C. L. Beam~Purposed to 'INSPIRE'
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...From IGNORANCE to INTEGRITY...

7/25/2013

15 Comments

 
          1 Peter 13-16 says: 13 Therefore, with minds that are alert and fully sober, set your hope on the grace to be brought to you when Jesus Christ is revealed at his coming. 14 As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance. 15 But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; 16 for it is written: “Be holy, because I am holy.”[a].  This particular portion of verse 14 speaks to me because ignorance, by definition is the lack of knowledge, the condition of being uneducated, or uninformed. If we never admit our ignorance as it relates to a particular thing, how can we ever gain knowledge about that thing? How can we 'be holy'? 
            In today’s society, we make ignorance out to be a horrible thing or something that is attributed to youth and immaturity. It is neither! Failure to admit your ignorance is an INTEGRITY issue that affects young and old alike.  FAILURE TO ADMIT IGNORANCE IS A HORRIBLE THING.  You can never receive help on issues that you never admit that you need help on.  And I can guarantee you, from personal experience, that those issues will resurface again and again and eventually, if left unchecked, will sabotage even the greatest of things.
          When I was 27, I got married to a wonderful woman. I had holistic knowledge of Christ’s rules for life and marriage; however, there were some specific things that I didn’t know. There were some deep internal and elemental questions that as a man, I needed answered; I needed them answered so that I could be honest with myself about those areas.  Why am I getting married? Are they sound reasons? What things do you need in order to have a lasting marriage? Do I have those things? Do ‘we’ have those things? Is love just a commitment or should there be something more? What is the difference between being ‘in love’ and love? Do I need both? Do I realize that if I am not careful here that I could possibly cause great hurt and harm to not just myself but to one that I am vowing to protect?
          Instead of asking those questions, I let PRIDE cause me to hide my ignorance. I went to pre-marital counseling classes, and I discussed the things that didn’t embarrass me, the superficial things, and I smiled and pretended that everything was great. But the knowledge I received only helped me to the degree that I was wiling to open up to receive it.  Several years after we were married, my wife and I even taught Marriage Counseling classes, but the same pride and hidden ignorance resurfaced.  Instead of allowing the knowledge I was teaching to truly address my hidden issues, I focused on how I could present it so that it could help others. “I didn’t need help,” I foolishly told myself.  The areas that I did not expose my ignorance in were the ones that eventually led to the demise of my marriage.
         At the ripe old age of thirty-six, after a major mistake that changed my life and the lives of many that I care deeply about, I have allowed God to reveal to me my lack of COMPLETE Integrity.  Through this act, He is teaching me to admit my ignorance.  I am learning that there is no such thing as partial integrity.  I  am learning that TRUE INTEGRITY can only be created when there are no secrets within me; I am being reminded that TRUE INTEGRITY only exists when the person that I am in  my inner most private life and the person that I am in my my public life are no different. 
          With those things, I am learning that with God, FAILURE is never FINAL. I am learning that mistakes are often the first step to the manifestation of miracles if we allow them to be, and that mistakes should be turned into messages and shared so that others don’t make the same mistakes.  I am learning the essences of John 12:47, when Jesus says: 47 “If anyone hears my words but does not keep them, I do not judge that person. For I did not come to judge the world, but to save the world.
          To all those who read this and knew me on a personal level, I offer my sincerest apologies for allowing my PRIDE and PERSONAL Ignorance to create an action that hurt so many of you that I care  for dearly. It was never that I didn’t truly love and respect you; I simply wasn’t at a place with myself that I was ready to seek the truth on some deeper issues in my own character. I take full responsibility. I often feel that I let you down, that I myself down, and I let God down.  I only hope that you can find it in your hearts to not condemn me but forgive me instead.  If not, I love you still.  I KNOW that Christ has and will forgive me.  
           For those of you who do not know me on a personal level, I pray that my example will cause you to take a second look at the hidden ‘ignorances’ in your life, that God gives you the courage to let go of foolish PIRDE and ask the deep personal questions you need answers to. I pray that this happens before those hidden issues create some disastrous occasion in your life.  I pray that you realize the miracle of this moment that God has given you to become more of what he wants you to be. 
          Take this opportunity to take the advice of Proverbs 4:23 
Keep diligent watch (take inventory) of your own heart, for out of it flow the issues of life.
          BLESSINGS!


15 Comments
toshia beam
7/25/2013 02:02:55 am

There are those who hide their ignorance in order to prove they are more than they are. Only to shine in the glory of the wrong crowd!! Be true to God and u can be true to yourself. Love u lil brother. Great speech!!

Reply
CLBeam
7/25/2013 02:21:58 am

'Only to shine in the glory of the wrong crowd' Wow, I LOVE that. We have to learn to be God pleasers and not People pleasers! Thanks for posting your thoughts. I love you too!

