Let me show you in the next series of weekly PowerLife columns.

Understanding people is easier when you understand some basic principles of human behavior. Those basic principles are what I will share with you in the weeks ahead. “Warning, Warning, Will Robinson” (Quick, what baby boomer TV series did that famous line come from?); some of these principles are currently being denied by elements of our culture, so fasten your seatbelts. I’m sure by the end of this series of columns I will have the opportunities to raise everyone’s eyebrows one way or another. It’s going to be fun.

The first behavioral principle is: People are responsible for behavior. All behavior has someone who is responsible for it. I know that a natural human response to being held accountable for behaviors is the practice of what is called “blame-shifting.” It started all the way back to Adam and Eve in Eden when Adam began the “manly” trait by stating to God, “It was the woman …” It didn’t work for Adam, and it won’t work for us today. We cause behavior to happen.

All behaviors have consequences. It creates a history we have to deal with. There is a strange, in fact bizarre, event in the early history of the church recorded in Acts 5:1-11, where God brought swift and serious judgment upon a man and his wife, when they deceitfully refused to be accountable for their behavior. The lesson for the early church was clear, behavior has consequences and flows from the choices we make.

There is a superficial understanding of life and human behavior in our culture flowing from the multitude of self-help experts that flood the bookshelves and the Internet with their wisdom for living, revolving around being proactive vs. reactive in life. Proactive is good and does deal with taking responsibility for behavior, but it cannot be the way of living every day in every way. Because of human nature and human interactions, you cannot avoid being reactive some of the time.

Being reactive in your behavior is a reality because we cannot control everyone and everything in our lives. Sorry, all you motivational experts, but you really are missing the boat in some of your teachings.

Healthy living and a healthy emotional life means we must take responsibility for and control of our choices. This leads to control of our behaviors. I know this is easier said than done. I am human and live in this world just like you do. But, I have discovered that my relationship with God through Jesus the Messiah, gives me the power in life to make good choices, whether it is reactive or proactive behaviors.

Paul writes in Philippians 4:13, 19, “I can do everything through Christ who strengthens me … My God will richly fill your every need in a glorious way through Christ Jesus.” (GWT) God is ready, willing, and able to help us make the right choices, take responsibility for our behaviors and their consequences.

Remember, there is an election coming up tomorrow. God wants you to go vote. He’s really serious about this, I promise. If you don’t have a place to worship and reflect on the reality of Biblical truth, I invite you to join me this Sunday at 11 a.m. as I share the relevant and practical truth on “The Foundational Importance of Mothers.”

Again, happy reflecting, and happy voting.

With Pen in Hand,
Dr. Chuck
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