Falling Away

By SA Tygart

Inter-relationship of man and the causes for the conditions that man and society is falling away and relating all this back to God, with a touch of personal struggles through poetry

• Language: English
• Publisher: LifeRich Publishing
• Release date: Apr 28, 2021
• ISBN: 9781489735348

SA Tygart

N/A

Book preview

Copyright © 2021 SA Tygart.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means,

graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by

any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author

except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

LifeRich Publishing is a registered trademark of The Reader’s Digest Association, Inc.

LifeRich Publishing

1663 Liberty Drive

Bloomington, IN 47403

www.liferichpublishing.com

844-686-9607

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in

this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views

expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the

views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are models,

and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.

ISBN: 978-1-4897-3536-2 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4897-3535-5 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-4897-3534-8 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2021908132

LifeRich Publishing rev. date: 04/15/2021

DEDICATION

This endeavor is a gift from the One and only GOD, my Father, my Savior Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit…I Thank and Praise YOU! It is as well a gift to you, everyone! I believe that I was led to write this book by GOD, that all whom read it understand the message that is critical to your faith and life in Christ, and those without Christ in their lives in the HOPE you will choose Christ afterwards.

To my children…Kenneth: finding your way in life is an adventure and it doesn’t help when man makes it harder or when the choices made lash out and slap you around. However, we all have a responsibility to society and as much as you may not like this you must realize that society isn’t built to forgive you, but GOD will. I LOVE YOU! McKenzie: don’t allow this world to lead you around in the ways of man and what society believes a girl, a young woman, should be or look like. Jesus will make you exactly the way you need to be no matter what others believe. I LOVE YOU! Though I believe unconditionally in GOD, I am aware that neither of you believe as I, and pray always that a faithful belief in GOD will rise up in you both. Please remember that Jesus Christ is your Savior and of the World.

You…whom seek answers to questions of the heart, and that while you may or may not have chosen Christ as a personal Savior, you recognize the inexplicable void in your days and nights, and want desperately to understand what it is that is missing in you. As such, I believe reading this book will provide you with the ground work to answer the real questions of life and bring a realization to your heart that GOD, not man, will provide you with the life you have always wanted wherever you are and whatever your circumstances may be! This is dedicated to you!!!

As well, a hidden dedication to a woman, whose life was out of control, and waking up one morning and accepting GOD into her life, changed her life; but not completely! However, she is a living testimony of GOD’s will for each person in this world…accepting Christ as her personal savior affected many around her, not all, but many whom witnessed that life isn’t life without GOD! Lastly, Aaron… You are an exceptional man, and have been a rock for me during many a rough time…May the Graceful Peace of the Holy Spirit always lead you!

INTRODUCTION

I have always wanted to write a book… {In fact, I believe that writing was/is always what I should have been doing…my calling, and in a sense I have been a writer my entire life. However, not a writer of books, but rather a writer of technical things, and always wanting to be a writer of books}. What type of book was really not important when I began, but a book all the same about something I was passionate about, a book that I hope will interest other people as well! So, here I am, writing! What this means to me will mean something completely different to you; however, I want it to mean something to you…to provoke thought and to understand just how much this particular subject influences your everyday, attempting to understand why this society has changed so drastically in such a short time, and to remind us all how simple life is supposed to be and that the complications in life can be overcome.

In order to understand a little about me, it would be important to know that I don’t believe in can’t! Can’t, is an excuse for not wanting to try, and Can’t allows you to be lazy, and justify non-action. I’m also not the guy that runs up frantically announcing that we have a problem. I don’t believe in problems! The word in-part implies that a solution is not near and that distress will follow. Problems as they be, are challenges that with a little grit you can rub out the scratches and bring it all back to a factory shine. I normally, if there is really such a thing…look at the bigger picture simply because there are more ways to resolve conflict in a challenge rather than in a limited or diminished environment that allows for the elimination of anxiety and arising complications as well, instead of the reactive or emotional fix; which I need to work at myself…furthermore, you can examine future probabilities of the good/bad, and alter the plans as needed. But, that’s what works for me the majority of the time, and it would be important however for you to find a way that works exclusively for you, that cannot be compromised by outside influences, which will intrude upon your process.

