Wake Up, Look Up

Hello everyone, and thanks for listening to Wake Up, Look Up, a podcast where we connect events happening in real time to the gospel of Jesus Christ. I'm Zach Weihrauch, and in today's episode, we're asking the question, who is responsible for your growth? This is based on an opinion piece I read in the Wall Street Journal by Jonathan Alpert called " Why Democratic Socialism Feels Good." If you're not paying attention to national politics, or at least local politics on the national stage. democratic socialism is having a moment. In fact, it reminds a lot of people of the Tea Party movement years ago among conservatives. A grassroots movement that threatens to change the course of the Democratic Party, moving it more towards social socialism. The idea that the government is responsible to provide for its citizens a fair and equitable and profitable life. I mean, you're familiar with socialism. Mamdani, the new mayor in New York City, is the poster boy of this movement. I mean, he's their guy, arguing that government is responsible for producing good in people's lives, moving away from maybe the core, historic American, at least capitalistic idea that you and I are responsible for what is happening in our lives. Now, Alpert, he's taking on why this resonates with people. What is it about democratic socialism that hooks into us? And this is actually not gonna be an episode on democratic socialism. It's an episode on what he says about you and I and why it clicks. He calls it learned dependence. I love that phrase. He says, learned dependence is a mindset that looks primarily to other people, in this case, government and institutions for meaningful change instead of personal responsibility. Learned dependence says, it's their fault, not mine. It's their responsibility, not mine. When I read this phrase, it clicked with me instantly, because I thought after 21 years of pastoral ministry and after 42 years of knowing my own heart, this is the number one problem spiritually of people that I encounter. Learned dependence. What I mean is this. It is hardwired into the human heart to want to blame other people, to say that all the difficulties that we're going through, the broken relationships, the stalled out career, the damaged marriage, is someone else's fault. 21 years, I've never had anyone come into my office and say, this is falling apart, and, and it's my fault. There are always other people to blame. And the problem with that is as long as you're blaming other people, you are powerless to affect any change. Because if it's their fault, then only they can do something about it. Most marriage counseling, for example, ends, up with the husband saying, if the wife would just do better, we wouldn't be so broken. And the wife says, if the husband would do better, we wouldn't be so broken. So no one feels responsible and no one actually does anything to change. made me think of what the Apostle Paul says in 1 Timothy 4 when he says, train yourself for godliness. Practice these things. Immerse, yourself in them so that all may see your progress. I can boil all that down to a simple phrase. Take ownership. That's what Paul's saying. Look, it is true that other people sin against us. It is true that the brokenness we experience in our lives, in our relationship, in our careers, in any area, is at least partially someone else's fault. Other people hurt us. That's true. The problem is, is that when we focus on their percentage, we obscure our own. And when we wait for them to take action, we feel justified in taking no action themselves. However, you pie chart responsibility in any broken thing, the sliver that you own is the sliver that you can change by saying, hey, in my marriage, I might be 20% responsible for the state of my marriage, but that 20% is 20%. I can 100% change. That's where actual growth happens. That's where actual change for any organization, any family, any individual. We change, we grow. Paul says, as we take ownership and responsibility and then take action. I know a lot of people who would shake their fist at democratic socialists and say, the government is not your parent. Don't be dependent. Take responsibility. And they're probably right. But those same people will be in my office next week blaming their wife for all the problems in their marriage. Learned dependence is not a liberal trait or a conservative one. It's a human one. It's a sinful one. And it's one that will stall the out your discipleship. Remember that the beginning point of the Gospel is that I am personally responsible for the broken relationship I have with God. And by owning that, I'm able to seek forgiveness and to receive it. In other words, our Christianity begins with admitting our own responsibility and seeking the mercy and grace of the Father. That is always how we'll grow God. I am at least partially responsible. And that is the portion I've come to talk with you about. Try it today. The next time you're tempted to blame someone else to point the finger to explain why they're the problem, find the sliver you can own and attack it with enthusiasm. And watch what God does. Hey, thanks for checking out Wake Up, Look Up. For more content, be sure to visit the Christ Community Chapel app or website ccchapel.com.

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