- There's just no
question about it.
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Your ancestors
were completely right
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when they told you life is hard,
00:00:05.20\00:00:07.74
but what if you're
actually making it harder
00:00:07.74\00:00:09.74
than it needs to be?
00:00:09.74\00:00:11.21
That's our topic on
today's edition of "Authentic."
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[gentle upbeat music]
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There's something I've been
living with for decades now,
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and that's the fact that
I've got some dead friends.
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Now, I know
everybody's got dead friends,
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and the longer you live,
the more likely it becomes
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that you're just
going to lose somebody.
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So I know I'm not alone,
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but some of the friends I lost,
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well, it happened way too young.
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I mean, I'm talking
about people who didn't survive
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their 20s and
probably should have.
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These are young, tragic deaths.
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And there's just
something extra heartbreaking
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about a young death because
it seems so out of the ordinary.
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It's not the pattern
that most of us expect.
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What we expect is
for old people to die
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after living a long, full life,
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even though not
as many people manage
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to accomplish that
as you might think.
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Here in the United
States, it seems like Americans
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between the ages of 15 and
24 are twice as likely to die
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as their counterparts
in other developed nations
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like Germany, France, or Japan.
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Back in 2019,
prior to the pandemic,
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almost 60,000 Americans
under 25 years of age died,
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and out of those
roughly 21,000 were infants.
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40% of deaths among
young people between the ages
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of 15 and 19 were
due to murder or suicide.
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And of course, it
probably comes as no surprise
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to most people that men
are more likely to die young
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than women are because of
our appetite for risky behavior.
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And as a
minister, I've got to say
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that when a young person dies,
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the funeral becomes
that much more difficult
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because it just seems,
well, so much more tragic.
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Of course, the first
funeral mentioned in the Bible
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was conducted by parents
who had to bury their son.
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But still, there's just
something about a young death
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that seems
completely out of place.
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Of course,
nobody's death feels right.
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We can tell
ourselves all we want,
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that death is just a natural
part of the circle of life,
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but there's something
essential, something fundamental
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in our hearts that
refuses to accept that idea.
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I mean, you can
apply your logic to this
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and remind yourself
that everybody dies,
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and so you are going
to lose some loved ones.
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But somehow when those
bills finally come due,
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the pain of loss
suddenly overrides rationality,
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and it just plain hurts.
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And when the grave
takes somebody young,
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well, the sense that
we've all been cheated
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seems really sharp.
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When we lose somebody
young, it seems more horrific
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because this is someone who
never really got to start living
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in the first place.
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And that was the situation
with some of the friends
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that I lost early on.
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I'm especially
thinking of one guy today.
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I'll call him
Peter, who burned to death
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in a tragic car wreck.
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And another friend,
I'll call him Daniel,
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who committed suicide
during a family dinner,
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where he excused himself from
the table and never came back.
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These were terrible stories,
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profound losses that really hurt
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because they
seemed so unnecessary.
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And in Peter's case,
the unbelievable stress
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of losing their son
took a very heavy toll
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on his parents' marriage.
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These kinds of
things are just too costly
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for most people's
emotional budgets,
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and in a lot of ways it
destroyed his parents' lives
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too. You know, I'm suddenly
reminded of that scene in the
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Bible where David
suddenly finds out that his son
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has been killed in battle.
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And it's an exceptionally
heart-wrenching scene
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because his son died
at complete odds with him.
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The boy had been staging
a rebellion trying to seize
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control of his father's kingdom.
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And by rights, the king's
troops really had every right
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to kill him.
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But still, it's
David's son and he loves him.
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Now, most of you know the story.
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Absalom, the son, was
a rather vain young man
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who had a reputation for
being really good looking.
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And he sported a
magnificent mane of hair,
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which in those days
was often considered
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to be a sign of
virility or strength.
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He was the model warrior.
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But it turns out that
his hair was also his undoing
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because one day as he
was riding under a tree,
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his hair got
caught in the branches
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and it pulled him off his mule
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and left him hanging in the air,
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which made him an easy
target for a man named Joab,
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the commander
of the king's army,
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who of course killed
the boy when he found him.
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It's one of the most
heartbreaking stories in the
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Bible because, well,
there's no good solution here.
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Absalom had to die because
he'd become a serious threat
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to the peace and
safety of the kingdom.
00:05:00.80\00:05:02.90
And just letting him live
probably would've resulted
00:05:02.90\00:05:05.70
in untold pain and misery
for an awful lot of people.
00:05:05.70\00:05:09.67
And yet it's
still the king's son.
00:05:09.67\00:05:13.01
And this is where David
gives us a remarkable glance
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into the heart of God
because He has also endured
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a rebellion
that's been perpetrated
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by the very people
He made in His image.
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In fact, our foolish attempt
to free ourselves from God
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eventually led to the
brutal murder of God's only son.
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I mean, we executed
him on a Roman cross.
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But the amazing thing
is we still find a God
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who actually mourns
when you and I are touched
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by the ravages of death.
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And it's not the way that a
lot of people talk about God
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as if He's some
kind of arbitrary tyrant
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who can't wait to be
rid of the human race.
00:05:47.91\00:05:51.71
So listen to what the Bible
says about David at the moment
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when he discovers that his
beautiful son Absalom is dead.
