I was struck just now by an idea that caught my attention as I reviewed Walter Henrichsen's classic, Disciples Are Made, Not Born. Henrichsen asks the reader to consider that we hire policemen to make sure that we don't do anything wrong. His point being that it is rather audacious of any man to assume that one knows what's best for oneself, yet we live in a society that freely acknowledges that people wrong one another constantly. If we all really knew what was best for ourselves, wouldn't policemen be unnecessary? Of course. It is sheer arrogance that leads me to say, "I know what's best for me." I don't. I daily make the ubiquitous mistake of equating the lusts of my flesh with "what's best for me." I desire a doughnut, so I'll go get one, even though I may have high cholesterol, or be a diabetic. Dumb. People kill each other, rape women, shoot heroine, drive drunk, and do all kinds of other idiotic stuff, all the while claiming, "I know what's best for me." Yeah. Right. You know, there's a reason why you never hear fifth graders say things like, "When I grow up I want to be a crack ho'." Yet crack whores exist. And I'll bet if you ask them, the first thing they'll say is, "I know what's best for me."
Why do so many people fail to acknowledge Jesus Christ at Lord of their lives? Because, they say, "I know what's best for me."
I, personally, on the other hand have been liberated from such egotistical nonsense. I am free to admit that I don't know what's best for me, and live a better, more abundant life because, while I may not know what's best for me, I do know who does know what's best and His word is what I'll follow. By admitting my ignorance and letting go of my selfish pride, I am able to get much farther down the road to a happy life by following someone who always does know "what's best for me."
