I'm kind of bored with the same old approach all the time of teaching you and trying to persuade you to adopt the things of God so I’m going to join the other side. Yes, you heard me right. This morning I’m going to be an advocate for the devil.

Introduction

Today I’m going to do something different than I usually do. I'm kind of bored with the same old approach all the time of teaching you and trying to persuade you to adopt the things of God so I’m going to join the other side. Yes, you heard me right. This morning I’m going to be an advocate for the devil. I’m going to tell you how you can ruin your life – or if not ruin it, at least make it so miserable that you’ll wish it were ruined.

I’m going to tell you several ways that you can become your very own worst enemy. Doesn't that sound exciting? No one is going to leave here thinking that they just heard the same old "same old." When you leave here today you'll know you've heard a brand new approach.

So how is it that I, who have worked 31 years on the Lord’s side am suddenly an apt spokesman for the side of the devil? Well, though I certainly haven’t seen everything, nor would I ever claim that I’m wise enough to spot every pitfall that a person might end up in, I have seen some of the more common ones, and I’ve watched them take people down in spite of the sincere efforts of good people around them to stop it. So if you’re looking to find destruction, misery, and ultimately, hell, listen up to what I have to say. You’ll be amazed at how much that I know about ruining lives just from watching people do it to themselves.

Oh, and by the way, in case the idea of ruining your life by becoming your own worst enemy isn’t all that appealing to you, I encourage you to listen up anyway because I just might be able to persuade you to change your mind and adopt a destructive course. I'm going to do my best to be a good salesman for the "other side" this morning.

The first thing I would suggest that you do if you want to become your own worst enemy and ruin your life is that you:

1. Stay Away for Anything that Pertains to True Wisdom.

Getting involved with true wisdom could save your soul and make your life much better and I know you don't want that. Besides, who needs wisdom anyway? And who is really wise? We all know that truth is relative and that nobody really has many reliable answers to the kinds of problems we face today. Certainly with all of the complex issues we have these days it couldn’t be possible to discover a consistently good way to deal with them. So don’t bother trying to figure things out. Don't try to discover a right way to go about things. Modern people understand that the concept of absolute right and absolute wrong is so "yesterday." There are many ways to go about things. Who can say that there is any such thing as a "right" way? Disregard anything that has any credibility - especially the Bible. It doesn't have anything worthwhile to say.

Oh, and don't listen to people who are older than you. What could they know? They never lived through the breakup of a relationship. They never had to face the kinds of things that you face today like lost jobs and rebellious teenagers and loss of a loved one. They never had to face the threat of war. Those old-timers never had to deal with difficult emotions like anger and hate. They never had to struggle with wanting to give up on a difficult marriage. They were never young so as to have to deal with the kinds of strong desires youthful people have, either. And probably not a single one of them ever had a therapist. You know that from our modern therapists we have learned that life today is much more complicated than what those in the past ever had to deal with. We're sure of this because they have so many sophisticated names to call our problems today. In fact, we have a "syndrome" name to apply to just about anything we might ever deal with. Besides, if you start listening to people who are older than you, you'll likely just be loaded down with guilt. That's because in former generations they had an old fashioned concept called "personal responsibility." Yuck! What a thought! How "yesterday!" The idea that you are to blame for your own problems? People living before us were so judgmental!

And while we're on the subject, don't pay any attention to the words I'm about to read to you from the Bible, either. They couldn’t possibly help you. That Bible is just a book of fairy tales. I know, I know, people claim that it is from God and that it makes a very real difference in their lives. But they've been making such claims for years. Don't listen to that stuff. It couldn't possibly be right.

I read the following words to you because I wouldn't want you to stumble on them inadvertently and start thinking that they might be helpful.

I'm reading from Proverbs 1:20-33:

20 Wisdom shouts in the street, She lifts her voice in the square; 21 At the head of the noisy streets she cries out; At the entrance of the gates in the city, she utters her sayings:

Now I know that this sounds like it is saying that there is a crying need for wisdom. And I know that it suggests that there might be some help available "at the entrance of the gates in the city." That's where the elders used to gather in ancient times to discuss the word of God and how best to lead the people by talking about the accumulated wisdom of the ages. But we've already seen that if you want to be your own worst enemy and ruin your life, you shouldn't listen to those who are older than you.

Yes, I know its kind of ridiculous, but the writer of Proverbs actually personifies wisdom here - sort of gives it a voice and lets it speak. Here's what it says:

22 "How long, O naive ones, will you love simplicity? And scoffers delight themselves in scoffing, And fools hate knowledge? 23 "Turn to my reproof, Behold, I will pour out my spirit on you; I will make my words known to you.

