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"What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun." - Ecclesiastes 1:9

As I continue to read and research human history there is one thing that just keeps circulating and circulating around in every generation: the more things change, the more they stay the same.

The human condition is one that so many people try to overcome with new technology, wealth, or even physical pleasure. Others try to fix this condition with knowledge. They think, “If only we could know enough and educate ourselves enough we could cure every disease known to man or fix every problem with money and ‘know how’.”

The plain reality is that we are selfish. Every human being deals with this problem. Many of us are always trying to figure out, “What’s in it for me?” or, “How can I get a leg up in this endeavor?”

The problem isn’t that we don’t have enough money or knowledge or know how. The problem is that we are selfish. We are born into this world as sinners and we need a Savior to not only save us from ourselves and our selfish desires, but to save us from the consequence of our sin: death.

Try as we might, we cannot overcome this condition on our own. Overcoming our selfish desires on our own is just too much in the end. On our own, all we think about is me, me, me. We will all die someday and life is far too short to live a selfish life.

I think back to the years that I only lived for me. I thought I was advancing things for the good of humanity, only to find out and finally see that I was living not only for my own destruction, but for the ultimate destruction of everything that was right and good. Once I realized that I was only repeating the mistakes of others in the past and not learning from them is when my life really began. In 1995 I thought I had given my whole self to Christ. I tried to serve Him in everything I did, but to be honest with you, it has only been a few years since I have realized and have begun to learn what it means to serve Christ in this new creation that I have become. I now realize how much I need to hear and obey the Holy Spirit in all I do. Do I want to serve Christ? Of course! The way to do that is to hear the voice of God and obey Him.

Once I made the very conscious decision to fear and respect God and not fear people is when my personal relationship with Jesus Christ began to really grow and take shape. I had no idea how much I let others influence and direct me with the fear I had in what others thought of me or would perceive about me. Once I gave that up, strived to do everything I did with integrity, lived a life based on God’s Word, and really let the Holy Spirit rule in my heart is when I could put my head down on the pillow at night and have no worries.

And do you know what Jesus had to say about worrying? He said, “So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” – Matthew 6:31 – 34

I want to encourage you to not be like an unbeliever. Do not worry. Once followers of Christ start living in this way and the world sees what it really means to be His followers, they will have to stand up and take notice. We need to love. We need to learn from people’s mistakes and successes of the past. The key to the present and future lie in the past.

“Prepare for the unknown by studying how others in the past have coped with the unforeseeable and the unpredictable.” – General George S. Patton Jr.

For further study:
If you call yourself a Christ–follower are you really following Him and His ways or are you a Christian by name only?

Have you truly given over all the areas of your life over to God?

Who and/or what do you really fear?

Do you really trust God or just say you do?

Do you agree with Jason’s take on this subject? Why or why not? Back your answer with scripture, not with what you “think is right” or “feel is right.”