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I think I'll start
reading in 2 Samuel 8:28,
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where a messenger named
Ahimaaz suddenly arrives
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at David's house.
00:06:04.49\00:06:06.16
It says: So Ahimaaz
called out and said to the king,
00:06:06.16\00:06:09.63
"All is well."
00:06:09.63\00:06:11.17
Then he bowed down
with his face to the earth
00:06:11.17\00:06:12.97
before the king and said,
00:06:12.97\00:06:14.60
"Blessed be the Lord your God,
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who has delivered up the men
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who raised their hand
against my lord the king."
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So here we've got this
guy who delivers good news
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to the palace.
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The rebellion has been squashed
and the kingdom is secure.
00:06:25.65\00:06:29.08
So you'd expect the king to
breathe a deep sigh of relief.
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But listen to what
he says in verse 29.
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The king said, "Is the
young man Absalom safe?"
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It's not the security of his
kingdom that takes center stage
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at this point in the story,
it's the security of his boy.
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And of course,
Absalom is already dead
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and he has to be dead because
there was no other choice.
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He wasn't about to repent,
00:06:52.91\00:06:54.24
he wasn't about
to change his mind
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and support his
father's administration,
00:06:55.88\00:06:58.25
and he was always
going to be a problem.
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So the commander who
killed him didn't have a choice.
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He had to stop
this dangerous boy
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and he had to do it permanently.
00:07:06.92\00:07:08.76
And of course, the king
understands that intellectually,
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but still we're
talking about his boy,
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a young man made in
the image of the king.
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And the father loves him
deeply in spite of the pain
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that he's caused.
00:07:19.70\00:07:21.00
And so when David
receives confirmation
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that Absalom is gone,
this is what happens next.
00:07:23.37\00:07:28.04
We stop to take a break
because I've run out of time,
00:07:28.04\00:07:30.85
but I'll be
right back after this.
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[logo swooshes]
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- [Narrator] Dragons,
beasts, cryptic statues,
00:07:36.75\00:07:41.02
Bible prophecy can be
incredibly vivid and confusing.
00:07:41.02\00:07:45.59
If you've ever
read Daniel a revelation
00:07:45.59\00:07:47.76
and come away scratching
your head, you are not alone.
00:07:47.76\00:07:50.80
Our free focus on
prophecy guides are designed
00:07:50.80\00:07:53.74
to help you unlock
the mysteries of the Bible
00:07:53.74\00:07:55.97
and deepen your understanding
of God's plan for you
00:07:55.97\00:07:58.97
and our world.
00:07:58.97\00:08:00.24
Study online or
request them by mail
00:08:00.24\00:08:02.51
and start bringing
prophecy into focus today.
00:08:02.51\00:08:06.11
[gentle music]
00:08:06.11\00:08:08.85
- [Narrator] There
is a place so still
00:08:08.85\00:08:11.82
[gentle music]
00:08:11.82\00:08:14.42
you can almost
hear your imagination.
00:08:15.59\00:08:18.43
[gentle music]
00:08:18.43\00:08:21.00
So free,
00:08:26.13\00:08:27.37
[gentle music]
00:08:27.37\00:08:29.90
your spirits can soar.
00:08:29.90\00:08:32.11
[gentle music]
00:08:32.11\00:08:34.68
So vast,
00:08:35.64\00:08:36.85
[gentle music]
00:08:36.85\00:08:39.15
it needs to be explored.
00:08:39.15\00:08:41.18
[gentle music]
00:08:41.18\00:08:43.79
So high,
00:08:49.76\00:08:50.76
[gentle music]
00:08:50.76\00:08:52.99
you can touch the clouds.
00:08:52.99\00:08:55.30
[gentle music]
00:08:55.30\00:08:57.70
A place called
Discovery Mountain.
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[gentle music]
00:09:03.30\00:09:05.91
- Just before the break,
we were talking about Absalom,
00:09:07.91\00:09:10.71
a talented and charismatic
young man who was cut down
00:09:10.71\00:09:13.48
in the prime of his youth
00:09:13.48\00:09:14.88
because he'd
become a serious threat
00:09:14.88\00:09:16.52
to the stability of
his father's kingdom.
00:09:16.52\00:09:19.09
And when you find
yourself faced with this choice
00:09:19.09\00:09:21.26
between saving everybody
or preserving your own boy,
00:09:21.26\00:09:25.79
oh, I'm just glad
I don't have to make
00:09:25.79\00:09:27.03
that kind of decision.
00:09:27.03\00:09:28.83
It's a story that
runs parallel to the story
00:09:28.83\00:09:31.03
of the great conflict
that emerges in God's universe
00:09:31.03\00:09:33.80
when a considerable
segment of the creation
00:09:33.80\00:09:36.47
stages a selfish rebellion
00:09:36.47\00:09:38.61
that threatens
everybody's wellbeing.
00:09:38.61\00:09:41.08
It's a really serious problem.
00:09:41.08\00:09:43.68
David knows that if his beloved
son is never going to change
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and he's going to destroy the
peace and safety of everybody
00:09:46.78\00:09:49.35
if he isn't stopped, well,
there's no choice there anymore.
00:09:49.35\00:09:53.25
Absalom had to go.
