What A Friend We Have In Jesus By Joseph M Scriven

Improved Essays
MY WORST ENEMY IS ME

Introduction:

There is an old familiar song that often pops up in my mind as I go about my daily activities. It does not matter what is going on in my life or what mood I am in, it always seems to have a special meaning to suit the occasion. It encourages me; it comforts me; and on this occasion, it inspired me to share a message with others. The song is, “What A Friend We Have In Jesus”, written by Joseph M. Scriven. The first verse of the song reads thusly:

What a friend we have in Jesus, All our sins and griefs to bear
And what a privilege to carry, Everything to God in prayer.
Oh, what peace we often forfeit, Oh, what needless pain we bear
All because we do not carry, Everything to God in prayer.

The first four lines of the song tells us that we have a friend whose name is Jesus. This friend is able and willing to relieve us of the problems that life sends our way. All we have to do is take our sins and grief to Him in prayer. . But the next four lines tell us that in spite of the fact that we know we have this friend who is willing to bear our sins and grief for us, we do not carry everything to Him in prayer. We refuse to exercise the privilege we have as Christians, and we continue to do things our way — while forfeiting our peace and experiencing needless pain. The problem described in this song is not unique to a small group of people, but rather, it describes a common problem that exists among all human beings. We can know what to do to bring relief to our problems and conflicts, but something within us prevents us from taking action in that direction. We hear folks say, “Take your burdens to the Lord and leave them there,” and we can read in the Bible, “Cast all your cares on Him, for He cares for you”(1 Peter 5:7); but we do not seem to believe that — we never get around to doing it. Why is this so? Why are we so helpless against ourselves? Why Am I My Own Worst Enemy? Perhaps, reflecting on what we know about conflict in literary characters can provide a clue to help us understand why we can be our own worst enemy. There are five sources of conflict identified in stories. They are: Man vs. Man, Man vs. Nature, Man vs. Society, Man vs. Self, and Man vs. Technology. Among the five sources, Man vs Self is the most difficult to resolve. Man does not mind fighting against those other sources, but he resists fighting against himself. Hence, there is a great deal of difficulty in solving internal problems. And furthermore, dramatic characters have what is called a tragic flaw — something that if not solved will ultimately lead to his downfall. The kind of interplay described here reminds me of what goes on in real life situations. Spiritual growth poses a similar challenge to man. It is something he has to come to grips with internally. This is the last thing he wants to deal with. Most times he refuses to see his attitude and /or behavior as possibly his problem. He blames others and circumstances in his environment for the conflicts and turmoil in his life. Anyone
…show more content…
Some examples are:

• The Doctrine of Total Depravity is a theological doctrine derived from the Augustinian concept of original sin where it is believed that every person born in the world is enslaved to the service of sin as a result of their fallen nature and, apart from the efficacious or prevenient grace of God, is utterly unable to choose to follow God, refrain from evil, or accept the gift of salvation as it is offered.
• Dr. J. P. Moreland’s “empty self” syndrome says that man has a set of values, motives, and habits of thought, feelings, and behaviors that pervert and eliminates the life of the mind and make maturation in the way of Christ extremely difficult. He gives seven traits that undermine intellectual growth and spiritual development.
• In the psychological dimension, the Freudian theory of human nature says: “The human is ‘nothing but” a being driven by instinct or, more precisely, by the conflicting claims of id and superego finding an uneasy truce in the

Related Documents

  • Improved Essays

    Death In Gaz Film Analysis

    • 1027 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Every human being develops a personality which stems from a person’s basic needs and the influence of society. Freud…

    • 1027 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Kierstin Flint Mrs. Atnip English 2 Period 2 2 November 2015 Friendship A Relationship in One During a lifetime friendships are the most important bond that people can form. These friendships are alive throughout all generations and we use the skills we learn to continue making new relationships. Throughout the novel, A Separate Peace, the author, John Knowles, displays the good things about close friendships but also the hardships that often occur. Gene and Finny, two boys that attend Devon school, grow emotionally and physically despite their opposite personalities.…

    • 951 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Decent Essays

    In order to describe both the ego and the id Sigmund Freud uses an analogy. Freud compares the ego to a horseback rider, while the id is seen as the horse that is being ridden. According to Freud the ego is like a man on a horseback who tries to guide the horse (id); however, the horse does everything possible to oppose the ego and insist on doing what seems pleasurable. The id is a powerful force who tries to dominate over the ego, yet the ego does everything possible to find enough strength to be able to dominate over the id. Although the id, or in this case the horse, is very powerful, the ego, or horse rider, must do whatever is necessary to take the id’s desires into account and transform them into rational actions.…

