Now is the Time to Break the Cycle of Mankind’s Failure

Reverend Leo H. McCrary II

As the efforts of evil continues a long cycle of failure, the believer must lead the effort to break the endless cycle.

Introduction

Since I last preached to you, we’ve seen the efforts of evil continue in this land, and my spirit continues to be moved to preach this series of sermons.  A series that has called on us to consider how we choose to live in this moment.  As the offspring of God, we ought to do what is right and good, loving each other.  Yet, we continue to fail, repeatedly, in an endless cycle of failure.  Why is that the case, and how do we break the cycle of our failure?

Mankind’s Failure

So, when I speak of our failure, I feel I must make it clear what our failure is.  You see, when God made mankind, He made us in His image according to His likeness.  God made us with a desire for us to be fruitful and to multiply, and to have dominion over the earth (Gen. 1:26-28).  This desire, we should understand, is a desire where we live together and flourish together through love.

Yet, we do not love each other–we despise each other.  We despise each other because of the color of our skin (race).  We despise each other because of one’s language, nationality, gender, beliefs, and even because of what one has, or lacks, in their bank accounts.

To be clear, our failure is in disregarding God’s desire and disobeying His instructions.  Why do we choose to disobey the Lord?  What is it that causes us to despise each other over such reasons?

Paul’s Destructive Self-Righteousness

I want to share with you Paul’s letter to the Philippians.  The reason why I want to share Paul’s writing with all of you today is because Paul shared insight into the error of his past, when he was known as Saul, and what he did to break his cycle of failure.

In Philippians 3:7-9, Paul wrote that the things that he once considered gain, he learned to count them loss, and rubbish, to know the excellence of the knowledge of Christ.  He then wrote about his desire to be found in Christ, not having his own righteousness, which was from the law, but that which could only be gained through faith in Christ.  Paul sought to gain the righteousness that is from God.

What Paul acknowledged in his writing was a need to let go of his own righteousness, which once fueled and empowered him.  In his righteousness, Paul believed he knew better than others; he believed he knew what was right over others.

What was it that helped to fuel his self-righteousness?  From Philippians 3:3-6, in his own words, Paul tells us that his heritage, being of the tribe of Benjamin, fueled his righteousness as he saw himself as being a Hebrew of the Hebrews.  

Then, Paul reminded us that he was a Pharisee; he was one who studied at the feet of Gamaliel.  Paul was raised and trained to know the Mosaic Law inside-out, and in that, his zeal for the Law was greater than all, he believed.  As great as he believed himself to be, Paul’s self-righteous zeal was destructive towards those who didn’t believe in what he believed.  Does this sound familiar?

To the Galatians, Paul spoke of how he once persecuted the church in his zeal and self-righteousness, as he tried to force others to heed the law.  You see, those whom he couldn’t get to turn from Christ, he judged to be blasphemers of the law; he had them arrested and thrown in jail.  Those who preached Christ, like Stephen, he had them stoned to death.

The Hurt and Harm of Our Self-Righteousness

Again, Paul’s self-righteous zeal was destructive!  Yet, he merely continued the cycle of mankind’s failure, which, sadly, we of today continue to move in.  Our failure today, like Paul, is due to pride, arrogance, and self-righteousness–the idea of one believing they are better, or superior, than others.  

The superiority of some is brought on by the doctrine they choose to live by; they believe their doctrine and principles to be superior.  The self-righteousness of some is brought on by which god one worships and serves–religion.  The superiority some feel they have is brought on through nationality,  race, gender, and wealth class.

Narcissistic self-importance is behind today’s apathy and hate for others.  Self-righteousness has been harmful and destructive since the days man began to crown himself as a king and think of himself as a god.  

Self-righteous harm and destruction continued when the Pharaoh feared the children of Israel and enslaved them, believing he and the Egyptians to be superior.  It continued when kings and emperors desired to expand their kingdoms and became conquerors.  

Self-righteous harm came upon people who looked like me when we were sold into slavery and bound in chains, slaving in a field.  It continued even after freedom came, when people like one of my granddads became a sharecropper and the other a vet in World War II; they were met by and had to deal with Jim Crow.  

What we are witnessing in this moment today is the cycle of self-righteousness, one believing oneself to be better than another for whatever reason.  We are watching as the greedy are, once again, continuing the pattern of oppressors.

How to Break the Cycle of Our Failure

So, how do we break the cycle of our failure?  Do we force our beliefs, our righteousness, upon others?  It would be insanity for us to do such a thing, wouldn’t it?  The reason why is because history has shown us that forcing beliefs upon others only ends with pushback, bitterness, and hatred, with hate begetting more hate, and violence begetting more violence.

Warning against correction by force

Paul, in the height of his zeal and self-righteousness, was knocked off his horse (humbled) by the one he persecuted.  Christ asked Paul, “Why are you persecuting Me (Acts 9:4).”  

In his self-righteous zeal, Paul failed to realize something.  You see, when he was persecuting the early believers, believing he was fighting for God, he failed to realize he was persecuting His only begotten Son.  That should make you wonder what we fail to realize in our self-righteous zeal.

I am very zealous for the Lord in my faith.  I love being able to teach and preach the word of God.  Yet, I would be in the wrong trying to force my beliefs upon others, no matter how right I know believing in God is.  Think about this:  Did Christ force repentance on anyone?  No.  He encouraged and persuaded.

Heeding the chastening of God

After he was humbled, Paul was left with an exit ramp to break his cycle of failure.  Again, referencing Philippians 3:7-9, Paul tells us that he chose to let go of his pride and righteousness, to obtain the true righteousness that can only be gained through faith in Christ.

