Don't Be the Big Dog!

Life moves fast, and it’s easy to slide off track. In this episode, we unpack how guardrails rooted in Scripture aren’t built to fence you in. They are built to keep you from wrecking your faith.

We dig into why submission to God can’t wait for the “right mood,” and how to build buffers that match your weak spots. Daily choices like prayer, Bible reading, and staying focused often shape your future more than big spiritual highs.

You’ll also hear how to:

• Build buffers that match your weak spots
• Build habits that carry you when motivation runs low
• Spot the difference between sin and “weights” that quietly drag you down
• Tackle pride, materialism, busyness, and fear of judgment
• Shine as light in a world that rewards convenience
• Navigate friendships, set healthy boundaries, and release the pressure of trying to be someone’s savior

Guardrails give you space to stumble without falling apart and help you keep moving toward God with steadiness and strength.

Contact What's the Point?

• Email jonathan.walton@point.church
• Watch live or recorded services at https://www.point.church/

Please take a moment to leave us a rating and review the podcast! Thank you!

Transcript

Introduction

SPEAKER_04 0:14

What's up everybody? Welcome back to the Four Kids in the Calling Podcast. I'm your host, Audrey. Across from me is Hudson Walton.

SPEAKER_01 0:21

Hey guys.

SPEAKER_04 0:22

Um, first time podcaster with us, Ramsay Pavlou. Hello. And next to me is Lincoln Society.

SPEAKER_00 0:27

How's it going?

SPEAKER_04 0:28

I have a question. Um, what? Sorry. Um, what do you guys think about the weather we've been getting lately?

SPEAKER_01 0:38

Uh you know, it's been hot. Mm-hmm. That's about it.

SPEAKER_04 0:41

I don't think so.

SPEAKER_01 0:42

I think it's it's been hot.

SPEAKER_04 0:43

No, it hasn't. The breeze kind of cool. The breeze feels pretty good.

SPEAKER_01 0:46

About it.

SPEAKER_04 0:47

It's been humid, but with a breeze.

SPEAKER_01 0:49

It's always hot down there.

SPEAKER_04 0:50

No, you know what? It has been really humid and hot. You're right. I just I just It wasn't that bad today. Yeah, I agree actually. I wasn't outside much, but it wasn't bad. It's kind of nice and cool.

SPEAKER_01 1:01

Started off with a very informative and great question.

What Holds Us Back: Laziness to Pride

SPEAKER_04 1:04

Thank you. Um, so that leads me to the second question. What did you guys take away from the Sermon on Sunday by Pastor Jared?

SPEAKER_01 1:11

Uh yeah, I could start off by talking about what I got from it. So Pastor Jared talked about the importance of guardrails and boundaries in our lives. That's kind of what the message centered around. Like, we all need boundaries, whether we're comfortable with them or not. We all need boundaries and guardrails in our life that are either set up by us or by God for us. And they're just really good, you know? Yeah. They protect you from sin, they keep you from falling. Um, sometimes we may not like the guard the guardrails that we need in our life, but Pastor Jared emphasized that they're there for our protection. Like guardrails aren't put in our life to keep us in, they're there to connect us to God. So it can be a tough pill to swallow swallow. Like none of us want guardrails, none of us want to feel contained. But the point that I got from it was that we need them if we want to be closer to God and if we want to remain aligned with his will for us. And that's what I got from it.

SPEAKER_04 2:08

Yeah. I got um, I liked that, but also liked when he said that guardrails are not just there for the small things, but for the big ones too. Um, I think that while you may think that guardrails are small, they're like annoying, it's something that God puts there because he knows that it's gonna save you from running off of a cliff. And you might think that it's just like being there for nothing, but it's there for nothing.

SPEAKER_01 2:30

And like sometimes you might feel trapped by it. Yeah, but that's not the intention at all, right?

SPEAKER_04 2:34

Yeah. It's because God's God knows it's gonna be a huge problem later, even if you don't see it now. Um, and he sees what we might do if those small guardrails weren't there, and he's trying to protect us from ruining ourselves in the long run because yeah. Um, and it might feel inconvenient at the time, but just know that it's something that could save your life later.

SPEAKER_01 2:55

Yeah, like no matter how inconvenient it is, it's for your greater good. Like a small inconvenience is better than falling off the mountain.

SPEAKER_04 3:03

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 3:03

I like the point he made about submission a lot. He said uh submission's not always gonna be or feel how you think it should feel. True submission is listening to the higher authority, even though you think it should be a different way. I like that point he made a lot. And about how today's boundaries can save your life tomorrow. I like that a lot.