So… what am I writing about??? I’m writing about Falling Away. Falling Away is a story that is intertwined with the story of my family, unnamed friends, my observations and experiences, poetry I have written that relates to events or feelings, and the relationship it all has with the Word of GOD! The premise is LOVE and the loss of the Sanctum of Love in our own lives and within us; and of society and the failure of society to love its own citizens…proposing that the only probable way to truly correct the problems we and society have is to turn back to the Word of GOD and lead lives guided by the Truth of GOD.

What then is Falling Away? Fundamentally, Falling Away is an infliction of the physical that destroys the spiritual…[disallowing the heart, a hardened heart at that, to accept that we are responsible for our own lives and that Man cannot nor will Man ever be able to correct your life. The hardened heart refuses to acknowledge the loving guidance of GOD, the responsibility for their actions and blames GOD, those around them and society for their condition! Falling Away is as well about Faith, which impacts Love, and how a society and the individuals within have foregone a faithful belief in GOD and allowed the condescending principles of man to seep into the Word of GOD through arrogant behavior and progressive thought, and a twisted interpretation of the Word of GOD! As such, and all too often we refuse to recognize that failure in our decisions is the very cause for not being successful and moreso people tend as stated to blame others, and GOD for failure in their lives instead of looking at what they did or did not do that created the conditions that caused failure.

Please, realize I am not saying that failure in general terms is about someone not playing a certain note properly on an instrument prevented a person from being a renowned or successful musician, or that a questionable business decision that affected short terms sales made you go bankrupt; but what I am saying is [continued failure in our lives is created from poor decisions we make today, tomorrow, and proposed decisions that accumulate and build upon each other to only aggravate life]; creating continuous struggle…struggle that lends to the appearance, that the only luck you may have is no luck at all; which I don’t believe in luck that is!

So, I ask this… are we as individuals situated or capable of handling failure? I says NO and YES; but primarily the answer is NO! I do believe though that our not having a full understanding to view the entire picture leads to our making poor decisions. Furthermore I realize that outside influences can manipulate our senses and make it nearly impossible for us to decide properly, such as; Emotion, Behavior, Friends, Family and even Religion has substantial influence upon us. With that I conclude that it is an absolute necessary element in life to fail at times in order to learn not to fail again at what we failed at, and very relative in a Christians life to fail; but, the Christian’s failure is a hopeful failure that’s purpose opens up the heart to GOD so that the relationship with God can become a purposed relationship between you and He!

There is no such thing as the perfect life, so we are always at the apex of life where a wrong turn can create a complete breakdown of life itself at every level, and we must fail occasionally that we become aware that our GOD, The Living GOD, is there and willing to give us mercy and forgiveness through Christ, that we come to know the mystery of GOD and seek His counsel in every way, all day, and in everything, that we are given the Gift of Life…Eternal Life itself!

42848.png

EMOTION for one, in itself, may be the greatest cause for not making sound decisions. Emotions cause people to leap first without thinking challenges through to ensure we have thought out the ramifications of our actions; but we can’t all be Vulcan’s can we? Emotion though is vital to being human; and aside from having a spine, which we have in common with a few animals, we have emotion, and that separates us from all other living things on this planet.