00:09:53.25\00:09:54.42
It was the only
solution to the problem.
00:09:54.42\00:09:57.13
But then when David the
king suddenly gets the news
00:09:57.13\00:09:59.39
of Absalom's death, I
want you to pay attention
00:09:59.39\00:10:01.53
to what he does.
00:10:01.53\00:10:03.06
The Bible says: Then
the king was deeply moved,
00:10:03.06\00:10:06.17
and went up to the
chamber over the gate and wept.
00:10:06.17\00:10:09.17
And as he went, he said, thus,
00:10:09.17\00:10:11.11
"O my son Absalom,
my son, my son Absalom.
00:10:11.11\00:10:14.34
If only I had
died in your place.
00:10:14.34\00:10:16.38
O Absalom my son, my son."
00:10:16.38\00:10:19.35
The boy had made his
father's life a living hell.
00:10:20.68\00:10:23.28
But I want you to
notice there's not even a hint
00:10:23.28\00:10:26.05
of good riddance on David's
part or he had it coming.
00:10:26.05\00:10:30.06
There's just the
broken heart of a father
00:10:30.06\00:10:31.69
grieving for his boy.
00:10:31.69\00:10:33.73
And I'm convinced that the
story is included in the Bible
00:10:33.73\00:10:36.63
for a reason because
it gives us a glimpse
00:10:36.63\00:10:39.70
into the heart and
mind of God himself.
00:10:39.70\00:10:42.37
I mean, the way some
people talk about God,
00:10:42.37\00:10:44.84
you'd think that He's
just like a Greek deity
00:10:44.84\00:10:46.98
on Mount Olympus
hurling lightning bolts
00:10:46.98\00:10:49.08
at anybody who happens to
rub His fur the wrong way.
00:10:49.08\00:10:52.35
It's a story we've
been telling ourselves
00:10:52.35\00:10:54.02
for a really long time,
these tales of a vengeful,
00:10:54.02\00:10:57.39
hateful God who can't
wait to get rid of us.
00:10:57.39\00:11:01.06
But then you open the
Bible and you find God
00:11:01.06\00:11:03.59
using this horrible tragedy,
00:11:03.59\00:11:05.16
the death of a
king's beloved son,
00:11:05.16\00:11:07.76
to help us understand
what He really feels like.
00:11:07.76\00:11:10.73
"As I live," God
says in Ezekiel 33,
00:11:10.73\00:11:13.57
"I have no pleasure in
the death of the wicked,
00:11:13.57\00:11:16.30
but that the wicked would
turn from his way and live.
00:11:16.30\00:11:19.41
Turn, turn from your evil ways.
00:11:19.41\00:11:21.08
For why should you
die, O house of Israel."
00:11:21.08\00:11:24.18
The story of Absalom might
be one of the best doors to open
00:11:25.65\00:11:28.52
when we're wrestling with
some of the hardest questions
00:11:28.52\00:11:30.89
that come from
studying the Bible.
00:11:30.89\00:11:33.12
For example, consider
the conquest of Canaan
00:11:33.12\00:11:36.93
and the order that God
gave to His people to go
00:11:36.93\00:11:39.53
and completely
annihilate some of the people
00:11:39.53\00:11:41.83
who were living there.
00:11:41.83\00:11:43.53
For some of us it
looks like a brutal case
00:11:43.53\00:11:45.70
of senseless genocide.
00:11:45.70\00:11:47.20
It seems like people
are being slaughtered
00:11:47.20\00:11:49.57
just because of
their ethnic identity.
00:11:49.57\00:11:52.44
We start to compare
that to the cruel slaughter
00:11:52.44\00:11:55.51
of the Armenians at the
beginning of the 20th century,
00:11:55.51\00:11:57.98
or the atrocities
perpetrated against Tutsis
00:11:57.98\00:12:01.05
at the end of the 20th century.
00:12:01.05\00:12:03.05
We read a story like
that and we begin to suspect
00:12:04.49\00:12:07.06
that God must be
some kind of cruel despot.
00:12:07.06\00:12:10.46
But today I wanna suggest
00:12:10.46\00:12:12.39
that you can only
come to that conclusion
00:12:12.39\00:12:14.20
if you don't
read the whole story.
00:12:14.20\00:12:17.20
What we have in the pages
of the Bible is a very detailed
00:12:17.20\00:12:20.47
character study
of an infinite God.
00:12:20.47\00:12:23.14
And of course,
because He's infinite,
00:12:23.14\00:12:24.91
we're always going to
struggle to understand Him.
00:12:24.91\00:12:28.31
When it comes to
grasping the infinite,
00:12:28.31\00:12:31.48
you and I are kind
of like a garden slug
00:12:31.48\00:12:33.28
trying to understand the
sounds of a Beethoven symphony.
00:12:33.28\00:12:36.25
We're just not that
well-equipped to contemplate
00:12:36.25\00:12:39.42
an eternal God.
00:12:39.42\00:12:41.39
But still, there's
enough detail in this Bible
00:12:41.39\00:12:44.23
to help me realize
that I'm probably wrong
00:12:44.23\00:12:47.23
when I'm tempted to think of God
00:12:47.23\00:12:48.66
as some kind of
unforgiving tyrant,
00:12:48.66\00:12:50.40
some kind of cruel dictator.
