When "What Can I DO" Is The Wrong Question.

I have had people come to me and ask: "What can I do to [insert one of various verbs here]". Generally, the reference is in regard to becoming a better Christian, or overcoming a particular sin problem, or experiencing the actual joy of right relationship to God.

In my younger days, I may have proffered suggestions along the lines of becoming more active in church, or praying more regularly, or fasting, or many other such things, all of which all good.

Yet, the problems remain intact.

After a lifetime of parsing what the Lord has had to say about things, and carefully considering my own attempts at answering those for myself, it has become clear that I was answering the wrong question.

The question *should* be "What can I ++BELIEVE++ in order to become a better Christian, etc."?

Another form of the same question: "What do I NOT believe that prevents me from living a life worthy of His death?"

Do you find yourself easily frustrated when something goes wrong?
* You wanted a bowl of ice cream but someone else had already eaten it all
* You forgot to pay the insurance bill
* You played a bad round of golf.

Does your frustration become an instance in which other people have to take a step back, or walk on eggshells, or feel afraid?

If so, you "could" embark on a campaign to "work on" improving you responses to frustration.

But working on it, while certainly a good endeavor, often masks the root from which the problem sprouted and flourished into its full form. And that root is a BELIEF (or lack thereof).

It is virtually impossible, for example, to become frustrated that you played a poor round of golf, if you were convinced that you would never be able to play another round due to a severe injury last year.