SPEAKER_01 3:22

Yeah, you always gotta think ahead. Like it's always bigger than what you feel like you're going through in the moment. Yeah, like it can feel annoying to feel like this boundary is keeping you in, but it's really protecting you, bro. Protection never feels good in the moment. Ever. Preach, brother.

SPEAKER_03 3:36

Yeah, I got that the world tries to like build their lives off of like emotions and stuff, like they're how they feel, but like we're called to build it off of what God tells us what to do, and like the Bible has boundaries for us to follow.

SPEAKER_01 3:50

Yeah, like if you just build your life based off of how you're feeling in the moment, you're just leaving yourself open to sin because sin feels good, and that's what Pastor Jared got at yesterday with that point that Ramsey just brought up that you have to live with structured boundaries set by the word of God. You can't just live by emotions, and build your own boundaries too.

SPEAKER_03 4:12

Like he also pointed that out a lot to uh make a buffer between the boundaries that we have to follow and once for ourselves, so we don't ever like stumble into something that we're not supposed to. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 4:25

Yeah, because if you start flirting with the boundary and start getting too close to it, eventually you're gonna compromise and go over.

SPEAKER_04 4:31

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 4:31

That's not how we're supposed to live.

SPEAKER_04 4:32

Yeah. And I think another thing is that like we love guardrails when they protect us, but we don't exactly love the correction. Like we want to be protected, but not corrected. And preach just like that's the thing most people have a problem with because you wanna you think that like you want what it's protecting you from and the bad, and you want the good things, but when you do mess up, you expect that there's no consequence. And you have to be knowing that you gotta take the consequence with if you mess up, which is another reason why it's important to like what Ramsey said about a buffer. Like, if you do mess up, make yourself stay so far from the boundary you've set that if you mess up, you're still far from the boundary and you're not right up close to it. I don't know if you guys saw wanna read who's like he did a little spin at the end of the message. That was a good little um example. Like he he had the thing in front of him, and then he was like back and he like spun like he had failed, I guess, but he was still far from the boundary. Yeah, it's like because he set himself so far back that if he messed up, he still had wiggle room.

SPEAKER_01 5:30

Yeah, because if you stay too close to the line, any sp any fall, no matter how small, you're gonna go tumbling over. And that's kind of the point. Like, even if you see the boundary, don't let yourself get close to it just because it's there. Yeah, like stay back from it if you can. Yeah, don't be a uh silly little backa. You just gotta stay away from that boundary.

SPEAKER_03 5:48

Yeah. But I also think it's important to note that even if you do fall over the boundary, that God, if you ask for help, he can pull you back over and have his grace and mercy.

SPEAKER_04 6:00

Yeah. And kind of back to what I was saying a little bit about like we want the the protection and stuff, but we don't like to deal with the consequences. It's like we're so we're ready to be helped, but and we we expect God to swoop in and help us and save us whenever we mess up. Yeah. But we don't think we're gonna get punished or we don't want to be punished for getting too close to evil. But that's a boundary that you have set, and you still have to try not to cross it. But when you do, God will help you. But it's like it's like when a kid makes a mess and he knows it's wrong, but like he expects his mom's gonna pick it up. Like if you spill milk and you're like, Oh, mom's gonna wipe it up. But whenever like he's told, no, you wipe it up, you clean up your mess, they throw a fit and they're like surprised that they have to clean up their own mess. But really, it's just teaching them something, it's teaching them like more responsibility.

SPEAKER_01 6:46

Yeah, like that's good. Like if you believe God's for you and he's always gonna forgive you and help you no matter what, it can be pretty easy to just be like, Oh, I messed up. It's okay, God's gonna help me.

SPEAKER_04 6:56

It's kind of like the same thought process of like do now, repent later. Yeah, like like he'll forgive me, it's fine. That's what we know. And you keep doing it. Yeah, of course.

SPEAKER_01 7:04

Always build in boundaries.

SPEAKER_04 7:06

Yeah. Um, another one I had was you I think he said this. Well, I don't remember if he said this or if I kind of like interpreted it this way, but um, you can fuss about boundaries thinking they're holding you back, or you could see them as a blessing that keeps you safe for your next step for your future. So it's like instead of seeing it as, oh, like this is holding me back, I don't want, or like this boundary is keeping me from what I really want to do and what the flesh wants. Think of it as like God's keeping me safe. He has a purpose for me and he and a plan, and he loves me so much that he's putting this here so that I don't get hurt or I hurt myself or others. Yeah. And I thought that too. Yeah. Think of it like glass half full. Like just be that optimistic kind of person.

