How Not To Be Your Own Worst Enemy, Part 1: Pay Attention! // Andy Stanley

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- So here's a question for you. Have you ever been your own worst enemy? Have you ever been your own worst enemy? And the answer is Yes, you have been your own worst enemy, maybe not some big macro, you know, big area or some big, you know, some big decision that kind of undermined your whole future. But at some point in all of our lives, we have been our own worst enemy. I was trying to think of a time to tell you about and be vulnerable and all of the ones where I'm my own worst enemy, I'm too embarrassed but I did think of one big one. I was my own worst enemy in my first semester in college, when I found out at the end of that first semester I was on academic warning and then I was my own worst enemy, my second semester we had semester, I was on the semester system, when I found out I was on academic probation. Okay and in school, you really have no one else to blame, right? It's just you, you and you. You're your own worst enemy. And the thing that makes it so memorable is not that part, it's the next part. We live in Tucker and I remember that specifically, my mom said she wanted to talk to me about college. So I was living at home going to Georgia State and so she sits me down at the kitchen table. You know, there's just certain memories that are etched in your mind. You can see the colors on the wall and this is one of those moments. She sat me down and I thought she was gonna give me the pep talk. Like Andy, you can do anything you set your mind to and if you believe you can achieve and you can do all things through, I don't know what she was gonna say, but I'm ready for the Andy you need to buckle down and here's what she said, and I quote, Andy, college is not for everyone. (crowd laughing) That is a direct quote. Andy, college is not for everyone. And I realized even my own mom didn't really think I had what it took to get through college. And I went from becoming my own worst enemy to becoming my own best friend because it scared me so much. Now all of us have kind of interesting kind of like look back and laugh stories, but have you ever seen anyone who like did this up like did this up big? I mean they became their own worst enemy with their career or in their marriage or with their finances or relationship with one of their children. And you stand back and you see it happening, you see it happening kind of unrolling and unraveling and you're thinking, you're doing this to yourself. And when you watch that, you kind of think the same thing I think, you think, well you know what? That they may undermine their own marriage, they may undermine their own career, they may undermine their own world, their own finances or their relationship with their kids. But I mean, I may have some interesting kind of laugh about it later stories about becoming my own worst enemy, but I would never do anything like that, right? But here's the thing that's true of all of us and I'm talking to me as well as you. We all have the potential. I don't even know you, but this is what I know about you. Every single one of us has the potential to become our own worst enemy, right? And the reason I know that is because you, and this is all of us, but I'm picking on you for a second. You have participated in all of your bad decisions, right? You have participated in 100 of your bad decisions. In fact, you were, and picking on it a little bit and same truth for me too, that we were the masterminds behind our own bad decisions, and here's why this is a big deal. Because a single bad decision, I mean, you know this, a single bad decision is always the first step toward becoming your own worst enemy, right? It's not like it happens all at one time, it just unravels over time and the people that you've watched become their own worst enemy in a big way. It started with small things, it started with one simple single decision, right? Because every habit, every habit begins with the first time. And every pattern begins with the first line. And every journey begins with a first step. So we all have the potential to become our own worst enemy if we're not careful. So what we're gonna do is in this series, I wanna give you three things. I wanna give you three things you can begin doing today that will help ensure that you don't become your own worst enemy in a way that you are able to look back and laugh at it in the big ways, the ways that really wreck and ruin and cause whole seasons of our lives to be wasted. And we look back and wish we could go back and do our twenties over, our thirties over, forties or 50s or do a first marriage over, do a first career over, three things. Now, the interesting thing is Jesus doesn't use this terminology. Jesus doesn't talk about don't become your own worst enemy. But in his teaching, he's very, very clear. In fact, in one of his most famous parables, he says this, he says, anyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice, you may remember this from