The WOFOYO Podcast
The WOFOYO Podcast
WOFOYO SHORT: Beyond the Illusion
Remember watching a movie as a child that terrified you, only to revisit it as an adult and wonder what you were so afraid of? That transformation happens when experience replaces naivety with understanding. This same principle applies profoundly to our spiritual lives.
Drawing from personal experience with action movies, our host shares how his professional firearms training completely changed his perception of once-impressive gunfight scenes. What previously seemed cool and exciting now appears ridiculous and concerning when viewed through the lens of authentic experience. The stylized presentation loses its power once you've encountered reality.
This insight creates a powerful parallel to authentic Christian experience. When we follow Scripture's call to "Taste and see that the Lord is good" through personal encounter with Christ, getting into the Word ourselves, and being led by the Holy Spirit, something remarkable happens. The religious performances, emotional manipulation, and superficial spirituality that may have once impressed us suddenly become transparent. We see through the smoke and mirrors because we've experienced the genuine presence of God.
This doesn't mean becoming cynical toward others still finding their way, but it does mean being honest about what constitutes authentic faith versus religious performance. The journey toward spiritual maturity involves moving beyond dependence on the show and embracing the sometimes challenging but always transformative reality of walking with Christ. Once you've experienced genuine relationship with God, nothing else will satisfy.
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Hey everybody, welcome to another Wofo Yo Short. This is C-Dub. You know, as a kid I remember there were certain movies that used to scare me. You know, as a kid I remember there were certain movies that used to scare me and here I am bored during the summer and I went to the video store and rented these horror movies. They scared me as a kid and by and large they were not scary. They were scary because I was little and maybe some of my innocence was lost and all that and a lot of these special effects that were really supposed to be something back in the day. You look at them once you're older and you can obviously discern what it is, what it's made of, how they did that. That being said, a lot of times we're presented with this illusion. So I had a similar experience, went and checked out this movie. I remember thinking this was the coolest movie when I was probably about 20, 21. This kind of shocks me, because the guy that was supposed to be so good looking, he's old. The girl that was supposed to be so good looking is older Now she's still good looking.
Speaker 1:It was a shoot-em-up. The only problem is with my job. From time to time I get to instruct and train in firearms. Bottom line, there's this epic gunfight scene at the very first of the movie, seen at the very first of the movie. I watched it and I wasn't even able to make it through the whole movie because I'm going this is complete and utter BS, because you realize it's the little things like he has too much finger in the trigger that you can see what the gun is doing when he's shooting it, and you're just like there is no way. So you got like these kids that are watching these movies and then they join a gang or something like that and you have these shootings and you have all these people getting killed by stray bullets because these jokers never learned how to shoot, and it's obvious. So you have this stylized presentation that looked really cool back in the day. However, once you've done it yourself and you've experienced it and you become knowledgeable on the subject and you've helped people to become proficient in it, all of a sudden the illusion is lost, the allure is lost. As cool as you thought it was, now it's really, really stupid. Don't get me wrong, they weren't trying to make an accurate movie. It's stylized. I get that. However, back when I was 20 years old raging on hormones, shooting them up in a pretty girl. That seemed cool. After I joined the Army, learned how to use some firearms with my current job that they put enough faith in me to entrust me to teach others how to shoot firearms properly. Man, having that experience kind of ruins some things.
Speaker 1:There's this admonition in scripture to taste and see that the Lord is good. Well, once you've tasted it for yourself, you're able to distinguish between the reality and the illusion. And I don't want to upset some of y'all but I've been thinking about this and I've come to the realization that experiencing Christ for myself, getting in the Word for myself, going on that wilderness journey with Christ, being led by the Holy Spirit, getting in the Word, understanding what I'm supposed to be doing in Christ to serve Him, understanding what kind of kingdom work I'm supposed to be doing, where I'm supposed to be doing it at All of a sudden it makes sense why a lot of things that happen in the organized churches not all, but a lot of the things that we're doing in the name of Christ really just either annoy me or I just don't have time for it. Because when you're doing the real thing, the illusion is, it loses the allure. It loses the allure. It can't trick you. You see it for what it is. You see the wizard behind the curtain, like in the Wizard of Oz and as Bones and I used to say you're not popular when you're the one that says that the emperor has on no clothes. Now, for the record, some of the stuff they did in John Wick and those movies pretty cool. But the issue is Keanu Reeves knows how to shoot for real. You watch some of his training videos. He's decent. That being said, you also appreciate what's real, you appreciate the genuine.
Speaker 1:Once you get experience, once you learn how to do these things for yourself and you're not dependent upon the show, you're not dependent upon the presentation, you're not dependent upon all the allure and all the illusion. You're not under that spell anymore. You become very aware of the reality, of how things are in Christ Jesus and nothing else will do, bottom line, nothing else will do. Once you've experienced it for yourself, you cannot go back, or those times when you do, even when you're around it, if the Holy Spirit ain't there, I would just soon leave. There's people that I love that I will go. Oh okay, sure I'll be there. That's great. Uh-huh, yeah, praise the Lord. Also know my role is not to cause a scene or be a jerk.
Speaker 1:However, being honest, what we need if we're going to be effective as a body, as individual believers and as the corporate body, is we need to become so familiar with the real deal that, whenever the big show shows up, whenever the circus shows up, whenever the illusion shows up, you're not fooled. Whenever they try and do the smoke and mirrors, you go. No, that's not what that is. I never want you to lose the joy of your salvation. Always keep that.
Speaker 1:But as you grow and as you mature and as you experience these things for yourself, nothing other than the genuine article will do so. Get acquainted with the real deal for yourself. Wofo yo, hey, everybody, thanks for listening. We hope this challenges you and causes you to get the real deal for yourself. Wofo Yo, hey, everybody, thanks for listening. We hope this challenges you and causes you to get in the work for yourself and to know the Lord for yourself. You can always check us out at wofoyoorg or subscribe on Apple Podcasts, spotify or Audible, or even check us out on YouTube. For Bones and myself, this is CW, reminding you that if you're going to grow, you've got to wofo. Yo Get in the.