Thinking of Dr. Phil
Okay... I must admit that I don't do daytime TV. In fact, I rarely even watch TV. Very little of what is on seems appealing to me.
However, I have given full reign of the DVR to my lovely wife. And at times we sit and watch items that she has found interesting. Last night we were flipping through the DVR logs, and found an old Dr. Phil that she hadn't watched yet, so we watched it together. At first, I actually got irate [I mean, red-in-the-face irate!] at how this mother was treating her child. For those that don't know me, I have a VERY soft spot for children.
So Dr. Phil quickly dismissed that guest and brought out guest number two. And my anger quickly faded from red-rage to pink. I could at least finish the show. The change came when Dr. Phil asked a direct, pointed, and incredibly insightful question: "You know that this is something you have to change in YOU, right?"
"Yes." She replied. "I *want* to change it."
It was at this moment that the bells rang the clearest. He looked at her and said: "Okay. Then here it is. Are you ready?"
She nodded with a smile on her face, as if she was going to get the chocholate-fudge double dip that she so longed for...
"STOP DOING THAT!!!" came his sharp reply.
I nearly rolled on the floor. Now, I'm not trying to be vindictive, but the timing could not have been better for humor.
How often do we want to find that our parents or teachers or old next-door-neighbor's-third-cousin-twice-removed have left us in the state we are in? When in reality, it is our own actions. Our own sin. Our own rebellion to the truth.
How often we need to hear the truth: Stop doing that. Many actions we take are not someone else's fault, but are engrained habits that we need to ask for God to convict us of, and then make a mental habit of NOT DOING... whatever it is we've been doing.
As Job says in Job 31:1 :
Sometimes to avoid things in our lives we don't need medical advice or emotional advice. Sometimes we just need to stop doing it.
What are you doing today that you should just walk away from?
However, I have given full reign of the DVR to my lovely wife. And at times we sit and watch items that she has found interesting. Last night we were flipping through the DVR logs, and found an old Dr. Phil that she hadn't watched yet, so we watched it together. At first, I actually got irate [I mean, red-in-the-face irate!] at how this mother was treating her child. For those that don't know me, I have a VERY soft spot for children.
So Dr. Phil quickly dismissed that guest and brought out guest number two. And my anger quickly faded from red-rage to pink. I could at least finish the show. The change came when Dr. Phil asked a direct, pointed, and incredibly insightful question: "You know that this is something you have to change in YOU, right?"
"Yes." She replied. "I *want* to change it."
It was at this moment that the bells rang the clearest. He looked at her and said: "Okay. Then here it is. Are you ready?"
She nodded with a smile on her face, as if she was going to get the chocholate-fudge double dip that she so longed for...
"STOP DOING THAT!!!" came his sharp reply.
I nearly rolled on the floor. Now, I'm not trying to be vindictive, but the timing could not have been better for humor.
How often do we want to find that our parents or teachers or old next-door-neighbor's-third-cousin-twice-removed have left us in the state we are in? When in reality, it is our own actions. Our own sin. Our own rebellion to the truth.
How often we need to hear the truth: Stop doing that. Many actions we take are not someone else's fault, but are engrained habits that we need to ask for God to convict us of, and then make a mental habit of NOT DOING... whatever it is we've been doing.
As Job says in Job 31:1 :
Job 31:1 - I have made a covenant with my eyes. How then could I look at a young woman?
Sometimes to avoid things in our lives we don't need medical advice or emotional advice. Sometimes we just need to stop doing it.
What are you doing today that you should just walk away from?
posted by Jerry Hanel @ 9/19/2005 07:30:00 AM
4 Comments:
At 9/19/2005 11:21 AM,
Anonymous said…
thanks jer. tammy
At 9/21/2005 4:33 PM,
G & Auds said…
I don't normally watch Dr. Phil but I happened to catch yesterday's show, I think - woulda been Tuesday....did you two happen to catch this?
Anyhow it literally made me ill, after I cried.
He had a lady on the show who verbally abused her daughters so much that it made them physically ill. It just shook me to my core. And the things she said to those precious little girls, the vomitous things that spewed forth out of her mouth, all the vitriol was just toxic! And she's threatened to physically harm them as well.
And watching her watch her children on TV and show little remorse just made me wanna scoop her eyeballs out with rusty spoons. OI!
ANyhow just had to get that out. Just had a profound effect on me.
*sigh*
At 9/21/2005 4:34 PM,
G & Auds said…
Oh I meant to answer your question too....
"What are you doing today ....."
I need to stop spending so much time thinking about scooping out the eyeballs of certain far leaning left-wing radicals. I get far too much enjoyment thinking about it, so it can't be a good thing.
A.
At 9/22/2005 11:21 AM,
Jerry Hanel said…
Note to self; keep the spoons away from Auds until after she's given birth. =)
Post a Comment
<< Home