To Err Is Human Series

Title: To Err is Human

Series: Truths we must believe

CHCC: August 5, 2012

Romans 7-8

INTRODUCTION:

You may remember that last summer we preached a 4 sermon series about TRUTH based on a book by Dr. Chris Thurman. We focused on the lies we tell ourselves. We talked about SELF lies, WOLRLDLY lies, MARITAL lies, and even lies we may pick up in CHURCH. This summer we’re going to take the focus off LIES we tend to believe and talk about TRUTHS we must believe.

The first thing we need to know is that truth matters! In John 8:32, Jesus said, “You will know the truth and the truth will set you free.” Jesus came so we could know truth. In fact, Jesus IS truth in the flesh. For the next 4 Sundays we’ll talk about a few specific truths that lead to emotional health and spiritual well-being.

Many folks … including Christians … are unknowingly enslaved by lies. Sometimes we are unaware of the truth. Sometimes we know the truth but fail to apply truth in our daily lives. Without truth we have no power to move beyond our circumstances. Without truth we wander through life confused --- lost in a maze of choices.

In the book, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, Alice came to a cross roads and asked the Cheshire Cat which road she should take. The cat asked her, “Where are you going?” To which she responded, “I don’t know.” The cat answered her, “Oh, well, in that case either road will take you there.”

That’s how it feels to live apart from TRUTH. If we don’t know where we’re going, any choice is as good as another. But if spiritual and emotional health is our goal, then TRUTH is the only road that will take us there. Jesus promised us abundant life. He is the TRUTH and He is the WAY that will take us there.

So why is it such a struggle to follow truth? Living in the truth is not easy. It’s human nature to avoid a difficult challenge and take the easy way out. Living in the truth requires courage and determination … and most people simply aren’t all that committed to truth.

Another problem is that we are surrounded by a culture that believes lies. When all the people around you believe the same lies, it’s natural to just go with the flow. Ernest Becker addressed this problem by stating about society in general, “If everyone lives roughly the same lies about the same things, then there is no one to call them lies; they jointly establish their own sanity and call themselves normal.”

It may seem easier to live in denial than face the rigors of truthful living. But settling for anything less than truth is like putting a bandage on a broken arm. Lies give no healing for what ails us in life. The good news is that truth is available to anyone who wants it.

None of the truths we’ll learn in this series are new. Solomon, one of the wisest men who ever lived, said there is nothing new under the sun (Ecclesiastes 1:9). The truths we will examine are “old” truths … many of them are what we call “common sense” or “horse sense.” But just because we’ve heard them before doesn’t mean we have understood them or applied them to our lives.

Today, we’ll start off with truth #1: To Err is Human

I know what you’re thinking, “Well duh! Everyone knows that!” We’ve all heard the truism, “To err is human; to forgive, divine.” But do we really BELIEVE it? Do we really believe that making mistakes is normal? Most of us feel annoyed, embarrassed, and deeply disappointed about every mistake me make. Deep down in our stock of hidden beliefs, we hang on to the notion that we have to make A+ happy face in everything we do. (Do we have any perfectionists here?)

We HATE to mess up because mistakes are evidence of something we don’t want to face: the fact that we are FLAWED. It irritates us to face proof that we aren’t perfect. Instead of believing “to err is human” we actually believe “to err is stupid.” This becomes a huge problem if you believe you are worthless because you’re not perfect. You can tell if you have fallen for this trap by looking at your self talk.

1. Self-talk

When you make a mistake, do you launch into a self-abusive self-talk that sounds something like this: "What’s wrong with you? You always mess up. You’ll never change! You’re an idiot! You’re a looser and everyone knows it. You deserve the miserable life you’ve got."

That kind of thinking comes from believing “to err is stupid.” With it comes high blood pressure, anxiety, guilt, anger, and depression. The answer to the problem is found in the TRUTH of scripture. Romans 3:23 tells us “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” In other words, “to err is human.”