childhood. Anyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a man who became his own worst enemy. He didn't use that terminology. Here's how he said it is like a man who builds his own house. Ah, you should be commended. On the sand, Oh Oh! Who builds his own house, good job, on the sand, and when the storm came, he recognized he has no one but himself to blame because of the poor foundation of his home. So this is a principle, this potentially impacts all of us and Jesus went right to the heart of it. So in this series, what I wanna do is I wanna suggest three habits, three habits that really serve as preemptive habits to ensure that you don't become and I don't become and the people we love don't become our own worst enemy. So today I'm gonna give you the first habit and then in the next two weeks we're gonna talk about habit number two and habit number three. So, the first thing, the first thing that we must all do to ensure that we don't become our own worst enemy is pay attention to the tension. Pay attention to the tension. Even if you were sitting alone at home in your living room, I would like all of us to say this together, ready? Pay attention to the tension. What is the first thing you need to do to ensure that you don't become your own worst enemy? Together, pay attention. That's right. Whenever you're considering any option, any invitation, anything that comes your way, any choice that you're about to make and it causes, if the option you're considering causes any sense of hesitation, a little bit of tension, a little bit of pause, it in any kind of way dings your conscience. Stop and pay attention to that tension. Don't start selling yourself. Start listening. Don't sell yourself, start listening. Because here's what happens and we know this. As soon as you see something you want, as soon as you get invited to something you're interested in, as soon as there's an option that kind of inflames that appetite. As soon as you see someone that you want, what do you do? You do the same thing I do. You start selling yourself. You start selling yourself on this idea. And what's interesting is we lie to ourselves (laughing) and then we believe our own lies. I think only human beings are capable of this. We make up things and then choose to believe the things that we made up and here's how I know that's true. Then and you have to be a little creative, okay? If a sales person, if a sales person used the same pitch on you that you use on yourself. If a salesperson in an actual retail environment use the same pitch on sales pitch on you that you use on yourself, you would be so offended, you would walk out of that establishment, right? I mean, imagine if somebody, you're standing there and the negotiator you're thinking about purchasing something and they said something like this, Hey, if you get home and decide you don't like it, just donate it. But how many times does that run through your mind as you're about to buy something online? But if somebody actually said this to you, you'd be like, do what? How about this? Hey, I see that you already have one that does everything this one does, but this one is newer. I mean, you would look at the person like, that's your pitch? I mean, that's it? But that's the kind of stuff we still tell ourselves all the time, right? How about this? Yes sirree, it is wrong, wrong, wrong, so just don't tell anyone. (crowd laughing) Okay, now we're gonna dig a little deeper, are you ready? Sure, your husband would be hurt and offended if he found out, but your husband isn't bright enough to find out. (crowd laughing) I mean, how offended would you be ladies if somebody said that about your husband? But what do you tell yourself when you start trying to sell yourself on a bad idea? Well, he, right. Okay, well, yeah, we're gonna go both sides of this. Yes, your girlfriend would, she would be devastated, but let's face it, she's not nearly as attractive. I mean, if somebody actually said something bad about your girlfriend, you would be so offended. But listen to the self-talk. Listen to the narrative you create, we're gonna talk a lot about the narratives next time. Is someone to actually said to us the things that we say to ourselves, to sell ourselves on a bad idea that sets us up to become our own worst enemy, we would be so extraordinarily offended. This is why you can't afford an I can't afford to start selling ourselves. Instead, we need to pay attention to the tension. The moment, I mean, this is the habit right here. The moment you start selling yourself, hit pause. The moment you, I mean cause we do this every day, we do this all the time. The moment you start creating an internal narrative as to why something is okay or something's justifiable or something's permissible, in that moment, we should just hit pause and say, wait a minute, I'm doing it. I'm doing that thing. I am making things up and choosing to believe them in order to do something that something in me is telling me, maybe I should hit pause. Because remember this, if you don't hear anything else I say today, this is it. Remember, we rarely, we rarely, we