes, and ultimately the heart.
No one should fear repentance. After confession comes cleansing. Your conscience is liberated from guilt. Your conscience will no longer condemn you in the presence of God. This is how you worship the Lord in freedom, in spirit and in the truth. Fewer things are more wonderful than the experience of feeling clean before a holy and righteous God.
I highly recommend repenting. It is a strong word. It’s doesn’t allow for blame shifting, or avoiding the responsibility for the choices we have made. Many people think that the last words Jesus spoke to the church are found in the Great Commission. They are among His last words, but you can discover other commands in the book of Revelation. He commanded five of the seven churches to repent. His last word to the church was not “go,” but “repent.” Repentance begins in the house of God.
5. Fill The Vacancy With Truth.
I remember an interesting story that Jesus told about a man who had been cleansed of an evil spirit. He compared the man’s life to a house. Because the house remained vacant, the evil spirit returned to the man with seven other evil spirits. He was worse off than before.
Satan loves voids. God inhabits our praises, but the Devil will fill the emptiness created by a lie. This is too important for any of us to leave to chance. Be intentional about your quest for truth. Jesus said that He is the Truth. He is the Word. Saturate your mind with the Word and you will be filled with the truth. Read God’s Word daily. Ask God to give you the burning heart of a disciple who walks with Jesus along the pathways of life.
Luke 24:32 They asked each other, “Were not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?”
Holy Father, I pray for the one
who has come to the end of this study.
Strengthen them.
Guard them from the lies of our enemy.
Fill them with Your living Word.
Set them apart for Your service.
We acknowledge that it would be impossible
without Your strength.
We depend on You totally.
We praise You for Your help in our time of need.
Make Your name famous among the nations.
Use us as the instruments of Your grace.
Amen.
Don’t forget to check out “Hard Falls,” Part 4.