Today Kyle Idleman concludes Chapter 6 of AHA with the second and third tactics of denial.
2. Defend. Pastor Idleman asserts that defensiveness reveals an area of our lives where we are in denial because we don’t want to face the people and places that force us to be brutally honest. In fact, the author believes defensiveness is a major cause of significant lapses in church attendance. When God’s Word illuminates and shines on our stains, we are convicted of them. Yet, although we recognize our stains, we’d rather not deal with them. God’s light is kept away from the dark corners of our lives and we pretend that everything is okay. Sometimes the truth hurts. But we won’t have AHA until we stop defending ourselves.
3. Distract. If the other parts of our lives are going well, it’s easy to live in denial about one part of our lives. For example, while King David’s personal life was falling apart, professionally he was at the top of his game. The nation of Israel was flourishing. Perhaps we were so focused on our former ministry or vocation that we became oblivious to other areas of our lives that were getting shortchanged. Our current reality may be difficult and painful, but often experiencing AHA begins with an “Oh, no!” moment.
Today’s question; Which of the three tactics of denial best characterize your response to your vocation loss? Please share.
Tomorrow’s blog: “The pigpen of projection”