rarely have to sell ourselves on a good idea, right? You rarely have to talk yourself into knowing when something is the right thing, the wise thing, the prudent thing to do. Now, there is a fascinating piece of narrative in the Hebrew Bible that us Christians call the Old Testament, but it started off as the Hebrew Bible or the Jewish scripture. There's this fascinating piece of narrative. If you grew up in church, surely you have heard this before at some point. If not, then you're in for a treat because this is one of the most interesting detailed written stories in the entire Old Testament, and it illustrates, but better than illustrate, this story actually illuminates or brings insight into this whole idea of paying attention to the tension. The story revolves around King David, who was Israel's second King, but the story actually takes place before he became King. Now, if you know anything about the Hebrew Bible or the history of the Jews, David who became Israel second King stepped onto the pages of history as a shepherd boy. And then he was, suddenly he stepped into the spotlight when he killed Goliath. Read the story of David and Goliath, and he became legendary kind of almost overnight because he was this young man who faced this giant, you know this Philistine who was taunting the armies of Israel and he'd follow, you're not taunting the armies of Israel. You're taunting the armies of God and God's just looking for a volunteer and I volunteer and boom, suddenly he's famous. Well, King Saul, who was the King at the time, Israel's first King of course brings him close because he's become a legend and he gives him prominence with the military, he eventually marries him off to one of his daughters, so now the King is his father in-law, but then as time goes by, David becomes so popular, Saul realizes that David is a threat to his dynasty. Because people are gonna want him to be the next King. In fact, the rumor was at that time that David had already been anointed as the next King of Israel as a little boy because in fact he had. So suddenly Saul's not so fond of David even though he's married him off to his daughter. In fact, when you read the story, it's so interesting. Saul decides to use his daughter to manipulate David and then Saul decides to kill David. Then Saul says, no, I'm not gonna kill him. I'm gonna keep sending him out to fight the Philistines and eventually the odds are gonna be such that the Philistines will take care of David, but we've got to get rid of David. Well none of Saul's tactics work and so David becomes more and more and more popular. So then one afternoon he loses his temper and he tries to kill David and David flees. He flees, he has to leave the city. He can't go home because had to put his family in danger, so he flees, he makes several really, really bad decisions and he becomes an outlaw. And as a result of him being so famous, all the other fugitives in the land of around that region of the world who are related to the Jewish people at the time, they weren't called Jewish people at the time, but the Hebrews at the time, they all started following David and the next thing you know, he's got his own Band of Merry Men and eventually it becomes like a small army. But it's a small army without a home because they're all outlaws. It's a small army of men who can't go home. But they rally around David and they see David as his leader. Well, meanwhile, Saul is busy running the kingdom, but he's always on the lookout for David and he has spies everywhere looking for David because he needs to eliminate David before he dies so that his son Jonathan can become the next King rather than David becoming the next King of Israel. And one afternoon he gets a report that David and his Merry Men had been spotted in the desert or the region of Ein Gedi. And if you've ever been to the Holy Land or if you've ever been to Jerusalem, you can actually visit this area of the world. It's just along the sea of the Dead Sea and it just looks exactly like this. It is just barren, wasteland with a few (mumbling) sprinkled here and there it is full of caves and mountains. And again it borders, you can see this next picture kind of borders on the Dead Sea. So this is the region that David and his men are. So the text says that Saul took 3000, which was way more men than he needed to fight David. But again, David is a valued warrior. He's famous for his ability to fight out in the open. So he takes 3000 able young men from all of Israel and he sets out to look for David and his men. So they're gone for several days and eventually they come to an area that we're not sure exactly where it is. But when this was originally written the people who originally read it, knew exactly what the author meant. He came to the sheep pens and there was a cave there. And actually when you go to this region of Israel, there are caves everywhere. There was a cave there and Saul went in to relieve himself. Fun fact, maybe. I think this is the only reference to going to the bathroom in the whole Bible. But I could be wrong about that, okay? I don't know what everybody else did, but at least Saul, we know had to relieve himself. And this is a strategic part of the story and it's why the author included it. So here's the picture. 