00:12:50.40\00:12:53.30
I mean, just consider
one of the most famous verses
00:12:53.30\00:12:55.90
in the Bible where it says:
00:12:55.90\00:12:57.54
"For God so loved the world
00:12:57.54\00:13:00.24
that He gave His
only begotten Son."
00:13:00.24\00:13:02.94
What we find in this
book is a God who loves us
00:13:04.35\00:13:06.85
in spite of what
we've done to Him,
00:13:06.85\00:13:08.75
in spite of the way that
we've made an utter garbage dump
00:13:08.75\00:13:11.59
of His creation.
00:13:11.59\00:13:12.89
And that His love
for us runs so deep
00:13:12.89\00:13:15.92
that He was willing to
give up His own son to save us.
00:13:15.92\00:13:19.13
I mean, when Absalom
ended hanging from a tree,
00:13:19.13\00:13:23.06
everybody knew he had it coming.
00:13:23.06\00:13:24.90
It was the just
reward for his rebellion.
00:13:24.90\00:13:27.80
But then we see the
spotless son of God,
00:13:27.80\00:13:29.87
a perfectly innocent man
also hanging from a tree,
00:13:29.87\00:13:34.24
and it boggles the mind.
00:13:34.24\00:13:35.38
I mean, how do we explain that?
00:13:35.38\00:13:38.38
Really the best
way to read the Bible
00:13:38.38\00:13:40.12
is just to
gather all the evidence.
00:13:40.12\00:13:42.58
Our human nature
assumes that God must hate us
00:13:42.58\00:13:45.62
for what we've done,
00:13:45.62\00:13:47.09
but that's not what the weight
00:13:47.09\00:13:48.59
of the biblical
evidence suggests.
00:13:48.59\00:13:50.39
I mean, not at all.
00:13:50.39\00:13:52.49
What this book shows us is
an utterly heartbroken father
00:13:52.49\00:13:55.36
who mourns over
the death of his child.
00:13:55.36\00:13:58.83
Now, I know I'm not gonna be
able to settle this completely
00:13:58.83\00:14:01.10
for a lot of people,
00:14:01.10\00:14:02.64
but let me just show you
a passage that the skeptics
00:14:02.64\00:14:04.91
usually skip when they
talk about God's command
00:14:04.91\00:14:07.71
for Israel to remove the
Canaanites from the land.
00:14:07.71\00:14:11.95
I mean, a lot of
critics have no problem quoting
00:14:11.95\00:14:14.08
God's command to do that,
00:14:14.08\00:14:16.05
but for some reason they
breeze right past the reason
00:14:16.05\00:14:18.79
that He gives.
00:14:18.79\00:14:20.06
Just listen to what it
says in Deuteronomy 20,
00:14:20.06\00:14:22.52
starting in verse 18.
00:14:22.52\00:14:24.19
God tells the Israelites to
destroy these tribes, quote,
00:14:24.19\00:14:27.50
"...lest they teach you to do
00:14:27.50\00:14:29.63
according to all
their abominations,
00:14:29.63\00:14:31.93
which they have
done for their gods."
00:14:31.93\00:14:34.47
So of course, we
should probably ask
00:14:34.47\00:14:35.94
what these abominations were
00:14:35.94\00:14:37.51
because in light of
centuries of really bad thinking
00:14:37.51\00:14:40.54
about God and some really
unfortunate Christian preaching,
00:14:40.54\00:14:44.38
we tend to harbor
the sneaking suspicion
00:14:44.38\00:14:46.35
that maybe the
crimes of the Canaanites
00:14:46.35\00:14:48.88
weren't really all that bad.
00:14:48.88\00:14:50.85
But a few chapters earlier,
00:14:50.85\00:14:52.35
God explains exactly
what these people were doing
00:14:52.35\00:14:54.89
that brought 'em to
the point of decision.
00:14:54.89\00:14:57.16
It says in chapter 12,
00:14:57.16\00:14:58.83
"When the Lord your God cuts
off from before you the nations
00:14:58.83\00:15:02.30
which you go to dispossess,
and you displace them,
00:15:02.30\00:15:05.47
dwell in their land,
take heed to yourself
00:15:05.47\00:15:08.10
that you are not
ensnared to follow them
00:15:08.10\00:15:10.41
after they are
destroyed from before you,
00:15:10.41\00:15:12.27
and that you do not
inquire after their gods saying,
00:15:12.27\00:15:15.24
'How did these
nations serve their gods?
00:15:15.24\00:15:17.08
I also will do likewise.'"
00:15:17.08\00:15:19.65
And here comes the seldom quoted
but rather disturbing part.
00:15:19.65\00:15:23.82
It says, "You shall not
worship the Lord your God
00:15:23.82\00:15:27.19
in that way.
00:15:27.19\00:15:28.46
For every abomination
to the Lord which He hates
00:15:28.46\00:15:30.89
they have done to their gods,
00:15:30.89\00:15:32.66
for they burn even
their sons and daughters
00:15:32.66\00:15:34.76
in the fire to their gods."
00:15:34.76\00:15:37.80
The Canaanites were
performing human sacrifice.