SPEAKER_01 7:47

Yeah, and I think we can't move on without talking about his main three points that he gave, like practical steps for us to for us to live by, to take from his message and apply to our lives. The first one that he gave was to set personal boundaries based on the word of God. Like we've all we've talked about that a little bit already, and it sounds simple just hearing it, but it really is an important principle. Like, I believe it was you, Audrey, that said that we have to build our own personal boundaries. Like, you have to read the word of God and build them to keep yourself safe. You can't just you can't just expect God to have all the boundaries for you. Like, you have to put in some effort.

SPEAKER_04 8:26

Yeah, because you know your own weaknesses, like you know what your what your problem is and where you fall short all the time and where you keep messing up. So you are really the one ultimately in charge of the boundaries you set for yourself.

SPEAKER_00 8:37

Preventing yourself from getting close to that.

unknown 8:40

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 8:40

Yeah, like it's about accountability at that point. Like you have to put an effort into this relationship with God and set boundaries so you don't harm it.

SPEAKER_04 8:48

Yeah. Um, I liked when he said that more often than not, it's the big decisions that ruin us rather than or I mean it's I'm sorry, I'm sorry. Reverse that. It's not the big decisions that ruin us, it's the daily ones.

SPEAKER_02 9:00

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 9:00

Because and that's like really true because do you think of it whenever you wake up and you don't decide to read your Bible that day, or you don't decide to pray that day, that is small things that build up and eventually you just never have a habit of reading your Bible, you never read it, and you never, you never get closer to God because you don't set those things up for yourself to do.

SPEAKER_01 9:18

Yeah, like you're not just gonna fall into that. Like you have to do that yourself. You have to have those boundaries and set those habits. And that was actually another point uh from Pastor Jared's message to build good habits. Like you have to put in the effort to build those good habits, they're not just gonna happen.

SPEAKER_04 9:35

Um, you can't like choose to ignore God's calling on your life because it's inconvenient at the time. And I feel like that's a problem a lot of people have because you think you sometimes you even think life is going great, like everything's perfect, but you really don't have a close relationship with God. And so you kind of think, oh, I'm good, like I'm not really making any mistakes, life's easy. But you still have to turn to God. You still because there are things that you don't see that God knows you're messing up with, and you might not realize your faults, but you need to turn to Jesus because he's gotta fix those things.

SPEAKER_03 10:04

Yeah. Think like, how do I take where I am now and like change to get closer to God? Like you want to build good habits that honor him and like build your relationship with him and let you grow. Yeah, there's always a next step you could take. Yeah, yeah, and like always go further.

SPEAKER_01 10:19

That happens to all of us. We can always all go further. There are times where we're always just kind of skirting by, not really trying. And the message is really like bringing it to a point that we have to be intentional, we have to set our boundaries, we have to build good habits. Like to have a good relationship with God and to get closer, you just have to do that.

SPEAKER_04 10:38

Yeah. Because not doing those small things, like the the little things you choose, they're gonna build up and build up and build up, and one day you're gonna realize you're so far from Jesus that you're numb to his presence. Yeah, like you're all that's why you don't know what you're doing wrong.

SPEAKER_01 10:51

Way over the line already, and you don't know how you got there.

SPEAKER_04 10:54

Exactly.

SPEAKER_01 10:55

It can just happen.

SPEAKER_04 10:56

Yeah, they're protecting you for your destiny and who you will become. That's another thing you said about that. Like your future is set up, and he's or he's trying to set it up if you let him, but some people just ignore it. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 11:06

Yep. That's why we have boundaries. Amen, sister.

SPEAKER_03 11:10

My favorite point of his was the or well, I like them all, but the shedding weights, because it may not necessarily be sins that we're holding, but like just like the weight of things that we're not supposed to carry that is weighing us down and setting us back from what we're really supposed to be doing. And I think that's important because we may we may not like we may shove it off because it's not a sin, but it really is like holding us back.

SPEAKER_04 11:34

Yeah, like something like that could be like stressed. Yeah, you could ask for help if stress is stress is something that you really struggle with, and it it like affects your day-to-day life, and that's something else that you could shed the weight, you could help him, like let him help you. There's other things, obviously, too, but that's just one example.

SPEAKER_00 11:50

Not forgiving is one of them too. Like we talked about last week.