Reply
Crystal
7/25/2013 02:26:32 am

Wow... where to begin... what a word shared. Often times we spend so much time trying to keep the outer surface polished (physical apperance-wearing mask to cover our own issues) that we neglect the inner core, we don't focus on cracking the hardest surface to break-internally-). I agree that we are so eager to focus on helping others, or seeing the 'ignorance' of others, that we fool ourselves and are blinded to our own problems. I am guilty of running from the real problems as we'll in my life. From home, church, relationships, work, and community involvement, not realizing the impact it has not only on me, but those around me also. Thank you for sharing HIS WORD, for being transparent, and encouraging, opening my eyes. to the things I was blinded to. It's during times such as this, that we need it the most.

Reply
Clbeam
7/25/2013 03:12:05 am

Crystal, you are so welcome! As Iron sharpens iron, so men ought to sharpen each other. I am simply furthering and focusing on perfecting my own journey with God, and as I do so, He reminds me that my destiny is found in inspiring others. In order to do that, I have to be transparent and find the chinks in my armor. I am a CLANGING SYMBOL if I am just writing words and not making sure I too am LIVING those same words...

Reply
Tracy
7/25/2013 02:33:23 am

This post needs no further comments. It's dead on and exact. It's up to us to get this message out there so we can all reflect on ourselves and those we love. Thank you, Chad, for being so open book. This is wonderful! To God be the glory!

Reply
Clbeam
7/25/2013 03:14:44 am

You are so welcome; to Him be all the glory. The reason I am able to be an open book is because His will requires that if I am to minister to others, I have to continue to allow him to minister to me first. If we are ever to be who we have the potential to be as the body of Christ and as individuals, we have to be HONEST! Thanks for posting and BLESSINGS!

Reply
Salazar
7/25/2013 03:07:04 am

I echo your statement that failure is never final! For most of my life thus far, I have dealt with a fear of failure, and that fear has often kept me from taking steps of faith. God has really been teaching me lately that failure is only an event, never a person. By the grace of God, my failures don't define me, but are often necessary to help me learn and grow as a believer, teacher, wife, coach, etc. I'm learning to take steps of faith and trust God that even if I fail, he never forsakes me but turns my failures into stepping stones to my next victory. Blessings, Beam, as you continue to learn and grow!

Reply
CLBeam
7/25/2013 03:18:45 am

Coach Sal, thank you for sharing your experiences with me. I am glad that this devotion affords you that opportunity. Often times we need to hear ourselves or see ourselves say or write about our journeys. Confession helps us grow, I believe. If we can ever get beyond Independence and move into Interdependence, we will be better. I hope that as we we both continue to learn and grow, we can continue to share and feed off each other life lessons and victories. I wish that for the body of Christ as a whole too.

Reply
Ana
7/25/2013 04:28:52 am

I just wanted to tell you that this really touched me in so many levels. I think we forget that God knows all our thoughts and our hearts. This has made me reflect in many areas of my life. It's hard to admit you are wrong and ignorant about some things. Thank you for being courageous and willing to admit something like that publicly. Always keep your head up and know that even the greatest kings fall. But we can always get back up with Gods help.

Reply
CLBeam
7/25/2013 06:09:54 am

Ana, TRANSPARENCY is key to becoming the man/woman that God sees in us; sharing your transparency with others in an attempt to help them become their personal best is loving others as we love ourselves. Thanks for responding; thank you for sharing your reflections. Please visit the site again. Blessings!!!

Reply
Krisina
7/25/2013 02:42:16 pm

Wow u preaching. I am so proud of you. God is rich in you. Keep moving you doing it.

Reply
CLBeam
7/29/2013 12:17:00 pm

Thanks Mrs. Jones! I hope and pray that this message finds you and your family doing well. We must continue to Move Forward; thats the way we receive our blessing and bless others...BLESSINGS!

Reply
shander
7/25/2013 11:01:15 pm

Wow for some reason I couldn't read this yesterday and I tried several times but isn't just like God to give you just what you need right when you need it. Sometimes I think that we forget that God knows and sees all because we so busy trying to look right and be right.for the world Thank you for opening my eyes to me This is really causing me to do some deep soul searching Thank you so much Chad for allowing God to use you to set the captives free I think it's time to have some coming out parties Coming out of ourselves for Jesus I love you Shalom blessings to you brother!

Reply
CLBeam
7/29/2013 12:15:04 pm

Shander, you are so right. We must focus not on being people pleasers but God pleasers instead. Thats where our true blessings lie. I hope you are doing well...BLESSINGS and I love you too!

Reply
Lucinda
8/3/2013 02:27:17 pm

Awesome word...the first step to total deliverance realizing the problem and trusting God to help you through Be Blessed Man Of God

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