Own your path, It’s all about me!
Own your path, It’s all about me!
Own your path! I have thought about this a lot lately! I am a firm believer that life should be all about Jesus! Our relationship with God should be our first priority. I guess the title could be deceiving but I really didn’t know how else to title it!
Photo by: Chris Potter
I am going to try to help you become a better person and Christian with this article. You see I have lived in the fantasy world during a period of my life that everyone but me is at fault for all my problems and misfortunes.
Every path we choose in life has a pre determined end. Success or failure! We have to learn to own our path!
Galatians 6:7
Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.
If we are deceitful, we will fail!
If we are envious and lustful after the flesh, we will fail!
If we are greedy, we will fail!
If we sow discord and strife, we will fail!
If we are negative, we will fail!
If we compromise our values, we will fail!
You see every path has a definite end. Just like a road map! To get from Lexington Kentucky to Cincinnati Ohio there is a path. Punch it in Google Maps and you will get your path and end destination! How much trouble you have on your way is of no concern to the path itself but the one traveling it! When you set out on your path you have no intentions of wrecking, having a flat, car stalling, road rage, etc. “None of these are planned but all can happen along the way. It is the same in the path we choose in life.
We do not plan to be a failure, we do not plan to lose, we expect to be successful and make great strides for our future but the path we choose already determines the end. The path you choose does not care about the events that happen along the way on your trip. Just the end destination!
Galatians 6:7
Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.
Matthew 7:16
Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles?
Everyone else is at fault for all of my failures.
Everyone else is at fault for me not winning.
Someone else is at fault because my first marriage failed.
Someone else is at fault because I quit going to church.
Someone else is at fault ..bla, bla, bla, bla, bla….
Do you know this story? Does this sound familiar? Do you know this person? If so read on!
Around 20+ years ago I was a regular member of the church and attended faithfully. A few years prior to that I had gone into the ministry and had pastored two different churches in a span of around 10 years. I really enjoyed pastoring. I met and made friends with lots of wonderful people. I had the wonderful experience of leading people to Christ and baptised several of them. I was really enjoying my life!
It all started coming unravelled! when things got tough and out of control, I panicked and failed miserably! First things first, I was too inexperienced to Pastor but accepted the position anyway. This was “my” choice but I refused to own my path.
2 Timothy 2:15
Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.
Titus 1:
7 For a bishop must be blameless, as the steward of God; not self willed, not soon angry, not given to wine, no striker, not given to filthy lucre;
8 But a lover of hospitality, a lover of good men, sober, just, holy, temperate;
9 Holding fast the faithful word as he hath been taught, that he may be able by sound doctrine both to exhort and to convince the gainsayers.
Well, I was qualified except the last verse! I failed to hold fast to the faithful word as I had been taught. I was not seasoned enough to handle the extreme circumstances that can and will arise sometime in a church setting. I did not have the experience of pastoring. The first church was a breeze, Godly, friendly, loving, temperate people full of goodness. Sure we had our occasional naysayer or so but nothing bad.
I really enjoyed this and thought to myself, this is a breeze. I am doing such a good job. Look at me go! Look what a good preacher and pastor I am! Bla, bla, bla,..
After leaving this church and going to the next one I felt like I could do no wrong. Little did I know, I had a rude awakening awaiting me! Some of these people were seasoned church people. Notice I did not say Christians because I don’t know the spiritual state of their lives. All I experienced was their ability to wreck havoc and make me panic and spook like the un experienced minister I was!
We had an individual who had started spreading rumors and talking about one of the deacons parents. I had no idea it was happening but I was blamed because I was associated with this individual as he lived near me and he rode the Church Bus that I drove from time to time. He was also inspirational in having me come to the church. This was enough for most of them to blame me too! Guilt by association!
Unknown to me, this had been going on for some time and when it was revealed to me I was dumbfounded! I just could not believe that anything like this could have been going on and me not know it. It had festered to the boiling point. Yes, it should have been brought to my attention in the beginning and yes it should and could have been fixed if it had been known to me in the early stages but it wasn’t! Nonetheless, it was still my job to deal with it and make it work but I bailed out!
Well, when all hell broke loose I did too! I gave my resignation and fled the scene with my tail between my legs hoping no one would ever find out. This was “my” choice. Then I had regret that I had run and felt guilty for this! I had failed miserably when my first real test arose in church! I blamed, the other gentleman first, then the deacons father for reacting like he did, then the deacon for not stepping in to stop it. Then the people who knew but failed to inform me..Sound familiar? I blamed everyone! Instead of finding someone to blame my troubles on, I should have been seeking Godly advice from my former pastor!