SPEAKER_01 11:52

Yeah, epic callback. But forgive, that's a lot of weight on your shoulders, yeah. But yeah, like I think that's really good because that is very dangerous. Uh like what you were saying, Ramsay, it doesn't have to be a sin. Like, it doesn't have to be a sin to be a weight to you. Yeah, yeah. Like we can just get so caught up in not sinning. Like we all know, don't lie, don't cheat, don't do this, don't do that. Like those are obvious sins, but sometimes it can be the small things, like the things we don't want to do. Like staying up till 2 a.m. scrolling through TikTok may not seem bad at the moment, but you build a habit of that, you're distancing yourself from God little by little, and you may not even know it. So just gotta shed them weight. Shed them. Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 12:46

Another thing that I like that he said is that if you're not separated from the world, then something is wrong with you. Like you're doing something wrong. Because if you're if you're blending in with the evil around you and the things of this world so that you don't get judged and mocked by your peers, then you're no better than they are because you're not spreading God's word. I mean, you're not, you may not be living exactly like them, but they're not spreading God's word, and neither are you. So if you're not being a witness to the people that you're around and the people that you are encountering on your day-to-day life, then that's really a problem because you could read your Bible, but it's like if you're not helping others, because you have to think it's souls that you're trying to win. It's like when you're talking to someone or you're with your friends or people who are lost, that's not just bodies that you're encountering, it's their souls that need to be saved.

SPEAKER_01 13:30

Eternity. Yeah, and like they're looking at you and making decisions on you about your character, and you don't even know it. Like you have to live it. You can't just uh talk to talk. You gotta walk to walk.

SPEAKER_03 13:41

They'll be able to see when you say you're a Christian, but don't act like you're supposed to. Yeah. Your holiness, I mean your lifestyle should reflect his holiness.

SPEAKER_00 13:49

I forgive what Hurt said if somebody said we're the we might be the only Jesus that somebody sees.

SPEAKER_03 13:53

Yeah, like or like the only Bible that they'll ever read or something like that.

SPEAKER_00 13:56

That's why it's so important for our fruits of the spirit to be in check.

SPEAKER_04 14:00

You should be showing like mercy and compassion to the people that you come around, which is another thing about the forgiveness from last week. That's one way they could see Jesus through you. Forgive like Jesus would and show his joy and stuff. Um then, oh, that ties into what he was saying about he said something like, if you aren't reflecting Jesus, then you're blocking his light from everyone else. That's right. Yeah, I heard that. Yeah. Like, don't be a dark cloud on a sunny day. Like, don't be somebody that they need Jesus, but you're blocking it because you're not spreading it either.

SPEAKER_00 14:31

Yeah, Jesus talked about in the Bible. He said, What good is a light if you hide it under a basket? He's talking about you have to don't don't just have the light in you and hide it because you think it's not cool. In quotation, but you need to spread the light, even though even some people might not, you know, might not fit their agenda.

SPEAKER_01 14:50

Yeah. Yeah, always be spreading that light, twin. Like it better be shining all the time. Or you better be trying your darndest to make it shine.

SPEAKER_03 14:57

Yeah. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 14:59

Because it's a dark world out there.

SPEAKER_03 15:01

So dark.

What Keeps Christians from Fully Committing

SPEAKER_01 15:02

Pitch black. Alright, so we've talked about how to apply the message to our lives. We've talked about building good habits. We've talked about shedding them weights, making sure that waste is snatched, and we've talked about keep going. So we've talked about all that. Now, what do you guys think are some things that are holding back people in our culture, Christians, from really being committed to God?

SPEAKER_03 15:47

That's a good line. I've got some thoughts. Oh, me first. Um, one of like the biggest things is like, for lack of better words, like laziness. Like, society has just made it so easy to literally do nothing. Like, you could door dash food, online, like shop, AI for school. Like, literally, robots can clean your house, like robot vacuums. Like, it's like you don't have to do anything anymore, and like no work, no thoughts. And so, like, I don't know, it's just made everything so easy to where like you're comfortable with just doing nothing. And so when you have to, yeah, like when you have to get up and like go, like, I don't know, to church. Like, you may not want to anymore. Like, you're like, I'd rather stay in bed. I could watch it. I can watch Netflix, yeah, or even just watch a T like watch TV. And it's given us a choice to make decisions based on like convenience and not like principles of like the Bible and stuff. Like it's easier to make decisions that are like convenient over what's right and what we're supposed to be doing because doing what's right isn't always convenient, and so I really think that's like a really big one in this generation. It's just so easy to do, nothing.

SPEAKER_01 16:58

Yeah, and I think that can that can also go hand in hand with like feeling like you don't need God. Like you were saying, like you have everything at your fingertips, you can order food and within 10 minutes it's at your house. You can have robots to clean your home, you can there's so much you can do, you can do for yourself. Things are just delivered to you at your door, and like you can feel like you may not think it, like actually think it like I don't need God, but that's how you kind of start living.

SPEAKER_03 17:23

Like how your mind starts kind of processing everything.

SPEAKER_01 17:25

Like you don't live like you rely on God, you live like you rely on yourself, and that can become dangerous. You just get way too comfortable relying on the world in the world.

