I've grown up admiring comic book superheroes. I read comics and watched plenty of television programs and movies with superheroes. I took it all in with fascination and excitement. I remember wondering why anyone would want to be a villain. Do villains just wake up and say they want everyone to hate them? I seriously doubt they do. But then again they are completely fabricated so they probably could. In many cases, villains and heroes are very similar. What really sets them is their understanding of wants and needs.
We are always having a constant battle with our wants and needs. Are needs are as basic as they come, nothing more and nothing less. Every time we want something it's always more than what we need. For instance, we need food, water and shelter. Food and water are needed for our basic survival and shelter is to protect us from unfavorable elements that could prove harmful to us. We don't need to eat steak everyday and drink beer and alcohol everyday but there are some people who want to. We don't need to smoke and drink, in fact consuming too much of either has proven to be deadly.... Actually consuming too much of anything is deadly. We do all these because we want to.
Wanting too much is selfish. We all know that selfish is thinking and caring only about your interest, your benefits, your WANTS, regardless of other people's wants and needs. Selfishness is probably one of the most common characteristic that make up a vast majority of villains. Its never ok to lose sight of the bigger picture. Our gifts are not meant for us to capitalize on. We all have a gift not just designed for us but one used to assist others. What good is a genius if he ne'er creates anything that can improve the effectiveness of the work force as a whole? What good is a surgeon if he doesn't save lives? What good is a doctor who can find a cure for a disease? Selfishness serves no one any person and eventually leads to people turning their backs on you.
On the other side of that, people need help all the time but you don't need to baby them. We do not need to sugar coat and save people from all of their problems. Saving people from all their problems is spoiling them. No one wants anything that has an expired self life. We need to step up and stand behind every decision we make. If it was a bad decision we need to find ways to fix it, if its that much of a screw up that we need to call for help that's fine. To use people as a crutch is ok if it's only temporary. I crutch was never designed to be a replacement for walking. Its a walking aid used to assist you until you gain the strength to walk on your own.
We all know some one who leans on people too much. It's ok to let that person go. Doesn't mean that you don't love them any less, but actually shows that you love them that much more cause you believe that they have the strength to tackle their own problems. At the end of the day they should have more confidence in themselves and not animosity toward you for allowing them to find their way out. The only reason they get upset with you is because they failed to see the strain they were placing on you, that's because they couldn't see beyond what they wanted. You being there for them and still being concerned about their well being is proof enough that you care whether they realize it or not. Tough love is still love. When did love mean giving someone everything they wanted?
Needs are pure. They are the basic essentials they we have to have for survival and interaction. Wants can be tainted, they aren't always pure and we will never go not wanting. For the most part we are satisfied because we took care of a need. We can always go beyond that though. Sometimes with disastrous results due to our selfishness. One of the reason why we need to walk in love.
I'm going to leave you with two thoughts that I heard yesterday:
God works IN us so that he can do something THROUGH us. God's grace doesn't just end with you. There is no end to God's grace.
Don't trust your own discernment if you are not operating in love.
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