Of course I don't want you to listen to that or to take it seriously. The last thing you'd ever want to do is to stop scoffing at wisdom and cease hating true knowledge. That might save you and we're talking about how to ruin your life here. Oh, and don't take this next warning seriously either because it might turn you around and cause you to start getting involved in all of this true wisdom stuff, which we know is just poppycock:

24 "Because I called, and you refused; I stretched out my hand, and no one paid attention; 25 And you neglected all my counsel, And did not want my reproof; 26 I will even laugh at your calamity; I will mock when your dread comes,

I hope you aren’t taking any of these words from Proverbs seriously, because remember, we're talking about how to become your own worst enemy. If you're going to do that you want to be sure that you don't pay attention to any of these words. You want to be sure that you do neglect wise counsel, and that you never, never, under any circumstances, let anyone reprove you like it says here. "Reprove" is an old fashioned word that means "to voice or convey disapproval." How unkind it would be for someone to actually butt into your life and suggest that what you're doing is wrong! It's not anyone else's business how you run your life or what you decide to do in the privacy of our own home. Don't ever let anyone come and tell you that the way you're doing things is wrong. That's so "yesterday!" And it's none of their business! Besides, it might mess up your goal of ruining your life and being your own worst enemy.

This passage continues with an almost threatening tone - a hellfire and brimstone tone, which is so "yesterday." It says:

27 When your dread comes like a storm, And your calamity comes on like a whirlwind, When distress and anguish come on you. 28 "Then they will call on me, but I will not answer; They will seek me diligently, but they shall not find me,

Hey, you don't want to listen to that. It's suggesting that there might come a time when it is too late to get the benefits of God's wisdom. And we know that there will always be second chances in life. There's plenty of time to live life without concern for God’s wisdom and then, after we've had a lot of fun living foolishly, we can turn around at the last minute if we need to. These words are so "yesterday!"

29 Because they hated knowledge, And did not choose the fear of the Lord. 30 "They would not accept my counsel, They spurned all my reproof. 31 "So they shall eat of the fruit of their own way, And be satiated with their own devices. 32 "For the waywardness of the naive shall kill them, And the complacency of fools shall destroy them.

I know this seems to suggest that if you live foolishly and keep pushing God's wisdom out of your life, that there will come a time when you'll have to pay the consequences. But you don't believe that, do you? I know you don't, because after all, we're trying to learn here how to ruin our lives here.

33 "But he who listens to me shall live securely, And shall be at ease from the dread of evil."

Oh what a miserable goal! What a worthless outcome! To "live securely." To "be at ease" even when everyone else is living in dread. I know that none of us here want that.

So my first point is this: If you want to be your own worst enemy and ruin your life, stay away from anything that pertains to God's wisdom. That could save your life. You don't want that.

So are you still with me? Isn't this fun? Don't you feel liberated and free to do what you want with absolutely no thought for tomorrow? Good, because I wouldn't want any of you to have second thoughts about destroying your life.

Are you ready for the next tip on how to be your own worst enemy? Here it is:

2. Never Trust or Respect Authority.

Don’t settle down and make yourself accountable to any leadership in the church. It’s much better, if you want to be your own worst enemy and destroy your life to be a free spirit – to be able to drift from place to place, wherever your whims and desires might take you. And, there’s an added benefit to never submitting yourself to the limits of structure and discipline in the church: you never get asked to contribute. You can just soak up all the freebies, then when you’ve drunk up all of the nectar in the flower, you can just buzz off and find another one. It’s great fun. No one will ever be concerned as to whether you’re growing or not. People won’t care when you don’t show up. Church leaders won’t interrupt your lifestyle by checking up on you to see how you’re doing spiritually. After all, if you’re going to be your own worst enemy and ruin your life, you wouldn’t want anyone stepping in to mess up your goal.

Yes, I know what that kooky Bible passages says in Hebrews 13:17. It says: "Obey your leaders, and submit to them; for they keep watch over your souls, as those who will give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with grief, for this would be unprofitable for you."

But you and I know that there are church leaders who abuse their God-given positions and take advantage of the flock. Surely this verse shouldn’t be taken seriously – especially if your goal is to be your own worst enemy and ruin your life. If you want to accomplish that goal, never trust or respect any authority in your life.

I realize that most of you here are Christians and as such, you are on your way to heaven. You've probably gotten into the whole issue of wise living and thinking about tomorrow and eternity. Since you're probably already accustomed to that lifestyle, it may be a little more difficult for you to break away from it and get back on a course of destruction. But don't despair. It’s still possible. Even if you are a stalwart saint with many years in the Lord, I still have a way for you to gain the benefits of a ruined life. It's surprisingly simple, and its my third point. Just:

3. Neglect the Word of God.

That's right. Don't show up for the assembly of Christians to hear the word preached. I know that may take some effort if church attendance has become a habit for you, but you can do it. I've seen people do it before – even ones who were formerly present whenever the doors of the church building were open. These were long term members of the church who seemed on the surface to be really involved in the things of God. Then they started getting involved in other things. Nothing wrong with that, mind you, because the things they got involved in were not particularly bad things. They just started taking up a lot of time and began to compete with steady intake of the word of God. Oh, and you'll also need to quit showing up for Sunday school because you know what they do there. They study the word. You don't need all that time in the Bible. If you study too much, you might not fall for some of the popular false teachings around us, which, of course, would detract from your goal of ruining your life.

