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February 17, 2009
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=========================== TODAY'S ARTICLE ==========================
Beware the Quick Fix, by Rubel Shelly
Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know
that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and
character, hope (Romans 5:3-4 TNIV).
Careful planning puts you ahead in the long run; hurry and scurry
puts you further behind (Proverbs 21:5 MSG).
Although our intellects know better, something about human beings
continues to make us suckers to the idea of a quick fix. So
entrepreneurial hucksters regularly come along with goofy ideas that
garner millions. Then they move on and leave no forwarding address.
Western obsession with weight and appearance seems to make us
particularly susceptible to claims about products that promise fitness
without effort, weight loss without sweat. One company made big money
selling its anti-cellulite sneakers. Another touts electrical muscle
stimulation and weight-loss water. People love to think they've found
an easy way to their goals.
Doctors and fitness experts tell us that healthy eating combined with
regular exercise is the best way to slim down. One requires
self-discipline, and the other is work. Who wants to pay the price of
either, when there is a no-strain, no-pain alternative? Who doesn't
want to think there is an easier way?
In other contexts, it is the person who deceives himself into thinking
he can continue to drink after a couple of DUIs and a job loss. It is
the one who tells herself that an "innocent flirtation" at the office
means nothing. It is parents who refuse to take seriously their child's
brush with the law. It is a family trying to get all it wants with
credit cards instead of saving. It is the person who won't own up to
responsibility and apologize for betraying a confidence and hurting a
friend.
Want to know why counseling doesn't work for many troubled marriages?
It turns up areas of the relationship that need work over time. But
immature and selfish people want a quick fix.
Perseverance over time in pursuit of a noble and worthwhile goal.
Want to know why so many companies fail? It will take too much hard
work over too long a period of time to correct problems, replace
incompetent people, and penetrate new markets. Lacking a quick fix,
there is bankruptcy.
Want to know why once-thriving churches die? Somebody gets hooked on
the notion that spirituality is a new program or gimmick rather than
fruit-bearing by the gentle presence of the Holy Spirit. So members go
church-hopping again.
One of the virtues that gets too little attention these days is
persistence. Not stubbornness. Not "pig-headedness" and inflexibility.
But perseverance over time in pursuit of a noble and worthwhile goal.
It is interesting to me that the Bible places perseverance midway
between suffering and character (Romans 5:3-4). There's just no
shortcut from one to the other.
---------
(c) 2009 Used by permission. From Rubel Shelly <rshelly@rc.edu>'s
"FAX of Life" printed each Tuesday. See Faith Matters for
previous issues of the "FAX of Life."
RELATED LINKS:
* Tanacious Persistence
http://www.heartlight.org/articles/200609/20060905_persistence.html
* Treasure in Toilets
http://www.heartlight.org/articles/200708/20070821_treasure.html
* Run and Don't Burn Out
http://www.heartlight.org/articles/200609/20060912_burnout.html
* RubelShelly.com
http://www.rubelshelly.com/
This article can be found on the web at:
http://www.heartlight.org/articles/200902/20090217_quickfix.html
=========================== FEATURED PRODUCT =========================
STAYING CLOSE, by Dennis and Barbara Rainey
This book provides a positive, workable strategy for keeping your
marriage vital and intimate.
http://shopping.heartlight.org/cgi-shl/link?223
Find more great books, CDs and videos at the Heartlight store! With
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