Self-Destruction...Many people WANT the right to destroy themselves.

Real Dudes,
Recently I went on a ride along. We had received a call to a residence and ended up taking a gentleman to the hospital who had consumed too much alcohol. I was told that this is something that has been plaguing this man for nearly 30 years. He’d been in and out of recovery programs and came to find out that he was even the valedictorian where he went to high school. As we were discussing the situation someone stated that “whether it’s drugs, alcohol, gambling, you name it, many people want the right to destroy their own bodies.” Let me repeat that again…Many people want the right to destroy their own bodies…self-destruction.
What’s interesting is that his neighbors across the street struggle with the same issue. They were successful in their careers and found that money couldn’t buy them everything, namely happiness. They turned to alcohol, and now they are constantly drunk and fighting with each other.
I ran across a quote on wikipedia, that says that “Successful individuals may self-destructively sabotage their own achievements.” In another article from MedicalNewsToday states that “Self-destructive behavior is when a person takes actions that are sure to harm themselves. It can range from isolating themselves from others to harming their own body and behaviors such as gambling.”
Each of these scenarios above and self-destruction itself reminds me of my favorite passage in scripture. 

• 1 Kings 8:38-39 (NKJV) 38 …each one knows the plague of his own heart… 39 …whose heart You know (for You alone know the hearts of all the sons of men),

Each of you has something that is plaguing your own heart…destroying yourself. And even if you feel you have your peers fooled, guess what? God knows exactly what’s going on in your heart. He knows what you’re struggling with in life and He knows how to cure it. Take for instance the lady with the issue of bleeding. 

• Mark 5:25-29 (NIV) 25 And a woman was there who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years. 26 She had suffered a great deal under the care of many doctors and had spent all she had, yet instead of getting better she grew worse. 27 When she heard about Jesus, she came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak, 28 because she thought, “If I just touch his clothes, I will be healed.” 29 Immediately her bleeding stopped and she felt in her body that she was freed from her suffering.

She had tried everything, and finally came to the realization that all she needed was Christ. What’ll it take to get someone past their self-destructive lifestyles? It’s reaching out to and turning to THE HEALER. 

• Matthew 9:35 (NIV) Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness.
• Luke 5:31-32 (NIV) 31 Jesus answered them, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. 32 I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.”

Men…not sure where you’re at in your own personal lives, but if you’re involved in something that is or has the potential to sabotage/destroy your lives or others lives around you, then please let me encourage you to seek out myself, a local pastor, and or a Christian Counselor. Ask them to help you through this time and hold you accountable. If it’s someone close to you that’s struggling in this area, then please don’t give up on them…keep loving them the way the Lord would have you to. Love them to the end!

• John 13:1 (NIV)...he loved them to the end.

Cheering for y’all. 
Practicing His Presence,
Nate

​