3000 men, that's a lot of people. The long caravan with some camp followers, with wagons, with food, I mean this is a big ordeal. Saul is a little bit, you know, back from the front. Saul has to go to the bathroom. Now, if you're just a regular guy in the army and you have to go to the bathroom, you deal with it. But when you're the King, you can stop the whole caravan, get off your mule, he rode a mule and he makes his way up to this cave by himself to use the bathroom while everybody else waited. And if you've heard this story before, here's where it takes the most interesting twist. David and his men were actually in the very cave that King Saul chose to stop and use as his, you know, his private bathroom. And they're far back in the cave. Now, what are the odds of that? I mean, there aren't even in the odds, right? I mean, talk about the stars lining up, talking about God smiling on you or the gods smiling on you. I mean, this is a best case scenario. This was an answer as we're gonna see in just a minute. This was an answer to David's prayer. So the context, a little bit of what must've happened is Saul had his spies out looking for David and David had his spies out, making sure that Saul wasn't anywhere close and when David's spies found out that Saul was not too far behind him, David said to his men, scatter hide in the hills. We'll wait for Saul and his men to go through, we will reconvene and go the other way. But it just so happened when King Saul and his caravan got right into the area where David and his men had dispersed to hide, that's when he had to go to the bathroom and he happened to choose the very cave that David was hiding in. Now get the picture. David's eyes have adjusted, he's been in the cave. Saul walks in and he can't see a thing. And he walks just far enough in to do his business. But when he walks into the cave, he is just a silhouette and David and his men are in the back of the cave and they look at each other and they cannot believe this. I mean, what's running through his mind? I mean, if you had been an outlaw for months, we don't even know how much time David had been outlawed this time and just living out in the hills. What's going through your mind? Clearly, I mean you don't even, this isn't a prayer, this is you just know. God had clearly delivered David's enemy. I mean literally into his hands. David had already been anointed King. Everybody knows he's the next guy. The only thing standing in the way of David to become the next King is Saul and here he is. And if we don't think that's what was running through David's mind, we know it that's what was running through David's men's mind because the text says, this is what his men whispered to him, far back in the cave. The men said to David, this is the day the Lord spoke of when he said to you, I will give your enemy into your hand for you to deal with them as you wish. This is what David had told his men over and over and over. As they sat around the campfire at night, he would say to them, look, guys just a little bit longer, just a little bit longer, stay with me just a little bit longer. Eventually I'll be the King. And when I become the King, I'm gonna reward those of you who were most loyal to me during the mean times and the lean times in these difficult times. So they're looking at David's saying, you're right. This is exactly what you promised. This is exactly what you told us would happen, but we could not imagine it would happen like this. This is the very thing God promised you. And now the waiting is over. Kill the King and let's go home. And the optics on this would have been amazing. So now let's imagine we're outside the cave, right? And we're lined up, bored and yawning and waiting for the King to come out and would keep glancing over at the cave. King Saul went in, David steps out. With King Saul's head in his hand. And everybody in that caravan would immediately recognize David is the King of Israel. No civil war, very little bloodshed, lives spared. So can you imagine the adrenaline? Can you imagine the emotion in the cave that afternoon? Can you imagine the pressure David felt to do something about this so he and his men could finally go home? Besides this had to be God's will. I mean, this can't be a coincidence. It had to be God's will because God had already declared that David was gonna be the next King. The pressure he felt to act, we can't even imagine it. But the text tells us and as the story unfolds, David felt something else as well. There was a tension. There was a hesitation. There was a tension that didn't make any sense in light of the circumstances. There was a hesitation that didn't make any sense in light of the flow of the story and the flow of his life. This tension made absolutely no sense and so he ignored it. And he did what any of us would probably have done if we had the opportunity. The text says that