Do you own your path?
Well, if you go through life blaming everyone for all your faults and failures, you will never succeed. Owning your sin and faults are something you are going to have to do in order to learn to get ahead! I have blamed people from that time until just a few weeks ago for all my problems and leaving the church. You see, it was easier than owning up to my faults!
Well, I went back to my home church and blamed all those involved at the church I just left. This was my first big mistake! I lied to make myself look fine! I lied to cover my mistakes! I lied to keep my home church friends from thinking I was not qualified. You see, when you start compromising your morals and ethics you are on your way to ruin and failure! You may not have intended for it to turn out this way and I certainly did not but when I compromised my ethics to make myself look better I set myself on the path of total failure!
If you think you can hide it forever and no one will find out, you are deceiving yourself. God already knows and God does not bless sin! If you start lying to make yourself look good or hide your mistakes you will be on the same path I traveled for over 20+ years and that so many others have traveled! It is a path filled with self denial, anger, depression, blame and failure! Lying always comes back to bite you!
Galatians 6:7
Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.
I attended my home church for a little while and my pastor who had some health problems ask me if I would consider accepting the position of associate pastor. I told him I did not think it was a good idea. I told him as my family had helped start the church some of the people might not like me being the associate pastor but he insisted and brought it to the deacons attention without me knowing it. Well, one of the deacons called me that evening and ask me what I thought I was doing! My response was, I had no clue the pastor was going to mention this to you. Of course he did not believe me. I told him I did not want the position and told this to the pastor. Again he did not believe me. He accused me of lying and trying to worm my way in to pastor the church if something happened to the pastor!
This was the last straw! I had been living a lie for several months after leaving the last church I had pastored in shambles! I was still in the blame everyone else mode! When this happened I told the deacon not to worry about me pastoring anything that I would not be back! I was so mad I could have exploded! You see, when you compromise your ethics you set yourself up for failure! I had become so miserable with the blame game that I could no longer withstand the fiery darts of the devil and he knew it! That was “my” choice!
It has been a long time since that day and I have done many things and owned a couple of businesses. My businesses always took off fine and did well but just like the church, when things got too out of hand or too complicated I bailed out. It was easier to blame others for my mistakes and failures than to own it myself! I have done this for the last 20+ years and have gotten good at it! That was “my” choice.
The things that have gone wrong over the last 20+ years have always been someones else fault It has never been mine! This attitude has brought me so much grief and hardship. It took 20+ years to learn that I had to own my failures before I could move past them!
I finally realized, I have to own my path! Do you own your path?
The first thing I needed to do to get back on track was return to God! I had to be sorry for the sin I had lived in and I had to own up to my mistakes and I had to own my sins and be responsible for them! When I did this and ask God’s forgiveness, I felt instant relief and forgiveness. The weight of 20+ years was lifted off my back! I had carried this so long it was a part of me and I did not realize how much stress it had brought in to my life. Forgiveness, what a wonderful thing.
Forgiving oneself and then asking God’s forgiveness! Nothing like it!
1 John 1:9
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
Psalms 51, the entire chapter sums up how I felt!
Verse 12 is a special one to me as God answered my prayer and has given me another chance.
12: Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free spirit.
We all make mistakes, I just hope you don’t hold on to yours as along as I held onto mine! My sins has brought me and my wife to the verge of financial ruin! I injured my back at our last business and we had to close the store partly because of this! I could no longer help out like I needed to and we were put in a place where we had no income other than a few items selling online from time to time!
We are still in a very hard financial situation but we have God back in our lives now and I have confidence in God to provide a way for us! We are going to church and praying and trying to be a living testimony for God. I just hope that God will eventually see fit to give me another chance to minister to others.
I have nothing to hide anymore. I have owned my failures and have a new found relationship with God. My prayer for you is, if you have been in my shoes, please own your sins and mistakes now. Don’t wait and waste all that time and energy failing like I did. Own it and deal with it!
Your friends and loved ones will forgive you and give you a second chance much faster if you own up to your failures, make amends and set out on the right path than they will if you lie to them and deceive them! Just be truthful, look in the mirror and know who it is you are looking at! I looked at a stranger in the mirror for over 20+ years and told myself it was me!
This has been a very difficult article for me to write but I find it has given me even more relief from my past! You see, it was all my fault! I just couldn’t own the responsibility of it all!
Today it truly is all about you! What will you do? How long will you wait? Will you own your path?
The sooner you own your path and mistakes and failures and deal with them the sooner you can heal and move on in a Godly direction of success!
1 John 1:9
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
