by Yvonne Donlon

Created on: December 04, 2009   Last Updated: December 05, 2009

Are Christians their own worst enemy? It's a tough question for most Christians to answer. Or perhaps it is, rather, a tough answer to admit to. Or worse yet, a tough answer to understand at all.

As my father, grandfather, and great grandfather were all ordained ministers, I have spent my lifetime in church and among Christians. I have seen the things that have nearly pushed me away, and I have seen and felt the things that make me stay. The latter is, without doubt, the larger of the two. In fact, the latter is the largest, most powerful reason of all - God! Without Christ, I would, in fact, be my own worst enemy.

One has only to consider the disciples of Christ Himself to see how easy it is to be your own worst enemy. Judas - need I say more? Peter - who denied Christ three times, but was in return told by Jesus "I love you," three times. Thomas, who said, "we know not wither thou goest, and how can we know the way." (John 14:5). Thomas, who doubted it was Christ who had risen, and had insisted among the others that only upon placing his hands in the wounds of crucifixion, would he know it was Christ. Thomas, who when faced with the risen Christ, didn't have to place his hands in the wounds - he knew Christ by His offering.

Peter, again, God love him, who stepped out of the boat in eagerness of pleasing Jesus, and sunk before he reached the Master. But, did he sink and drown? No, of course not. In that moment, as much as he was being his own worst enemy, Jesus Christ was his best friend. I'll lay odds on that every time.

Even if it appears like Christians are being their own worst enemy, stay tuned, because God's plan is continually unfolding in and among the very lives of those are being "their own worst enemy". There will be those who doubt. There will be those who publicly deny Christ at what seems like the absolute worst time in their lives to be doing so. And there will be the beloveds, who are granted, by their very character, a vision of the future.

Anne Rice, who was made famous by writing stories of vampires, has recently "reclaimed her faith". Now, there are fans far and wide waiting, with bated breath, to read her post reclamation stories, the first of which is title Christ, The Lord. The world was let in on her crisis of faith with the stories of vampires. But, without that crisis, would all her fans know of her reclamation?

We can't all be John the Beloved. We can't all be Peter, the rock. We won't all be Thomas. Some of us will be the rest of the twelve, whose names are mentioned but whose "own worst enemy" moments are not chronicled but were surely there. And, although we can destroy ourselves with betrayal, we can't really be Judas, not any of us - that was a one time thing - although its lesson is one of the most profound and most often remembered lessons of the Bible. And perhaps that only need happen once to teach millions of people, throughout thousands of years, the consequences of being your own worst enemy. And, even so, Judas was given the opportunity to be forgiven.

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