00:15:37.80\00:15:41.24
We're talking about
people who were willing to burn
00:15:41.24\00:15:43.30
their own children to death
00:15:43.30\00:15:44.57
in order to
appease their twisted gods.
00:15:44.57\00:15:47.14
And historically,
some people believed
00:15:47.14\00:15:49.18
that these horrific religious
rituals were often combined
00:15:49.18\00:15:52.21
with, well, I'll just say
rather disturbing sex acts,
00:15:52.21\00:15:56.08
which included children.
00:15:56.08\00:15:57.99
And you know there comes
a point where if somebody
00:15:57.99\00:16:00.06
isn't going to change
and they don't wanna change,
00:16:00.06\00:16:03.19
you've got no choice
but to put an end to it.
00:16:03.19\00:16:06.36
Now, I understand a
lot of people wanna believe
00:16:07.56\00:16:09.30
that there must
have been some other way.
00:16:09.30\00:16:11.40
Maybe there could have
been an educational program
00:16:11.40\00:16:13.47
to convince them that
burning your children to death
00:16:13.47\00:16:15.64
in the arms of a
steel idol is wrong.
00:16:15.64\00:16:18.24
Maybe they could
have been influenced
00:16:18.24\00:16:19.67
by their new God-fearing
neighbors to change their ways
00:16:19.67\00:16:21.91
and start to value their kids.
00:16:21.91\00:16:24.05
Maybe God could have...
00:16:24.05\00:16:25.71
Well, we can get really creative
00:16:25.71\00:16:27.28
when we want to find
some reason God must be wrong.
00:16:27.28\00:16:30.45
But when you
read the whole book,
00:16:30.45\00:16:32.02
it becomes more and more
obvious that we're the ones
00:16:32.02\00:16:34.26
who are wrong because
you find this heartbroken God
00:16:34.26\00:16:37.59
weeping over the
loss of His children.
00:16:37.59\00:16:40.10
He didn't enjoy destroying
these people one little bit,
00:16:40.10\00:16:42.80
and He only did it
because there was no other way.
00:16:42.80\00:16:46.10
Destroying people is
not God's first instinct
00:16:46.10\00:16:48.90
any more than David
wanted to destroy his own boy.
00:16:48.90\00:16:52.14
And I know that's not enough
of an answer for some people,
00:16:52.14\00:16:55.44
but I also know I'm not likely
gonna be able to unpack it
00:16:55.44\00:16:57.71
anymore carefully than
that with the time that we have,
00:16:57.71\00:17:01.05
because there's no
easy one sentence answer,
00:17:01.05\00:17:03.89
and you really have
to read the whole book.
00:17:03.89\00:17:05.99
There's no other way to
get your mind around this.
00:17:05.99\00:17:09.29
But I can promise you this,
00:17:09.29\00:17:11.26
what you're
gonna find in the Bible
00:17:11.26\00:17:12.76
is probably nothing like
the stories you've been told,
00:17:12.76\00:17:16.26
and now it's time
for another break.
00:17:16.26\00:17:17.83
But after that, I want to
come back and revisit the idea
00:17:17.83\00:17:20.27
that death somehow cheats us
00:17:20.27\00:17:22.07
and why young death
seems so especially tragic.
00:17:22.07\00:17:26.34
[logo swooshes]
00:17:26.34\00:17:28.84
- [Narrator] Here at
The Voice of Prophecy,
00:17:28.84\00:17:30.31
we're committed to
creating top quality programming
00:17:30.31\00:17:32.85
for the whole family.
00:17:32.85\00:17:34.28
Like our audio adventure
series, "Discovery Mountain."
00:17:34.28\00:17:37.39
"Discovery Mountain"
is a Bible-based program
00:17:37.39\00:17:39.95
for kids of all
ages and backgrounds.
00:17:39.95\00:17:42.29
Your family will enjoy
the faith building stories
00:17:42.29\00:17:45.03
from this small
mountain summer camp and town.
00:17:45.03\00:17:47.86
With 24 seasonal
episodes every year
00:17:47.86\00:17:50.37
and fresh content every week,
00:17:50.37\00:17:52.50
there's always a new
adventure just on the horizon.
00:17:52.50\00:17:55.74
- The Book of Proverbs,
00:17:59.57\00:18:00.88
which is really a
book of collected wisdom,
00:18:00.88\00:18:03.41
it opens with a metaphor.
00:18:03.41\00:18:05.65
It's the personification
of wisdom who is described
00:18:05.65\00:18:08.68
as a woman.
00:18:08.68\00:18:10.22
Much the way that the sixth
century philosopher Boethius
00:18:10.22\00:18:12.45
described philosophy as a
woman who came to keep him
00:18:12.45\00:18:15.22
company as he awaited
death in a prison cell.
00:18:15.22\00:18:18.63
There's this tragic
scene right near the beginning
00:18:18.63\00:18:21.26
of the Book of
Proverbs where wisdom
00:18:21.26\00:18:22.86
is trying to make
herself available to everybody,
00:18:22.86\00:18:25.57
offering to educate us all,
00:18:25.57\00:18:27.54
and make our path
through this broken world
00:18:27.54\00:18:29.37
just a little bit easier.
00:18:29.37\00:18:31.71
And it's especially
addressed to young people.