David took out his knife and he slowly crept up unnoticed behind King Saul. But as he gets closer and closer and closer, that tension intensifies and intensifies and intensifies and somehow, some way, he was able to stop and pay close attention to the tension and suddenly, and some of you've experienced this. I want all of us to experience this eventually. Suddenly somewhere between the back of that cave and King Saul's back, suddenly his decision to kill and to murder King Saul was completely reframed. Suddenly the hesitation that made no sense, made perfect sense. Wait! Wait, what am I doing? I'm about to murder the King. Wait a minute, wait, wait, wait. I can't murder the King. I mean, God chose Saul, I can't replace what God put in place. This is gonna be my legacy, this is gonna be my story, this will be the story that people tell about me. I mean, I love the one they sing about David and Goliath, but I don't know that I want them turning this into a song, right? I don't want this to be the story I have to tell my grandchildren, granddaddy, grandpapa, tell us how you became King again. We love the story you snuck up behind old King Saul and you slit his throat while he was using the potty, tell us that story again. (crowd laughing) I mean, is that really the story you wanna tell? In fact, the text tells us that David was conscience-stricken. And somehow with all this energy and all this, you know, testosterone and all this adrenaline and everything going on in that cave, suddenly he was stopped and he was able to stop long enough and pay attention to this irrational tension. He was able to pay attention to his irrational conscience. And it saved him from becoming his own worst enemy. Because in that moment, he would have become the man who murdered Israel's first King. He would become the man who murdered his own father in-law. The man who allowed him to rise to prominence after he killed Goliath. And so somewhere between the back of the cave and King Saul's back, this all gets reframed for him. And he realizes, Oh my goodness, no wonder there's a tension. No wonder there's a hesitation. He was conscience-stricken. And he snuck up behind King Saul and he took King Saul's disregarded robe and he cut off the corner and he went back to the cave. And there his men hiding in the cave, can you imagine, they're in shock. They can't believe this. Now he has some explaining to do. And they're like, they just can't believe what they just saw. I mean, this was the perfect opportunity. They can finally go home. There will no longer be a price on their heads. And he said to his men, the text says, he said to his men. The Lord forbid, this is amazing that I should do such a thing to my master, the Lord's anointed. Actually, wait a minute David. You know, two and a half minutes ago, he wasn't your master, the Lord's anointed. Two and a half minutes ago, he was your enemy, what happened? And then the men are saying, okay, if you won't do it, we'll do it. In fact, we'll all do it together. If you don't wanna have blood on your hands, we understand that. Just let us do it. And with these words, the text says with these words, David sharply rebuked his men and did not allow them to attack Saul. And Saul left the cave and went on his way. Fuh! So close, so close, so close. So let me ask you a question, we'll get back to the story. Are you close? Are you contemplating something and you're selling, selling selling selling and spin and spin and spin and spin. And you've kind of decided, you've sort of got there. You know your husband, he's not so sure your wife's not so sure some of your friends are like, really? I mean, and then you've got other friends are going, Oh yeah, Oh yeah, Oh yeah. Everybody, everybody culture, culture, culture or, how are you so close? Is it possible that right now, if that you can't even believe I'm talking about this? It's like, what? This is exactly what I'm going through. Are you so close? Are you selling yourself? Come on, let's just, you don't have to be honest with anybody else. I mean, you lie to yourself all the time at least be honest with yourself for a moment, right? I mean, me too, right? Are you selling yourself on a bad idea? Are you ignoring your conscience? Is there an internal hesitation, an internal tension and you've just kind of pushed right by it? Are you selling yourself on an idea that's gonna or a decision that's gonna follow you around for the rest of your life? That's gonna make you a liar for life? Because you're never gonna want anybody to know this part of your story? And you're never gonna want anybody to tell this part of your story? And one day when you have children, or one day when you have grandchildren and tell your story, you get to this part and you just kinda are gonna have to skip over it? Are you on the verge of becoming your own worst enemy? If so, can I just make a suggestion? I'm not, the boss of you. I mean, I'm not, you know, I can't tell you what to do, but can I just make a suggestion? Would you at least hit pause? Just stop for a moment selling yourself and just