The only way Paul came to make this choice was through the chastening of God!  Paul was blinded on the road to Damascus, forced to sit in silence and wait for Ananias, one of those he had persecuted, to restore his sight (Acts 9:10-19).

God has been, and still is, knocking us, mankind, off our high horse.  The reason why God has had to knock us off our high horse is because of our arrogance and self-righteousness.  Our self-righteous arrogance has done nothing but create a path of chaos and utter destruction, as it hates, oppresses, and kills.

God is chastening us right now because we, mankind, have failed to heed His rebuke.  God rebuked us through His only begotten Son, who called on all people to repent.  Rather than repenting, mankind has chosen the foolish path, disregarding God’s rebuke.

For that, God is chastening us, blatantly putting out in the open just how blatantly wicked we, mankind, are.  Murders in cold blood for the world to see by those who are meant to defend or to protect innocent lives should disgust us.  The tearing up and scattering of families based solely on appearance and how one speaks should disgust us.

The love of money and wealth that man has to be able to rob and take away others’ ability to access healthcare should disgust us.  The enjoyment one has to see families struggle to eat or have a roof over their head ought to disgust.  The genocide or threat of war against a people to lay claim to land, or for the resources of a land ought to disgust us.

It should have disgusted us years ago when kids were being killed in school  It should have disgusted us years ago when mass violence was happening.  Yet, we continued to make excuses for the blatant wickedness, even going so far as to justify it.

Jesus once asked, “For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul (Mark 8:36). We, mankind collectively, have lost our souls.  We are being chastened by God so that corrections will be made!

The question that we must answer today is whether or not we will heed God’s chastening or will we choose to be further turned over to a reprobate mind?  Some choose to continue in utter chaos and destruction, but that cannot be my choice!  Like Paul, we must choose to break the cycle of our failure, and the only way we can do that is by seeking to gain and to know Christ!

Christ Is the Exit Ramp

You see, Christ is the exit ramp from the cycle of our failure.  Christ is the exit ramp that we must take as individuals, as households, as a community, as a land, and then as a whole world.  Christ is the exit ramp from our cycle of failure because in order for one to go down that ramp, one must let go of what causes the cycle to begin and repeat itself.

Letting go of selfish desire

To take the exit ramp from the cycle of our failure, we must let go of our selfishness and learn humility.

In the gospels, we are told of an occasion where three men desired to follow Christ.  To one, Jesus said, “Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head (Matt. 8:20; Luke 9:58).”  

You see, man’s desire is for worldly treasure.  The treasures of this world has caused nothing but pain, suffering, and sorrow.  The rich young ruler couldn’t let go of his worldly treasures and turned away from the ramp.  

Our treasures are ahead of us in God’s kingdom, not in this world.  You see, the desire for the treasures of this world is what is taking food out of children’s mouths today.  The desire for the treasures of this world is the root of all kinds of evil and has caused many to stray from the Lord.  

Jesus’ warning to those men was about how He lived in humility and poverty, and if one desires to take the exit ramp from failure, one must humble oneself.  Peter said that we must humble ourselves under the mighty hand of God, and in due time, God will exalt (glorify) us!  Learning humility helps to take away the pride, arrogance, and ego that help to fuel self-righteousness.

Acknowledge what we struggle to acknowledge

Moreover, humility makes us look in a mirror and acknowledge what none of us wants to acknowledge.

In Philippians 3:12-14, Paul further gave insight into what helped him to break his cycle of failure.  Paul spoke of how he had to realize that he was imperfect, and for someone who had the kind of zeal and righteousness he had, that had to be hard for him to do.

Though Paul acknowledged his imperfection, he didn’t let his imperfection keep him from striving to obtain the perfection (righteousness) of God.

Everyone struggles with acknowledging that we are not perfect, and our inability to acknowledge our imperfection not only harms us but also harms everyone.  Frankly, none of us is perfect!  I don’t care how long you have been in the church; you aren’t perfect.  I don’t care how long you have been a Christian, a child of God; you aren’t perfect.

Nobody is perfect because none of us is God!  We aren’t omnipotent, omniscient, nor omnipresent; that is to say that none of us is all-powerful, all-knowing, or present at all times.  There is only one God, and He is not bound to the limits of this, or to this creation.  Heaven is God’s throne, and earth is His footstool (Is. 66:1); God is beyond this creation as He is the one who made all things.

You see, all of us have sinned, and as Paul said, we have all fallen short of the glory of God (Rom. 3:23).  In order for us to learn humility, we must recognize our imperfection.  Recognizing our own imperfection helps us to recognize that others are also imperfect.  

When we understand that we aren’t better than anyone else, that realization will help us to treat others with grace.  Moving with grace helps us to exit the cycle of our failure – self-righteousness.

Commit to Christ’s Way

Now Christ has already broken the barrier of sin, making the path of sin for us.  So, if we commit ourselves to His way, we can move to escape from failure.

As honest as I feel I have been with all of you today, I want to end on another note of honesty.  I do believe we are already seeing the signs of some taking the exit ramp.  What makes me feel that way?  

In the wickedness of today, I see people choosing to stand and intercede for others.  Sadly, that intercession cost a man his life.  I pray that his life can one day stand as a sacrifice as we answer the chastening of today with continued love for each other as both friends and strangers.

We must continue down this road, leaving the failure of mankind behind us for the excellence of the way of Christ.  Should we continue down this road, we will flourish just as the Lord desires, and then, all of us, in the new day, will live forevermore in the kingdom of the Lord.