"Just tell yourself the truth."

A thought by Andy Stanley from his book, Better Decisions, Fewer Regrets (p. 25). Zondervan. Kindle Edition. (Click on the book title to go to Amazon to buy the book.)

Andy in this book is dealing with five questions for us to ask in making decisions and his first one is "Am I being honest with myself?"

He says, "You may not owe it to anyone else. But you owe it to yourself to be honest about why you choose what you choose, why you’re deciding what you’re deciding. There’s no win in selling yourself. There’s no win in justifying options.

He goes on, "It helps to ask this question twice. But on the second round, it helps to add a word.

• Am I being honest with myself . . . really?

• Why am I doing this . . . really?

• Why am I avoiding him . . . really?

• Why am I postponing this . . . really?

• Why do I keep making excuses . . . really?

• Why am I going . . . really?

• Why did I say yes . . . really?

• Why did I choose to wear this . . . really?

• Why did I choose to purchase, lease that . . . really?

• Why do I drive this . . . really?

• Why did I order that . . . really?

• Why did I move in . . . really?

• Why am I moving out . . . really?"

". . . when it comes to selling ourselves on bad ideas or bad decisions, we’re the best. When it comes to convincing ourselves to do the wrong thing, we’re experts. When it comes to building and arguing a case for why we should do something we know we shouldn’t do, we’re unassailable litigating fools. We all deserve honorary law degrees."

He continues, "So, let’s stop with all that. Just tell yourself the unfiltered truth. It won’t hurt. Well, it may hurt your ego. You may hurt your own feelings. You may embarrass yourself . . . to yourself. But in the end, it may help. Owning the real why behind your what may cause lights to come on. Lights can be terrifying. Roaches and rats certainly think so. But light can be a disinfectant. Truth can be as well. They go hand in hand. So, bring your narratives, justifications, and excuses into the light. You may learn something."

He says, "We come into the world with a proclivity for selling ourselves on what we want to do rather than what we ought to do. I’m a sucker for me. You’re a sucker for you. As soon as we see something we want, we start selling. But all of that is just a polite way of saying, we lie to ourselves and believe our own lies.

"Granted, an extra dessert every once in a while isn’t the end of the world. Just the end of the diet. But there are decisions on which your entire future hinges. You talk yourself into some things and you pay. In some cases, you pay for the rest of your life.

"Got a DUI or a felony conviction that raises its ugly head at the most inopportune times? An ex that keeps coming back for more money? Do you get calls from a debt collector? Don’t you wish you could go back and talk yourself out of, rather than into, the decision that led to those outcomes? Sure you do. As Steven Covey famously stated: 'You can’t talk your way out of a problem you behaved your way into.'"

Andy then says, "That’s absolutely true. It’s equally true we talked ourselves into the behavior that created the problem we’re attempting to talk our way out of. Our problems usually begin when we take our own bad advice. And we’re all guilty. We’ve all talked ourselves into things we can’t talk our way out of."

And that is so true, isn't it?

Yes, yes!

“We believe it’s important to derive value from everything in our lives.”

A thought by Jon Tyson from his book, The Burden Is Light: Liberating Your Life from the Tyranny of Performance and Success (p. 118). The Crown Publishing Group. Kindle Edition. (Click on the book title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.) But is that all that is important? Jon says, “We want to realize an immediate return from whatever we invest in. I am prone to this way of thinking in so many areas of my life. ‘I paid a lot for that meal, yet the portions were not that big.’ ‘I invested two hours in that movie, and it was just okay.’ ‘I went to church, but the sermon wasn’t that profound.’ We believe it’s important to derive value from everything in our lives. But beauty doesn’t fit within that framework. When Mary anointed Jesus with oil, there was an immediate outcry against her extravagant generosity. ‘It could have been sold for more than a year’s wages and the money given to the poor.’ (Mark 14:5) One gospel depicts the disciples crying, ‘Why this waste?...

"Lie 2: The more you worry about it, the better your odds of avoiding it."

A thought by Louie Giglio in his book, Winning the War on Worry (p. 5). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition. (Click on the book title to go to Amazon to buy the book.) Here is another lie that the Enemy uses with us. And Louie says, "This is a tricky lie. Yes, we often have cause for concern and preparation. But the Enemy wants you to believe that if you worry or fret over a certain outcome long enough, you can keep something bad from happening." But this is so important to realize. He says, "The reality is worrying has never once prevented something negative from happening. Planning might. Prayer has. But worry never will." He continues, "The Enemy tells you that by worrying about a situation (or every situation) you can make your tomorrow better. Really, worry just robs you of today. Jesus implored us: 'I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body mor...

“Hurry and love are incompatible.”

A thought by John Mark Comer from his book, The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry (p. 23). The Crown Publishing Group. Kindle Edition. (Click on the book title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.) Wow, pretty strong thought isn’t it? John says, “All my worst moments as a father, a husband, and a pastor, even as a human being, are when I’m in a hurry—late for an appointment, behind on my unrealistic to-do list, trying to cram too much into my day. I ooze anger, tension, a critical nagging—the antitheses of love. If you don’t believe me, next time you’re trying to get your type B wife and three young, easily distracted children out of the house and you’re running late (a subject on which I have a wealth of experience), just pay attention to how you relate to them. Does it look and feel like love? Or is it far more in the vein of agitation, anger, a biting comment, a rough glare? Hurry and love are oil and water: they simply do not mix.” He goes on, “Hence, in the apostle P...

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