    • 167 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Improved Essays

    First of all, Finny dies because of Gene’s sin. When Gene visits Leper, Leper is the first to accuse him of making Finny fall out of the tree, “… you knocked Finny out of the tree.” (145). Gene symbolizes Judas because he betrayed Finny. His betrayal resulted in Finny’s death.…

    • 725 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    As main stream denominations continue to shrink and modern day evangelicalism has morphed into something more politically and conservatively centered, I found “Rescuing Jesus; How People of Color, Women and Queer Christians are Reclaiming Evangelism”, by Deborah Jian Lee, enlightening, profound and hopeful as it centers on new, out of the box ways in which people generally pushed into the margins, are redefining their evangelical Christianity. “Evangelicalism is anything but a monolith; it is a vastly diverse landscape”. Meaning, not all evangelicals are the same and perhaps what we think of them or how we envision them is way off the mark.…

    • 2466 Words
    • 10 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    What is human identity; is it a characteristic defined by humanism, interpreted into arbitrary degrees of humanity or rather is it the manifestation, or possession of a soul, of divinity? If such defines our identity, then is being human an inherited genetic attribute or is it a state we achieve through rationality derived from knowledge and wisdom? Identity, however, is not always stable; it can be interpreted as a dynamic balance between humanity’s divine and animalistic personas – a debate of “dominance” between rationalism, curiosity and desire. While philosophers, like Plato, describes human identity through the possession of soul, Marc Chagall’s painting I and the Village and Paul Gauguin’s painting Tahitian Woman with Evil Spirit emphasize…

    • 885 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    The Need to Keep the Id Under Control in Lord of the Flies Sigmund Freud, an Austrian neurologist, believed that humans have three parts to their personality. These three components are known as the id, the ego, and the superego. The id is selfish and doesn’t tend to other people's needs or aspirations, soley its own. Freud says the id ““knows no judgements of value: no good and evil, no morality” – only the fulfillment of immediate desires” (CommonLit). When humans reach around the age of three, they acquire what Freud calls the ego.…

    • 970 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Mental life or psyche is understood as a bodily organ (the brain) plus the acts of consciousness. In The Dissection of the Psychical Personality, Freud discusses the psychic nature of the human mind. He begins by that One thing we know about ourselves is the never-ending conflict between our instinctual desires and our endeavor to resist them. In other words, personality, what makes the “I” is a product of how mental forces interact. Later he terms the region where instincts lie the id and the region that resists or controls them the ego.…

    • 910 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    In psychology, we come to discover that there are four major theories for personality: psychodynamic, trait/ five factor model, humanistic, and social-cognitive. In Sigmund Freud’s Psychoanalytic theory, Psychic Determination is when we have no control over our actions because our unconscious mind chooses for us. Symbolic Meaning is when every single action we make has a meaning. Unconscious Motivation is when we rarely understand the reasons behind our behavior, and come up with reasons to explain our behavior.…

    • 741 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Freud states the in these years the id must be controlled which begets conflict between frustrated desires and social norms. Due to this…

    • 1370 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Great Essays

    The aim of this essay is to explain, evaluate and critically discuss the Psychodynamic and the Humanistic perspective and how they help our understanding of the treatments for abnormal behaviour. It will explain and look in to Freud’s Psychodynamic theory, which include the psychoanalytical/iceberg theory, his psychodynamic model of personality and the psychosexual stages of development. It will look at these theories in some depth, evaluate each of them and show how they relate to mental health. The Humanistic perspective will then be explained in the same context. It will explain what this perspective is and then look in to the approaches within the perspective.…

    • 850 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Freud has postulated the psychodynamic perspectives on human personality by emphasizing that the human personality is mostly unconscious or beyond our awareness. Through this, Freud developed his theories on the id, ego, and superego. The id represents the unconscious drives, the ego deals with the demands of reality, and the superego is the…

    • 811 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Jack, characterizes the Id. According to Sigmund Freud 's theory, the id, revolves around our primitive…

    • 934 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Developed by Sigmund Freud, the psychoanalytic theory of personality focuses on the unconscious. This school of thought believes that all behaviour stems from one’s unconscious as well instinctual and biological drives. He described the personality as encompassing three structures- id, ego, and superego. These three…

    • 955 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    (Hamilton, 2007) It is mind-boggling that as little as three components can play such a prominent part in how one 's personality is. Sigmund Freud is the founder of ego defenses. Freud once said, " 'Life is not easy! ' The ego--the 'I '--sits at the center of some pretty powerful forces: reality; society, as represented by the superego; biology, as represented by the Id" (McLeod, 2008).…

    • 1123 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays