The Case Against Self-Sufficiency

Truth for Life Radio Program

Pastor Alistair Begg

Excerpts from a July 2022 Broadcast

There are reasons why self-sufficiency doesn’t work for us.  The main reason is that we would never seek God out if we could handle life on our own.  Another reason is that staying in the neutral zone allows you to delay making a decision about following Jesus.

Let’s face it—everyone has problems and all we want is to be happy.  We all want to get rid of the emptiness we feel at times.   Individuals cannot be satisfied or fulfilled if the consideration of God is removed from society and from our lives.  When problems arise, self-sufficiency doesn’t work out so well because we don’t always know what to do or how to move forward.  When God is our rock in life, His word helps us endure through tough times, resolve conflict, and look ahead to a solid future.

4 truths to consider:

Truth #1:  Don’t worry about today’s problems.  You will get justice in the end.

Consider that God rewards His people in the end.  This justice comes when God judges the world and the justice you personally receive will last for all of eternity.

Most people feel that they should enjoy every pleasure life has to offer, “just in case” there is no God.  So should we “party on” because life is too short and if God exists, is it reasonable to think He doesn’t care what we do?

Life can seem unfair and unmanageable when we see examples of wicked people getting everything they want while good people cannot have everything they need or want.  Even if things don’t seem fair right now, you will get justice in the end. 

Truth #2:  People are as unreliable as life is unfair.

Consider that God knows better than men and society.  He proves it in His written word, the Bible, which is our instruction manual for life.  We need to follow it because we are sensible people who want to make sense out of the world. 

The sentiment expressed in Ecclesiastes 9:13 is that wisdom is better than folly.  People cannot unscramble the dilemmas of life, and they shouldn’t count on public gratitude or count on being remembered when they are gone.  Embracing folly as a way of life is easy; following God’s instruction takes some humility and intentional action.

Truth #3:  There are problems everywhere, but we focus on things we can control and let God worry about the things we cannot control.  We do this by having faith that He has our backs.

Worrying about the future is neither productive nor helpful.  Is everything that happens a bunch of random acts?  Don’t focus on riddles about the future because the future is unpredictable.  Instead, prepare yourself for the inevitability of your death and what awaits you the moment you die. God wants to know you and what’s on your heart.

Ecclesiastes 8:11 tells us that evil prevails when crimes go unpunished.  It does not mean that life is all chance, and if given enough time something bad will happen to everyone.  What it does mean is that there is neither rhyme nor reason to history if you don’t know God or what is in the Bible.

Many contemporary men and women choose to deny a Creator.  If you are a reasonable person you can think this through in light of the fact that everyone dies and everyone will stand and give an account of their life.  But when we believe in time, chance, and Mother Nature, God gets dethroned while Mother Nature gets enthroned.  And then the atheistic viewpoint supports an already godless culture.

Truth #4:  We are fugitives to our own destinies and we are wasting time each day.  We need God in our lives.

The pleasure in knowing God will rid us of our frustrations and shed light on why we are here.  With God, we no longer fear death and now life has meaning and hope!  When we truly accept God into our lives and place our trust in Him, we find it easy to embrace this good news and share it with others!!

Death is unavoidable.  Every person born will die.

The bad news is that humanity is off-track.  The hearts of men are full of evil because we haven’t considered the significance of sin in the big picture.  Our hearts are flawed in how we think about everything.  We inherited this flaw from Adam and Eve’s sin in the garden.  We have adverse reactions to things because we are taught to think wrongly from the beginning of our lives.

We have suppressed the truth of God.  Everyone knows God exists but people who call themselves atheists CHOOSE to reject God because they refuse to believe that they will one day be judged and that they will be held accountable for their choices and actions.

The good news is that God never, ever forgets the names of His children and their anxious thoughts.  There is ultimate pleasure in knowing God.  When you receive God through your trust and faith in Him, it changes you forever.  You become a new creation and your life becomes meaningful when you think about God, communicate with Him, and come out of your neutral zone and into His light—He shines His word into darkened minds.  He loves you and will forgive you if only you will ask.