00:18:31.71\00:18:34.21
It's offering to
spare them the heartbreak
00:18:34.21\00:18:36.04
and emotional scars
that invariably come
00:18:36.04\00:18:38.91
from learning
life's lessons the hard way
00:18:38.91\00:18:41.35
through the school of hard
knocks and bitter experience.
00:18:41.35\00:18:44.69
And I guess I'm drawn to this
passage for personal reasons
00:18:44.69\00:18:47.59
because if I look back
at my own misspent youth
00:18:47.59\00:18:50.56
from the vantage
point of an older man,
00:18:50.56\00:18:53.09
I can see a lot of
missed opportunities
00:18:53.09\00:18:55.50
that were put
right in front of me,
00:18:55.50\00:18:57.53
but I was too blind, too
self-absorbed to see them.
00:18:57.53\00:19:01.57
I mean, in some ways
you can describe wisdom
00:19:01.57\00:19:03.57
as the stuff you wish you'd
known a long time before now.
00:19:03.57\00:19:07.18
And again, I don't really
mean to pick on the young here
00:19:07.18\00:19:10.61
because I'm sure that
when I'm in my 80s or 90s,
00:19:10.61\00:19:13.38
if God allows me
to live that long,
00:19:13.38\00:19:15.58
I'll look back at my 50s and 60s
00:19:15.58\00:19:17.59
and still find all
kinds of missed opportunities,
00:19:17.59\00:19:20.12
all kinds of wisdom that was
made available to me right now,
00:19:20.12\00:19:24.73
but I was too blind to see it.
00:19:24.73\00:19:26.43
But that being said,
this really is a passage
00:19:27.56\00:19:29.60
that has a special
application for the young.
00:19:29.60\00:19:32.37
Research seems to
suggest that before we turn
00:19:32.37\00:19:34.90
about 25 years of age, our
capacity for rational planning
00:19:34.90\00:19:38.97
hasn't really
finished developing.
00:19:38.97\00:19:41.41
Where older adults
tend to process information
00:19:41.41\00:19:44.08
in the prefrontal cortex,
00:19:44.08\00:19:45.65
the more rational
part of the brain,
00:19:45.65\00:19:48.28
adolescents are far more likely
to think with the amygdala,
00:19:48.28\00:19:51.65
which is where
you process emotions.
00:19:51.65\00:19:54.26
And that might be the reason
we were much more easily swayed
00:19:54.26\00:19:56.96
by our feelings
when we were younger.
00:19:56.96\00:19:59.73
Now, what that
means is that our capacity
00:19:59.73\00:20:02.40
for logical thinking,
00:20:02.40\00:20:04.57
thinking through long-term
consequences for our actions
00:20:04.57\00:20:08.24
hasn't really
come all the way online
00:20:08.24\00:20:10.21
until we're
about in our mid 20s,
00:20:10.21\00:20:12.81
which would explain some
of the stupid things I did
00:20:12.81\00:20:15.88
when I was a younger man.
00:20:15.88\00:20:18.18
I don't know if
you've ever noticed this,
00:20:18.18\00:20:19.68
but sometimes when you ask a
young guy what he was thinking
00:20:19.68\00:20:22.15
when he did something dumb,
00:20:22.15\00:20:23.65
like try to beat the
train at a railway crossing,
00:20:23.65\00:20:27.39
he's sometimes at a loss
00:20:27.39\00:20:28.62
to give you any
kind of logical answer.
00:20:28.62\00:20:31.16
And that's
because there isn't one.
00:20:31.16\00:20:32.99
Sadly, as in the case
of my good friend Peter,
00:20:34.20\00:20:36.40
the act of living by
impulse means that sometimes
00:20:36.40\00:20:39.47
we have to go to a
really tragic funeral.
00:20:39.47\00:20:42.34
You know, I don't
really know what was going on
00:20:42.34\00:20:44.17
the night he died,
00:20:44.17\00:20:45.61
but I do know they
were on the the wrong side
00:20:45.61\00:20:47.64
of the highway.
00:20:47.64\00:20:48.88
And I do know it
was Saturday night,
00:20:48.88\00:20:50.51
and I do know that Peter
had a taste for partying.
00:20:50.51\00:20:53.75
If he had lived
to 50 years of age,
00:20:53.75\00:20:55.45
he probably would've slowed
down long enough to consider
00:20:55.45\00:20:57.82
what would happen if you
mix alcohol with driving,
00:20:57.82\00:21:01.26
but he was 19.
00:21:01.26\00:21:02.66
And on that
night, his party brain
00:21:02.66\00:21:04.33
was speaking much more
loudly than his rational brain.
00:21:04.33\00:21:07.83
It's a phenomenon that
has caused a lot of anxiety
00:21:07.83\00:21:10.50
for an awful lot of
parents because their kids
00:21:10.50\00:21:12.60
just don't seem to
understand how dangerous
00:21:12.60\00:21:15.77
and life-changing some
of their decisions are.
00:21:15.77\00:21:19.47
And that's where
this passage from Proverbs
00:21:19.47\00:21:21.44
really speaks to me
because from this vantage point,
00:21:21.44\00:21:24.68
30 some years after the
fact, I can see myself in here.
