wife realized that she had inadvertently by-passed this particular board. From this point I took a chance and began to surmise her thought pattern by saying, “You no doubt came home from prayer meeting that night and indulged in such thoughts as, ‘Who does he think he is, criticizing the one who is going to do most of the work? It’s adding a lot of burdens to my already heavy schedule, and what thanks do I get for it? This man is more concerned about his own petty approval than he is in the ongoing o f the Lord’s work.’ The next day you indulged in similar self-pity thoughts so that today you are reaping the harvest of self- pity; just as sunshine follows rain, depression follows self-pity.” Dr. Maxwell Maltz made the statement, “ No one can deny that there is also a perverse sense of satisfaction in feeling sorry for yourself.” The Bible tells us, “Whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.” Whenever a per son sows the seeds o f self-pity, he reaps the results o f self-pity in depression. One of the best cases of self-diagnosis on this matter appeared in the sports page of the San Diego Union. One o f the best-known football coaches in the National Football League, a former all-pro-quarterback of tremendous ability, electri fied the sports world by resigning suddenly and without warning. He had a good team and a bril liant quarterback, and he expected to win the Na tional Football League championship. Somehow things seemed to go against him, and although the team won the hard games, they seemed to lose some of the easy ones. Immediately after his res ignation he went into seclusion, and only after entreaties by the owners of the team, plus the other players and coaches, was he induced to re consider, which he finally did. Later, when inter viewed by sympathetic reporters, he said of the matter, “ The thing that I thought o f last—not quitting—was the thing I should have thought of first. I have lived a life o f not being a quitter, but that’s exactly what I was doing—quitting. I wasn’t being rational. I don’t know what happened. I just wasn’t thinking right.” When asked when he made the decision to return to the football team, he re plied, “When I quit feeling sorry for myself and came to my senses. That’s why I’m called ‘the Dutchman’ ; I guess I have to learn the hard way.” Happy is the man who, like this great football coach, can face the weakness o f self-pity and diag nose it as the cause for depression. That is half the battle. For once we understand that self-pity produces depression, and that it is a sin, all we have to do is to go to God for His cure. The cure for self-pity is identically the same as the cure for fear and anger, or any other human weakness . . . the Holy Spirit’s control, u
Continued from page S!) without the care of life, without the fear of death; of no rank, country, or condition; a man of one thought, the gospel o f Christ; a man of one purpose, the glory of God; a fool, and content to be reckoned a fool, for Christ. Let him be enthusiast, fanatic, bab bler, or any other outlandish nondescript the world may choose to denominate him. But still let him be nondescript. When they call him trader, householder, or citizen, man of substance, man of the world, man of learn ing, or even man o f common sense, it is all over with his missionary character. “They must speak or they must die, and although they should die they will speak. They have no rest, but hasten over land and sea, over rocks and trackless deserts. They cry aloud and spare not, and will not be hin dered. In the prisons they lift up their voices, and in the tempests of the ocean they are not silent. Before awful councils and throned kings they witness in behalf of the truth. Nothing can quench their voice but death, and in the article of death, ere yet the spiry flame and rolling smoke have suffocated the organ of the soul, they speak, they pray, they testify, they confess, they beseech, they warn, and at length bless the cruel people.” Be content, dear servant o f Christ, to be weak with Him. The servant is not above his Lord. You may be far from being made “ the filth of the world, the offscouring of all things (of society),” the very refuse of humanity, and—paralyzing truth—per haps as far from being crowned with glory and honor hereafter! God’s way up is still down. In this direction we can go as far and as fast as we like. By sinking.still deeper into the depths of His death, “weak with Him,” we shall become His sharp threshing instruments — worms “having teeth” — secret weapons of His choice. Such is Heaven’s own path and process for prophets and apostles and martyrs. Now for our encouragement let one apostle speak for all: “ It seems to me as if God has ex posed His apostles to public view, like the doomed wretches who close a triumphal procession — that we, like them, ha've been exposed in the amphithea tre before the eyes of the world, ay, o f angels as well as o f men!” (I Cor. 4:9, Way’s Translation). If this way of life in death and death in life be questioned, or if the offense o f the Cross seems too revolutionary, then let the reader lift his eyes from things present to the “ city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God.” There read the names emblazoned forever on the twelve founda tions. JO Reprinted from CROWDED TO CHRIST, by Rev. L. S. Maxwell; Wm. G. Eerdmans Pub. Co. Used by permission. 45
Rev. Tim F. LeHaye is pastor of Scott Memorial Baptist Church, San Diego, California. NOVEMBER, 1969
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