Self Destruction

By: Jordan Taylor

Which one of us has never made a mistake and had to live with the consequences? I know that I have! A recent misfortune of mine has caused me to look closer at these mistakes.

This day just started out like any other. Pretty nice… sun shining… birds singing… everything going good. I decided that I would enjoy this beautiful day by pulling out my old roller blades and taking them for a spin around the new = mile trail at our town park.

Well, the trail starts out going downhill. I thought I would be able to handle the speed… that is, until a rock got in my way. It’s amazing how a tiny pebble could send a 13 year old flying. I was on the ground in pain before I even knew what had happened. The first thing I saw was my wrist. It was laying in an awkward position… a position that almost made me pass out. I tried getting up when I noticed that I couldnt apply ANY pressure to my wrist, or the opposite leg which had suffered something similar to road burn. So… there I was, on the ground, praying not only for the pain to stop, but for God to help me find a way to get up. I did sort of an “inverted caterpillar” maneuver over to the grass where I used a bench to get up.

Even now, I am suffering with that pain. Typing hurts my wrist, and, well, my leg just hurts all the time.

You are probably wondering right now how my misfortune could teach you anything. That is, anything other than; don’t go rollerblading down a steep hill that has pieces of rock scattered on it. Well here it is…

A few days after my accident, I began thinking. Every time somebody asked me how I hurt my leg, I told them that I was rollerblading and a rock tripped me. I left out part of the truth of the story. I knew that I wasn’t experienced enough at rollerblading to go down that hill. It was MY fault, not the rock, not the trail – me. I was the reason for my pain. This made me think even more.

I see so many people in life making mistakes. BIG mistakes. When asked why they do it, there is always an excuse or situation they blame it on. They blame it on their upbringing, they blame it on peer pressure, and they blame it on people. Not ONCE have I heard any of these people take responsibility for what they did wrong. In murder cases, drug busts, and even theft it’s always the same. They plead not guilty due to Insanity, or past circumstances. This is WRONG! Blame shifting originated at the dawn of time in the Garden of Eden. I’m sure you all know the story, Adam and Eve sinned by eating the forbidden fruit which God specifically told them NOT to eat. Adam tried to push the blame off onto Eve and even God when he said: “The woman whom Thou (meaning God) gavest me, she gave me of the tree and I did eat!” Genesis 3:12 People live with consequences not because of someone else, but because of themselves, and their own bad choices.

The truth is, we bring ourselves down by disobedience to God and what he would have us to do. My accident was due to my negligence. The mistakes that we ALL make in life are our own faults. But remember, whatever mistakes you make, and whatever consequences you must endure, God is there to help you up, and brush you off. All you have to do is ask him. Show some accountability, and don’t blame others for your own Self-Destruction.

About Trisha Smith 1048 Articles
I am a wife, mother, sister, daughter, friend, and leader, a child of God, chosen, loved, redeemed. Check out the ministry's history and my involvement in the About section.

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