00:21:24.68\00:21:28.82
Let's just read from
Proverbs 1 where it says:
00:21:28.82\00:21:32.02
Wisdom calls aloud outside,
00:21:32.02\00:21:34.32
she raises her
voice in the open squares.
00:21:34.32\00:21:37.29
She cries out in
the chief concourses,
00:21:37.29\00:21:39.63
at the openings of
the gates in the city
00:21:39.63\00:21:41.66
she speaks her words,
00:21:41.66\00:21:43.26
"How long, you simple
ones, will you love simplicity?
00:21:43.26\00:21:46.47
For scorner's
delight in their scorning,
00:21:46.47\00:21:48.30
and fools hate knowledge."
00:21:48.30\00:21:51.31
All the wisdom we need to
successfully navigate life
00:21:51.31\00:21:53.98
has been made available to us.
00:21:53.98\00:21:55.64
And the Bible says
it's completely free,
00:21:55.64\00:21:58.51
but most of us, if
we're honest, we ignore it.
00:21:58.51\00:22:01.28
It's as if the world's
best personal assistant
00:22:01.28\00:22:03.49
is begging to work for you,
00:22:03.49\00:22:04.95
and he doesn't charge a
penny and you don't want him.
00:22:04.95\00:22:08.49
It's as if Warren
Buffet offers to manage
00:22:08.49\00:22:10.43
your personal finances for free,
00:22:10.43\00:22:12.06
or Bill Gates,
or Steve Jobs offers
00:22:12.06\00:22:14.66
to be your personal IT
director for a dollar a year,
00:22:14.66\00:22:18.50
but you turn these guys down.
00:22:18.50\00:22:20.00
What you hear in this passage
from the Book of Proverbs
00:22:21.40\00:22:23.24
is an awful lot of the
same gut-wrenching heartbreak
00:22:23.24\00:22:26.21
you hear in David's
voice when he discovers
00:22:26.21\00:22:29.11
that his foolish son is dead.
00:22:29.11\00:22:31.28
You find the tears of a
loving God who watches the way
00:22:31.28\00:22:34.42
we mindlessly destroy ourselves
and we destroy each other,
00:22:34.42\00:22:38.82
and all the while
he's freely offering
00:22:38.82\00:22:41.39
to be our personal life coach.
00:22:41.39\00:22:43.59
"All this wisdom is here
for the taking," He says,
00:22:43.59\00:22:46.26
"and nobody seems to want it."
00:22:46.26\00:22:49.03
It's as if some generous
benefactor offered to underwrite
00:22:49.03\00:22:51.77
your entire college
education paid in full,
00:22:51.77\00:22:55.10
no strings attached,
00:22:55.10\00:22:57.17
but you'd rather
go into crippling debt
00:22:57.17\00:22:58.81
working two or three
jobs while struggling
00:22:58.81\00:23:00.61
to stay awake in class.
00:23:00.61\00:23:02.88
It just doesn't make
sense to pass this offer over.
00:23:02.88\00:23:06.58
And it makes me
wonder just how much
00:23:06.58\00:23:08.05
of what I've had
to learn the hard way
00:23:08.05\00:23:10.19
could have been
learned the easy way.
00:23:10.19\00:23:12.79
How many of the cuts
and bruises on my soul
00:23:12.79\00:23:15.76
are completely unnecessary?
00:23:15.76\00:23:17.49
When I read this, I tend
to picture wisdom weeping
00:23:18.93\00:23:21.16
as she's calling to
an unresponsive crowd.
00:23:21.16\00:23:23.90
And I guess I
think about it like that
00:23:23.90\00:23:26.33
because of what I know about
God from the rest of the book.
00:23:26.33\00:23:29.54
A loving Father who weeps
over our unnecessary pain,
00:23:29.54\00:23:33.41
wondering why we
reject Him all the time
00:23:33.41\00:23:35.88
and seem to want to
learn our lessons the hard way.
00:23:35.88\00:23:39.41
I mean, here's what it
says just a few verses later.
00:23:39.41\00:23:41.45
It says: Yes, if you
cry out for discernment
00:23:41.45\00:23:44.45
and lift up your
voice for understanding,
00:23:44.45\00:23:46.69
if you seek her as
silver and search for her
00:23:46.69\00:23:48.79
as for hidden treasures,
00:23:48.79\00:23:50.26
then you will
understand the fear of the Lord,
00:23:50.26\00:23:52.73
and find the knowledge of God.
00:23:52.73\00:23:55.80
You've got to
wonder why in the world
00:23:55.80\00:23:57.30
would anybody wanna
refuse and offer like that?
00:23:57.30\00:24:00.80
I'll be right back after this.
00:24:00.80\00:24:03.51
[logo swooshes]
00:24:03.51\00:24:06.81
- [Narrator] Life
can throw a lot at us.
00:24:06.81\00:24:09.21
Sometimes we don't
have all the answers,
00:24:09.21\00:24:12.58
but that's where
the Bible comes in.
00:24:12.58\00:24:14.98
It's our guide to a
more fulfilling life.
00:24:14.98\00:24:17.25
Here at the Voice of Prophecy,
00:24:18.12\00:24:19.65
we've created the
Discover Bible Guides
00:24:19.65\00:24:21.82
to be your guide to the Bible.
