the controversial christian

Simple Recipe for Failure

Laziness
Focusing on others
Ungratefulness
Misplaced Priorities
Mindless chatter

Serving Size:  You and anyone else who’s stuck with you.

If you mix all of those ingredients together, let them simmer for a while (sometimes for years) because you don’t have the will or capability on your own to fix them, generally overuse one or more every now and then, what you will have is one great, big, hearty dish of slow-roasted FAILURE! Eat up!

Let’s be honest—in the hustle and bustle of life as we know it, we constantly overlook our faults.  Who hasn’t said to themselves, “That’s who I am and I’ll never change?”  Even worse, who rationalizes their faults by saying things like “It could be worse,” or my personal favorite for having no verbal filter, “At least I’m honest!”

We always see articles teaching us how to be successful, prosperous, wealthy, happy; the list goes on and on.  We never see any on how to fail, lose, or crumble spiritually.  Seeing the truth about failure laid out in such an atypical way, it sure puts things into perspective, doesn’t it?

These ingredients are my personal favorites.  They season every aspect of my life just perfectly, so that I never change or become a better friend, sister, wife, mother, or Christian.

Laziness – The staple ingredient that makes failing at life just oh so tasty!  Without this, our other ingredients would be useless!  Laziness prevents us from even wanting to change.  It prevents us from seeing the finished product. The enemy of laziness is self-discipline.  Laziness keeps us from setting even small goals for ourselves. 

Focusing on Others – Oprah once said, “Be thankful for what you have; you’ll end up having more.  If you concentrate on what you don’t have, you’ll never, ever have enough.” There is no bigger roadblock in life than being jealous or envious over someone else’s life, circumstances, blessings, or favor.  The hard part about this particular ingredient is that it’s tasteless and odorless, meaning most of the time we don’t realize we harbor these feelings so they set us back without our consent. On the same token, it’s equally as important to be mindful not to judge others.  Judging the words, actions, and lives of others is as detrimental as being jealous or envious.

Ungratefulness – A little pinch of this goes so well with being focused on the lives of others.  These two usually accompany each other!  When you start counting your problems instead of your blessings, your life will be a downward spiral—mark my words.

Misplaced Priorities – What you are passionate about, you make time for.  If the important things (and people) in your life are being overlooked, stop right where you are and make it right. If you are ditching family time for a hobby or cancelling plans with your spouse because you need to work late, prepare to fail miserably and be a miserable person once the consequences and repercussions really sink in.

Mindless Chatter –This is usually the component used to bring all the others to life!  If you want to be perceived as careless, obnoxious, irresponsible, and a person without character, be sure to never think before you speak!  You can also include sarcasm and jokes at the expense of others to expedite failure in your life!  A great motto to live by that will challenge us all until we die, is “If you don’t have something nice to say, don’t say nothin’ at all.”  If you are going to allow a cartoon rabbit to be wiser than you, you can rest assured that you will be an expert at failure your whole life! (But you will have strong biceps from all the feet you’ll be pulling out of your mouth!)