Let me tell you a little secret. Without regular contact and exposure to the word of God, other lifestyles and philosophies will start making more sense to you. And the more you neglect the word, the better those other things will sound – even things that you may have concluded in the past were wrong. In fact, if you’ll only start neglecting the word of God, you can begin to succumb to the teaching of the majority which, by the way, Jesus called the broad road that leads to destruction. It’s right there in Matthew 7:13-14 where it says,

13 "Enter by the narrow gate; for the gate is wide, and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and many are those who enter by it. 14 "For the gate is small, and the way is narrow that leads to life, and few are those who find it.

Now before you begin to look too seriously at this passage, you must note that these words of Jesus were intended to warn people not to wander off of the narrow road that leads to life. And if you’ll remember the purpose of my message this morning, it is to help you ruin your own life by becoming your own worst enemy. So don’t pay any attention to what Jesus says here. In fact, just act like these words don’t exist. Or, if you’re not comfortable with that, join with a lot of others in a mantra or two that will help you forget these very limiting words of the Son of God. One of them goes this way:

"Everybody’s doing it, so it must be right."

If you’ll get up every morning and repeat those words until they’re like second nature to you, you’ll be completely comfortable on the broad road in no time.

And here’s another:

"You can’t tell me that all those nice people (on the wide road) are wrong!"

Same thing here. Just repeat that until you are convinced that it is true and in no time you’ll be driving on the wide road at freeway speed.

And believe me, that's the road you want to be on if you want to ruin your life and become your own worst enemy.

Just remember - if you spend too much time in the word of God you’ll see the fallacy in the mantras I just gave you and you might just turn toward the truth and lose your goal of destruction.

So neglect the word of God. The less time you spend in it, the better. If self-destruction is your goal, I guarantee that this will work every time.

Don't take your Bible to work with you and read it on your breaks. Don't listed to it on your tape deck or CD player in the car, either. Don’t get caught discussing it with others. In fact, here’s another mantra for you to learn:

"I never discuss religion or politics."

That one will certainly do it for you.

Let’s see… What have we said so far?

	Stay away from anything that pertains to true wisdom.
	Never trust or respect authority.
	Neglect the word of God.

Sure advice for those who want to ruin their lives!

I have one more piece of advice to give you if destruction is your goal and you want to ruin your life be becoming your own worst enemy.

4. Don’t Ever Give Any Serious Thought to Your Own Mortality.

This one is really important. In the years I’ve served the Lord’s side I have seen many people fall into this trap. They have a little health scare and it causes them to begin to think that someday they might die. Then before they know it they are seriously thinking over the direction their lives have been going. And then, BAM! They wise up and start getting serious about the whole issue of life after death and being saved. And believe me, if you want to ruin your life and continue to be your own worst enemy, the last thing you ever want to do is give serious thought to your own mortality! That’s liable to scare you straight!

Let me give you some scripture on this point that you should be sure you continue to ignore.

Hebrews 9:27

"…It is appointed for men to die once and after this comes judgment…."

Ecclesiastes 12:6-7:

6 Remember Him before the silver cord is broken and the golden bowl is crushed, the pitcher by the well is shattered and the wheel at the cistern is crushed; 7 then the dust will return to the earth as it was, and the spirit will return to God who gave it.

Mark 8:36

36 "For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world, and forfeit his soul?

Like before, I’m giving you these verses not so that you will consider or do what they say, but rather so that you’ll know what not to do if you want to ruin your life and be your own worst enemy. Always remember that once you really start to face your own mortality, you are very likely to desert the road to destruction, and you don’t want to do that, right?

Conclusion

My dear friends, you may think by now that I’ve lost it - that I’ve gone completely nuts. If you’re visiting with us this morning you may wonder, "What kind of a church is this that the preacher would get up and tell everyone how to ruin their lives?"

I really don’t want to see you ruin your life. That’s the last thing I would ever want you to do. It’s just that I’ve seen people ruin their lives by doing the very things I’ve been talking about this morning. And I don’t want you to do them and experience that result.

I don’t want you to stay away from things pertaining to God’s wisdom. I want you to immerse yourself in God’s wisdom! I want you to be able to spot all the pitfalls around you so as not to fall into any of them.

I don’t want you to disregard authority in your life. I want you to accept it and see the wisdom of God’s plan. When leaders in the church are fair and are doing what God says they're supposed to do, I encourage you to respect them and pay attention to what they say.

I don’t want you to neglect the word of God. Surely you know that. Surely you know that my unconventional approach this morning was really to help you see the importance of God's word in your life.

And I don’t want you to ignore the truth of your own mortality. It’s unpleasant to contemplate. I know. I don’t like it either. But each of us is going to die one day and we need to seriously think through the issue and be sure we’ve made the proper preparations.

Those preparations include believing and acknowledging that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, surrendering your life to Him in repentance, and being baptized to have your sins forgiven through the power of His resurrection. Then you must embark on a life of faithfulness to Him and His cause as a part of His church.

Yes, you can neglect these things. Many do. In fact, the majority surely will, just as Jesus predicted. I only hope and pray that you and I won’t be among them.