listen. Listen. Listen to the wiser voices around you and perhaps listen to that still small voice on the inside of you that's going (clearing throat) I don't think that's the best thing because it may be, I don't know, just guessing. It may be the whisper of God who loves you, who loves you and is doing everything he can to keep you from becoming your own worst enemy. So as the text says, Saul exits the cave. He has no clue as to how close he came to joining all of his dead ancestors. He goes back, he gets on his mule, and as he gets on his mule, this is amazing. He hears a voice. And it's a familiar voice. And it's coming from the direction of the cave he just exited and everybody in the whole, all of his men, everybody in the caravan, everybody involved, everybody's head turns and standing at the mouth of the cave that Saul just came out of is David. Flanked by his men. And David bows low in honor of the King. And then he stands up and he holds up the corner of Saul's robe. And in that moment, and here's the moment, I don't want you to miss in your life. In that moment, here's the moment I don't want you, I want you to be able to tell your kids and grandkids about and your friends about some day, your future husband or wife someday. In that moment, everybody there knew who the better man was. It was David. David gives a little speech. It's very interesting. I'm not gonna read the whole thing, but at the end of the speech, here's how he concludes. He says, Saul, may the Lord be the judge between you and me. And may the Lord avenge the wrongs you have done to me, but my hand will not touch you. I'm going to do the right thing. I will not take matters into my own hands. And because David listened to that still small hesitation, that tension, that little ding of his conscience in a moment when most people would just have paid no attention to it. David decided, and this is where some of you are, David decided not to use Saul's bad behavior as an excuse, for bad behavior. So how about you? As you think about the option you're considering. That big life change you're considering. That thing you've pretty much talked yourself into, in fact, the wheels are already turning. Are you considering, are you considering behaving badly based on somebody else's bad behavior? Because of what they did to you, because of what they're trying to do to you, because of what everybody else around you does? Come on, are you considering becoming like someone you don't even like? Are you selling yourself? Remember, we rarely ever have to sell ourselves. We rarely have to ever have to sell ourselves on the right thing to do. So now, all eyes turned from David to Saul. And he is completely humiliated by David. But here's the interesting thing. He's not humiliated by David's military skill. He's humiliated by David's character. He's humiliated by David's self-control. He's humiliated by David's humility. And Saul has no choice. He turns his army around and he heads back to Jerusalem. That's the power of paying attention to that tension. When my daughter Allie, I have three children Allie is our youngest, now when she was the eighth grade, she and I were studying for a test together using a study guide. And as we were studying it occurred to me that her older brother Garrett had had the same class with the same teacher the year before, and I thought I wonder if there are any old tests to study from. She said, Hey dad, we can't do that. I said, yeah, if the teacher gave out tests and he knows that these tests are floating around and in college, you know, do it all the time. So I went digging around and sure enough, I found an old test, alright? And I don't, this isn't a parenting seminar, I'm just telling you what happened, okay. (crowd laughing) This isn't for modeling, this is for, it's just that what happened. So anyway, so we sat down and we studied through this test to get her ready and she was an A student, so it wasn't a big deal. So, you know, anyway. So she goes to class the next day, the teacher hands out the test and it's the same test, right? Yeah, so that afternoon she gets home from school and I ask what every good parent asks when they have studied with their children for a test. I said, Allie, how did we do on our test? (humming) You know what you asked, you wanna know what kind of grades you made, you know? She said, dad, you're not gonna believe this. It was the same test and I felt like I was cheating. I'm like, no, no, no, no, you weren't cheating. It was the teacher's fault. If they're gonna hand these things out, they know that these things are floating around. Not that I'm not giving parenting advice. Let me just reiterate that this is just what happened. And I said, besides, you're an A student, you know, I'm trying to ease her conscience. She said, no, no, no, dad, it's okay. I told him. Now I'm like, what? (crowd laughing) You told on yourself? (crowd laughing) Whose child are you? Okay? (crowd laughing) So then I have to switch gears. Like, Oh, I'm so glad you did. That was the right thing to do, you know. I'm so proud of you. You know, I'm