SPEAKER_03 17:33

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 17:33

Well, like you said, relying on yourself. I have pride, pride is a hundred percent thing that can keep you from reaching God. Uh the Bible talks about how God is a God is a jealous God, and I mean rightfully so, He's made everything that we have. Uh He's given us everything that we don't have yet that we will have. Um so if if if we're not careful by worshiping God and being prideful towards God, we can make ourselves our own God, and that's a very dangerous place to be. Proverbs 16, 18 says, Pride goes before destruction and a haughty spirit before a fall. Uh where there is pride is there will be destruction. But sometimes you need destruction in order for new construction. Sometimes you need the old things to break in order for the new things to be rebuilt. Yeah. So that that's really what I took away from the pride. Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 18:25

I have why that kind of ties into that, but it's like a little more specific, I guess, about pride. It's I think the love of material things is something that a lot of people struggle with because people are really obsessed with money and like their own success and like their businesses and stuff like that. And they want to be like popular and rich and cool and stuff, and they really are obsessed with the success and their worldly possessions.

SPEAKER_02 18:51

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 18:51

And I think that the thing that holds them back with that is that they have all this stuff and all this these things that they've worked for for so long, and they're really afraid to give it to God because they know he could take it all away. And I think that's a big problem. And I think that's a problem with Christians too, like not just people who are struggling, like people even who are having a good walk in their faith, like all of us at times. Like it does get scary that God, like when you think about it, God can take whatever he wants, but he can also give whatever he wants. So, but he's not gonna want the worst for you. You have to remember that. Like, he wants what's best for you, and he's not gonna do something that's going to harm your walk with him. If whatever happens, happens, and it's gonna only better you if you trust in him.

SPEAKER_01 19:29

Yeah, like you get those things and you want to feel like you earn them. Like I earn that. That's mine. Yeah, yeah. That's how pride starts creeping in.

SPEAKER_04 19:35

Yeah, and a way to break that would be like tithing. Like, you made that money, but it's just important to give back to, you know.

SPEAKER_01 19:43

Stay tithing, brothers and sisters. Stay tithing. I know I think um that kind of ties in with what you were saying, but not all the way. Another big one that I believe can be a problem for all of us if we're being real, is fear of judgment. Like it's a scary world out there.

SPEAKER_03 20:00

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 20:01

And we're made to be social creatures. That's just how God designed us. And so if we're not careful, we'll find ourselves changing who we should be, who God called us to be to fit in with the world. That's really good. And that could be very dangerous if you don't stay ahead of that because it happens to all of us. No matter what you say, you're always there's you're always going to find yourself in a time where you're wondering what other people think of you. Yeah. Happens to all of us.

SPEAKER_04 20:26

Yeah, it's important to speak up. Like, even if it's hard, just speak up because you never know who you might preach to or who might listen and actually care. And they'll come to you and be like, tell me more. And that's really what it's about. I mean, you could tell a group of people, and you might only get one person out of ten who's interested, but that's still one soul that you're helping to do.

SPEAKER_01 20:44

You might never have reached them if you were too scared to be who you should be.

SPEAKER_04 20:48

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 20:48

And who God's calling you to be.

SPEAKER_04 20:54

Yeah, it ties into it. Yeah. Everybody gets but like opposite, like not exactly peer pressure to do bad things, but just the sc the fact that if you say what you want to say, then your peers are gonna judge you. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 21:06

Like you don't want to be judged and you don't want to feel left out. Like if in your personal life, in your friend groups, you're surrounded by a bunch of people that aren't in church, you're gonna get that feeling whether you like it or not. Like you're not like them. Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 21:19

And that's yeah, and then different. Yeah. If you do say something different, then they're gonna stop inviting you to stuff. If they like to gossip and you say, guys, we shouldn't say that, then they're gonna be like, Okay, she's a party pooper, like, don't invite her or him.

SPEAKER_01 21:31

And then stuff like that is dangerous because it that ties into the message, like skirting the line. You can't be like, Well, if I say this one thing about this person, it's not really bad. I mean, that person really did this, it's not really gossiping, like hiding under trees. And then you open that door and it's open now.

SPEAKER_03 21:47

Yeah. One of my favorite things that Colby actually said at Tony and Alyssa's group, like the deep dive thing, was that if he's acting different around his friends, like his friends may be like, eh, like he's like Christian and stuff, whatever, he may not ever think about it. But then when they need something like that, when they need a good shoulder to lean on, and uh someone that like, I don't know, they always just be searching for like Christ without even realizing it. So like then they'll go to you about something, like you can help them out by being different, even if it doesn't feel like I don't know, like they like you then, they'll still go to you like when they need it, you know?

SPEAKER_01 22:21

Yeah, like you don't even realize who's noticing.