00:24:21.82\00:24:23.39
They're designed to
be simple, easy to use,
00:24:23.39\00:24:25.89
and provide answers to many
of life's toughest questions,
00:24:25.89\00:24:28.86
and they're absolutely free.
00:24:28.86\00:24:30.90
So jump online
now or give us a call
00:24:30.90\00:24:33.23
and start your
journey of discovery.
00:24:33.23\00:24:35.47
- [Narrator] Are you
searching for answers
00:24:39.67\00:24:40.91
to life's
toughest questions like,
00:24:40.91\00:24:43.01
where is God when we suffer?
00:24:43.01\00:24:44.81
Can I find real happiness?
00:24:44.81\00:24:46.61
Or is there any hope
for our chaotic world?
00:24:46.61\00:24:49.78
The Discover Bible Guides
will help you find the answers
00:24:49.78\00:24:52.19
you are looking for.
00:24:52.19\00:24:53.59
Visit us at biblestudies.com
00:24:53.59\00:24:56.12
or give us a
call at 888-456-7933
00:24:56.12\00:25:00.43
for your free
Discover Bible Guides.
00:25:01.53\00:25:03.93
Study online on
our secure website
00:25:03.93\00:25:07.07
or have the free guides
mailed right to your home.
00:25:07.07\00:25:09.60
There is never a
cost or obligation.
00:25:09.60\00:25:12.27
The Discover Bible
Guides are our free gift to you.
00:25:12.27\00:25:15.41
Find answers in guides like,
00:25:15.41\00:25:16.81
"Does My Life
Really Matter to God?"
00:25:16.81\00:25:19.08
And "A Second Chance at Life."
00:25:19.08\00:25:21.22
You'll find answers to the
things that matter most to you
00:25:21.22\00:25:23.62
in each of the 26
Discover Bible Guides.
00:25:23.62\00:25:26.22
Visit bible studies.com
and begin your journey today
00:25:26.22\00:25:30.36
to discover answers to
life's deepest questions.
00:25:30.36\00:25:34.20
[mellow music]
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- I think one of the
most frustrating things
00:25:38.80\00:25:40.54
our parents must
have gone through
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is when we started to
branch out on our own.
00:25:42.80\00:25:45.27
That moment when it seemed
like making independent choices
00:25:45.27\00:25:48.58
was more important
than making good choices.
00:25:48.58\00:25:52.01
I mean, it was easy to see
00:25:52.01\00:25:53.55
that we were
doing the wrong thing,
00:25:53.55\00:25:55.08
and they often tried
to save us some pain,
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but we couldn't
hear our parents.
00:25:57.75\00:25:59.79
And of course, I'm older now,
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but still when it
comes to the wisdom of God,
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I have to ask myself, am I
still doing the same thing?
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Do I value my
independence over God's wisdom?
00:26:06.73\00:26:10.50
In hindsight, as
I'm reading the Bible,
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I can see that I've accumulated
00:26:12.23\00:26:13.54
some really unnecessary scars.
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And I can see that the
one who inspired the Bible
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really did know what
He was talking about.
00:26:19.61\00:26:22.84
You know, I think one
of the biggest reasons
00:26:22.84\00:26:24.31
people tend to
push the Bible aside
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is because, well, it has
a way of hurting our pride.
00:26:26.45\00:26:30.49
I mean, it's
telling us we're wrong.
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And so when
somebody tells us that God
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must be treating us unfairly,
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there's a little
part of our sinful being
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that wants to believe that.
00:26:38.56\00:26:40.96
But then when you
really start to read
00:26:40.96\00:26:42.83
what God's been
trying to tell us,
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you discover that He was
never trying to take away
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your personal autonomy.
00:26:47.60\00:26:49.77
What He's been doing
is trying to set you up
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for a much more
fulfilling, much more rewarding,
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authentic human life.
00:26:55.24\00:26:57.28
And you start to
realize that life in this world
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is always going to be hard,
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but it's often
harder than it needs to be.
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You know, today I can look
back and see all these people
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who were trying to
help me succeed in life.
00:27:07.82\00:27:10.39
They were trying
to spare me the pain
00:27:10.39\00:27:12.09
that they had suffered.
00:27:12.09\00:27:13.80
And I find myself now
wishing that I had listened
00:27:13.80\00:27:16.77
a little more.
00:27:16.77\00:27:18.33
Now, that I'm living on
the sixth floor of life,
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it occurs to me that
if life should continue,
00:27:20.77\00:27:23.94
I might be able to spare
myself a lot more heartache
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just by listening to
the cry of God's wisdom.
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Look, I know that some of you
have already made up your mind
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about this book, and you've
written it off as meaningless.
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But what if this book
really is your creator
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trying to set you up
for a much better future,
00:27:40.56\00:27:43.36
trying to keep
your scars to a minimum?
00:27:43.36\00:27:46.76
It would seem to me in that
case that ignoring this book
00:27:46.76\00:27:51.13
could prove to be
another foolish decision.
00:27:51.13\00:27:55.57
Thanks for joining me today.
00:27:55.57\00:27:57.34
I'm Shawn Boonstra.
00:27:57.34\00:27:58.84
And this has been
another episode of "Authentic."
00:27:58.84\00:28:01.71
[gentle upbeat music]
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