just sorry because I'm the one that got you into trouble if I need that. She's like, no, no, no I didn't get in trouble. Like what? She said, well, he meant to have it. He had another test and he got to school that morning and the copying machine wasn't working so he couldn't make copies so he just had copies of an old tests and used the test that, you know, Garrett had, you know, when he was in the same class. I'm like, Oh, I said, so you didn't get in trouble? She said, no. He was proud of me for telling him. I'm like, yeah, me too, me too, me too. (crowd laughing) So the point of this is, come on, an eighth grade girl felt tension. What do you do with that tension? Do I tell my teacher or not? And when she thought not, she felt more tension. So she decided to pay attention to the tension rather than pay attention to her father. Anyway, you're gonna get by that real quick. Anyway, so she paid attention to now, now I know what you're thinking, thinking, Oh, that's so cute, you know. What's that got to do with me? It's got everything to do with you. Here's why. Because the tension that you are wrestling with right now, the tension you're wrestling with right now falls somewhere between choosing whether or not to tell your math teacher you studied from an old test and murdering a King. (crowd laughing) I think we've book ended about everything you and I could experience, right? It's somewhat this side of murdering a King, it's probably somewhat this side of what are you gonna tell your math teacher, but the principle is the same. What are you gonna do with that tension? If there's something that you can't quite put your finger on, hit pause. If there's something where you find yourself saying, I just have an overactive conscience, maybe, but maybe not, hit pause. If there's something that someone else has put their finger on and you're mad at them for bringing it up, but then when you got alone by yourself, you can't get it off your mind. You can't get it off Your heart it's bothering you, here's my advice. Let it bother you. Don't rush by it. That tension may be God's way of protecting you from becoming your own worst enemy. And ask the question, I know it's painful, but I'm telling you for some of you, this is like a curtain is gonna open up and you're gonna have clarity. You're gonna hate the clarity, but you're gonna look back and be so grateful for the clarity. And ask the question, is there a tension? Is there a tension that deserves my attention? Is there a tension that deserves my attention? This is a preemptive strike against becoming your own worst enemy. Because after all, every habit, you know this, every habit begins with a first time. And every pattern begins with a first line. And every journey begins with a first step. So if something bothers you about him, let it bother you. If there's something that kind of bothers you about her, let it bother you. If there's something that kind of bothers you about the deal, let it bother you. If there's something that bothers you about that set of circumstances with that invitation or whatever it is, just don't rush by it, don't brush by it, sit on it and let it bother you. Face it until it either goes away or you decide to go a different way. Because, well oftentimes it begins as nothing more than an uneasy feeling, over time becomes something that is supported with reason or insight. It's that moment that David had as he crept up behind King David and it's like, wait a minute. Wait, wait, wait, wait, what? I mean, yes. In one context, this makes perfect sense. In another context, I am about to murder my father-in-law. What was I thinking? So I'd like for you to consider making this commitment. We're gonna have a commitment for each of these three ideas. And the first commitment is simply this. This is simple. Would you be willing to pause until you pinpoint the cause? Would you be willing to make this commitment? I'm gonna pause until I pinpoint the cause. Or another way of saying it. I'm going to explore rather than ignore my conscience, I'm going to explore, why does that bother me? Why am I uneasy about that? Everybody else says it's okay, everybody else is involved, everybody else does it this way. I'm gonna explore rather than ignore my conscience. Is there a tension that deserves your attention? If so, pay attention because that's a decision you will never regret. In fact, that's a decision that will lead to fewer regrets. That's a decision that will ensure that you don't become your own worst enemy.
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Channel: Andy Stanley
Views: 174,433
Rating: 4.8282208 out of 5
Keywords: andy stanley, andystanley, Andy Stanley message, Andy Stanley sermon, Andy Stanley series, NPCC, North Point Community Church, North Point, northpoint, buckhead church, woodstock city church, gwinnett church, browns bridge church, decatur city church, andy stanley church, andy stanley atlanta
Id: qun9w2CTMW0
Channel Id: undefined
Length: 35min 15sec (2115 seconds)
Published: Mon Oct 14 2019
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