SPEAKER_03 22:23

Yeah, like you won't you don't realize that they're actually listening.

SPEAKER_01 22:27

Yeah, and I think to tie it back to kind of what you were saying before, Audrey, how you can get caught up with your achievements in the world. You can also just get caught up in the busyness of life. Uh to like if you're work, work, work, work, and you start getting scheduled on Wednesdays and Sundays and you just let it happen, yeah, and you just get too busy for God, basically, and you let work overshadow where God should be in your life. And work itself is definitely not a sin. Like we should all want to work and be disciplined in our work, but it can if you let it outshine God and be a huge distraction. Yeah. And like it doesn't even have to be work work. It could it could be the things you are doing in church. Sometimes you can go to church and you can get so focused on doing the tasks that you were given to do in church. Like sometimes you can become just a musician or no, yeah, that makes sense actually.

SPEAKER_04 23:24

Or like if you do like media. Yeah, and then all you do is focus on the media and you don't actually listen, then you you got nothing out of it.

SPEAKER_01 23:30

It starts faltering and you don't even know it. You just get caught up in the business.

SPEAKER_03 23:33

And it's easy like when you're working behind something to like like feel distant, like while you're behind the camera or like like when I'm behind like the media booth or behind the soundboard, like you can get distracted so much easier because you're not like nobody's watching. Yeah, you're like hidden away.

SPEAKER_01 23:48

It can become just a job.

SPEAKER_03 23:50

Yeah, and then you think of it as just a job, like wake up Sunday, go to practice, get it over with, leave.

SPEAKER_00 23:54

Like yeah, going through the motions.

SPEAKER_03 23:56

Yeah. I don't ever want to just go through the motions at church.

SPEAKER_00 23:59

That's so fax time.

Failure to Commit (Continued)

SPEAKER_04 24:15

Um, another thing like that I think a lot of people struggle with to get closer to God, um, this is my favorite one that I had down, is um intimidation. Because I think the Bible can be super intimidating because there are so many things and like factors that go into it. Like there's there's history, there's literature, like Song of Solomon is literally love poems. There's there's um letters, like Paul's letters, there's and then there's obviously the theological stuff, which is like the spiritual aspect of it. And I think that's the one that's the most intimidating because nobody wants to know what they're doing wrong. Nobody wants to read and start hearing, like, oh, you're doing this wrong by the way, you're doing this wrong, you're doing this wrong. And even more than that, nobody wants to change what they're doing. Yeah, and nobody wants to like have the um, what's the word, the conviction on them. Nobody wants to be convicted and have that feeling every time they do one of their things that's their favorite that feeds their flesh, they're gonna know like this is bad, I shouldn't be doing this. And so I feel like the first time that happens, like if you're doing something simple and then you get convicted, you're less likely to go back in because you're like, no, I don't like this feeling. My flesh wants to do what it wants to do, and so I'm not gonna read anymore. So I think that's something that gets in the way.

SPEAKER_01 25:23

It can be really tough to like face yourself in the mirror. Like that can be scary. Like you don't want to see who you really are and what you're doing wrong. None of us do.

SPEAKER_04 25:32

Yeah, our bodies like to be comfortable. And so when you're put in an odd feeling situation, it's it's natural thing is to like run and don't do this again. But with God, it's something that's good. It's showing you that you're getting closer, it's a step you've taken. Yeah, and it's something that's getting you closer to God, even if it's a little complicated.

SPEAKER_01 25:51

I think that can also tie into like having a secret struggle that you don't like. You don't want to bring to your uh the advisors in your life, like your pastor, your father, your mother, or whoever's spiritually above you in your life, your spiritual counsel. Sometimes we may have secret sins or secret struggles that we don't talk about, we don't deal with. We're just like, it'll be alright, I'll repent, I'll move on. Yeah. And we kind of put it in the backbone and it just eats at you. Like last week we talked about forgiveness. Like if you have resentment in your heart and you're not forgiving someone, you may try to forget about it and just try to keep living your life, but it's gonna build and it's gonna it's gonna hold you from being fully committed. Like I feel like we all have things at times where we have something we need to deal with, but we're just not dealing with it either because we're afraid to deal with it or we just don't want to.

SPEAKER_02 26:46

Yeah. Push it off.

SPEAKER_01 26:48

You just gotta make sure that you're being real with yourself and real with God.

SPEAKER_04 26:52

Yeah. I think it's really hard. Like what you said, what you said kind of like if you know you're doing something wrong and you're trying to fix it, right? And you fail. So then you're like, it's fine, I'll start over. And then you fail. And then you keep failing, but you don't know how to switch it. And that kind of ties back into the boundaries though. Like, I feel like the more you fail, the farther you should set your boundary. If you're failing, even if it's okay, so you could start with your boundary somewhere where you think you won't fail, obviously. And then you're like, dang it, I failed. Go farther. Like, yeah, it's just eventually you should probably just get to the point where you don't even get close to doing that. Yeah. Like whatever your problem is.

