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When things go wrong, it's easy to look for someone to blame. There was a time in my life when I was in terrible shape, and I wanted to blame all the circumstances that had caused that, but in reality, it was my own poor choices. I was unhealthy because I hadn't prioritized health, and my body reflected that. Similar to my second and third knee surgeries -- there were lots of opportunities to blame others, but it was only my poor choice to keep playing soccer that was responsible for my knee injuries. The pain I was in was a result of my own choices.
Lots of things happen to us in life that are beyond our control. Many things happen that are in our control that we don't want to accept responsibility for. Jesus is trying to help us see the difference -- what can we control, and what kind of person do we want to be? The things in life that just happen without our control or input? Those don't defile us. The responses we choose -- those are the things that shape our character, the type of people we are. Jesus tells us to pay attention to that, for those things that flow out of our hearts, those actions define us, and often, it's how others will perceive the church -- through our words and actions.
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