SPEAKER_01 27:28

Yeah, you should be in a different state at that point. Like you should be out of there. Like you should be booking a flight.

SPEAKER_00 27:34

Yes, yeah, we're out. And like like Audrey was saying, uh, you can try and then you keep failing and try and keep failing. Uh the Bible says, Proverbs 24, 16, it says, for a righteous man may fall seven times and rise again, but the wicked shall fall by calamity. So, I mean, when you're trying to get better at something and you do fail, the Bible says that a righteous man may fall like seven times, but he will get back up. Yeah. So don't get discouraged just because you failed at something. Try harder the next time to not fail. Yeah, that's what I'll feel.

SPEAKER_03 28:08

Also lean on God. Like, He's there to help you. Don't ever try to just take things into your own control and your own hands. Like, I got this, I'll I'll figure it out. Like, I'll stay away from that, but like you'll you'll no matter what, you'll keep failing because you can't do it on your own. You have to do it with God.

SPEAKER_01 28:23

Like, you want to feel in control, you want to feel like the big dog. Like you're like, I got this. Like the big dog. Like, this is such a small issue. I don't need to bring it to God. Like, I can handle this. I shouldn't have to bring it to him. Meanwhile, the whole time God's just waiting for you to bring it to him. Yeah. That's what you should do first.

SPEAKER_03 28:40

It's so strange how we're like scared to admit our failures to God. Like, He knows anyway exactly. Spoiler alert.

SPEAKER_01 28:48

Like, he knew this back when I was still in my mama's belly. Like, he already knew all this. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 28:52

But that can go back to having pride. Yeah. You don't want to own up to your mistakes. Yeah. You want to be the alpha in your life. You want to be the big dog. The big dog mentality is not always good. Yep. We we can't have that.

SPEAKER_03 29:04

Something that I think is really important too is environments. Like, this is completely cutting away from what we were just talking about. But it's really important to be careful with who we surround ourselves with because, well, it actually does tie back to what we were talking about earlier. But if we're not careful and we surround ourselves with people that are worldly and not Christ-like, we could start falling into their habits and what they believe. And they like it'll really stop you from doing a full commitment to God because like you may start taking a step forward and you may start like furthering your walk with God, but then you go hang out with them again and they're like roping you back in. Like now you're already three pi steps back from your one step forward. And so like I think it's really important to watch who are hanging and spending our time with. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 29:52

Yeah. And like sometimes you just may be afraid to let go of that relationship. Yeah. Like sometimes you just got a man or a woman up and be like This isn't good for me. I need to get out of it. Yeah, that's a big one.

SPEAKER_04 30:03

Like because sometimes it's people you're super close with. Like your best friend or something like that.

SPEAKER_03 30:08

You grew up with them or something.

SPEAKER_01 30:10

And then, like, not even people. It could be a hobby, a habit, uh, enjoyment that you have. Like sometimes we're just we're afraid to let things go. Yeah. Or just don't straight up want to. Yeah, sometimes you don't want to.

SPEAKER_04 30:22

I personally just hate change. Like, I don't sometimes not even about the connection that I have to that thing or that person. It's just I hate change. Don't notice anything. This is so random, but whenever we switched up to the church, like years back, I cried. Like I was so excited. Some room covered the stained glass windows. So I was thinking. I don't know what it was about that. And then something about the sconce set me off. Whenever I saw the sconces in the foyer, I started crying.

SPEAKER_00 30:49

What's a sconce? Can you explain it? Like the light on the wall. For the foreign.

SPEAKER_04 30:53

Um, yes. So our church used to look one way and now it looks another way.

SPEAKER_00 30:57

Did it get flooded? Is that what it was? No.

SPEAKER_04 30:58

No, we just wanted to switch it up.

SPEAKER_00 31:00

Oh.

SPEAKER_04 31:00

And remember when like Trevor fell off the balcony.

SPEAKER_01 31:02

Sometimes you need a rebrand. Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 31:05

Anyway, back at it.

SPEAKER_03 31:07

Continue. Actually, one more thing. If you don't want to like leave that relationship or like well, friendship, shall I say? Go like you gotta be bold enough in your faith to step out and tell them what they're doing is wrong and be the stronger person or the bigger person so they don't keep pulling you back in. Cause I don't it's easier to fall into like bad habits than build good ones. And so you just gotta make sure that you're the like one holding the ground, not them. The guardrails. You need guardrails. Yeah, you need boundaries on that too.

SPEAKER_04 31:40

What do you guys think? Like if you have a friend or just somebody in your life that's messing up.

SPEAKER_01 31:45

I don't have those.

SPEAKER_04 31:47

Somebody in your life that keeps dragging you down with them, and it's like they keep making these mistakes, or they they're just living your life how they live their life and how they've always done it, and you continue hanging out with them and you're starting to feel like, okay, this is bad. You're trying to build your walk with God. Um, do you think you should talk to them first and be like, hey, this is how I'm feeling? I think either you you need to help switch this or I need to help you, or should you just leave?

SPEAKER_00 32:10

I think you should definitely talk to them first.

SPEAKER_01 32:11

Yeah, like you don't have to come accusatory to them. It'd be like, you're evil and you need to stop. Yeah. But like you can be like, I need to set this boundary for myself. Um either like you change your behavior or we go our separate ways, and I'll love you from a distance, but I can't remain in this relationship.

SPEAKER_03 32:28

Or be the light for them, like be shine Christ through you, or like oh my stay shining, twin. Always in the darkness, be the light. But also like just help them, like you like if they're going through a rough time, just be there for them. Like, don't just completely cut them out. Yeah. Because I think that could probably give the wrong example as a Christian, is like all Christians are just gonna cut me out now.

SPEAKER_04 32:50

So like that's really hard though, because if even if you're trying to be that light for them and still be there for them and check up on them, that is still keeping a connection. And if it's something super bad, I feel like that's just a really hard thing to do. Because like if they keep if your connection with them and your getting in touch with them makes you do things that you know you shouldn't, then eventually you have to just completely separate from that person. Yeah, but that's hard to do because then you're you're knowing that you're the only light they had and you have to leave.

SPEAKER_03 33:18

Maybe just like instead of seeing them, just continue praying for them to where it's not of like a physical connection, it's just like you're keeping them on your mind, like making sure, hoping that they get better.

SPEAKER_01 33:28

Like sometimes you can't always keep that bridge open. Yeah. Like no matter how for the greater good. No matter how shot, no matter how bright of a light you shine, there's gonna be those. No matter how shine there's always gonna be those people that you just can't illuminate.

SPEAKER_03 33:43

Yeah, like you can't eliminate.

SPEAKER_01 33:45

I'm spitting bars right now.

SPEAKER_03 33:47

Illuminate, illuminate.

SPEAKER_01 33:49

But no, like sometimes you just need to burn that bridge. Like that person, uh how they are how they're living right now is just completely incompatible, and you they did something to you, yeah. That could happen. So sometimes you just gotta forgive, pray from a distance, and burn that bridge.

SPEAKER_03 34:06

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 34:07

I think we need to realize that it's not our place to save them. We can never save someone. All you can do is be the bet the brightest light you can. Yeah. If you want to use that analogy, like be the light witness, show them Jesus through you, but you don't have to save them. Like you shouldn't have been guilty. That's not you. Jesus will save them, and it's up to them to go to him.

SPEAKER_00 34:32

This is going back to like ways that you can not be fully committed. I think time management is a big problem. Uh you need to have a set prayer time because that's that really is your one-on-one time. Yeah, like discipline, that's time management. Yeah, stuff like that. That's how that's how like we're communicating with each other through prayer is how you're communicating with God. Yeah, you can't expect to hear from God if you don't talk to him. I mean, he still does, he still will talk to you, but your walk with him will be so much stronger if it's grounded in prayer. And that that's a big thing that I've had to work on is setting a specific time because I've always kind of just oh, I'll do it later, I'll do it before I go to sleep, and then you end up laying in your bed and you're you close your eyes and you're sleeping.

SPEAKER_03 35:17

That's why it's so important to almost like set your dedicated time with the Lord to be in the morning so you don't have room for excuses. I mean, I guess you could like push the time you wake up and not be an excuse, but like if you're really like sh like opinionated, I don't what is the word I'm looking for? Like, if you really want to read your Bible, wake up in the morning so like the things you're doing during the day won't tire you out so much to where you just want to go to bed and not even read it.

SPEAKER_04 35:41

I think you're looking for determined.

Outro

SPEAKER_03 35:43

Determined.

SPEAKER_04 35:44

Okay, guys. I think that was a great amount of information to give our listeners. Do you guys think so? Okay, I think we could end it off here today. Um, thank you to all the listeners who are watching, and make sure you tune in next week. Bye!

SPEAKER_00 36:00

Bye guys, later. Wait, bye. Can I get a yee haul? Yee haul.

SPEAKER_04 36:06

He's still cutting that out. Yeah.