All things in our lives create emotion in one way or another, and it’s these reactions that influence our behavior. Furthermore, emotion, as you well know is witnessed in our communication with each other, where we express things that are hurtful, and when we give praise; believing that people say what they mean and mean what they say no matter if said thoughtfully or in anger; or the manner in how we react to a situation that you can’t control…much like how you cannot control the actions of another driver on the road creates an emotion (great or small) of rage (disgust) because they failed to turn or change lanes when you wanted them to, or how you react when someone you love doesn’t meet the expectations of you. By saying this you must resolve that failure in general terms may not necessarily be based upon your standard, but instead created by someone else’s standard for you. Is this a bad thing? It can be. In fact, creating a standard for accomplishment (life) for a person can and does normally create conflict that eventually ends in the person having a standard being imposed on them failing at some point or at the least a standard that an individual struggles within.

However, this can work in the opposing way also! Emotion can assist us with making a leap of faith that under normal circumstances we would avoid and our finding unparalleled success. I would imagine that if Einstein would have stayed in school and been overcome with boredom would he have calculated the theory of relativity or expanded upon the preeminent equation of our time? If Washington would have faltered in his faith would he have led his men across the Potomac River to face the British? I point this out also…if Martin Luther King had not persisted in his faith in GOD and the hope he had in man would the Dream of Equality between man been taken and a significant step forward to resolve the conflict of race in America? It would not have!

Example after example can be given to show us that a leap of faith is often required to achieve greatness or preserve a dream not realized at the time. But, it is most important for all of us to remember, emotion aside, one simple factor…GOD loves you, and your successes belong to Him and your Failures belong to Him also [both that He may extend His mercy and lovingkindness to you], and that our GOD is always there to receive you no matter what the terms are, good or bad, success or failure, He will take our burden upon Himself, and minimize the emotion that we remain balanced in life…and by balance I mean a life with 100% GOD so that the world doesn’t bring you down; because the world will find a way to disrupt your life with GOD.

BEHAVIOR also influences our decision making process…are we aggressive or passive, patient or otherwise, and are we able to listen to others instead of being dismissive of another’s choices? I say this because listening doesn’t mean you must agree, but it shows you are capable of accepting an opinion other than your own. As well, you have to know, that a soft discussion of ideals is more productive than argumentative ideological mongering that has permeated our communities and this country, which has created dissention between us on every issue concerning life; influencing our senses and destroying reason. These behavioral attributes can come from friends, family, substance abuse, physical ability/restraints, strangers, environment and society itself that can change us and our every action; and being that I’m no expert, and will not proclaim such, common sense (isn’t that against the law now) tells me they all factor in.

Furthermore, an environment that limits opportunity or degrades parental control, and/or amplifies conflict is not a good thing, and changes our behavior. But, the real key is faith in our faith that the guidance of GOD will prevail, knowing that the adaptation of experience and the lessons taught by those experiences change us, hopefully for the better. Greater yet is the influence of environment upon us…it can take a child and an adult alike, and completely reverse the sense of morality, create nothing less than an animal only existing to survive. But, environment can also create a desire to change what is experienced into a need to seek life instead of defeat.

FRIENDS are actually important to our being healthy people. In fact, even if you meet 10, 200, or 5000 people in your lifetime, and acquaint yourself with them casually, it remains normal for a person to only have a handful of those they truly call friend and trust. Friends though factor into many of life’s decisions, especially if we share our woe with them, and we must remember that when you discuss a challenge in life with a friend it is almost as if you are inviting their opinion or guidance into your decision process, and regretfully this doesn’t normally work out and can create mistrust of a friend…plus and even though they are a friend can you actually trust they won’t spread your story around to people that have absolutely no need to know about your life?

Friends, even for their best of intentions can influence us to take unnecessary risks based from some sort of sense of loyalty; which influence us to step outside our comfort zone, and do something that can embarrass us in the short term or even damage relationships; and for all their caring, if you call it that, can mislead us to resolve problems under false premises; happening on these terms because they really don’t understand the full issue. Friends however are necessary for every living person to have, but it is best to leave them out of decisions that impact your life.

For me, friends came few and far between…which is my own fault and partially a fault of my career choice. I met thousands, and I mean thousands [10000-20000] people during my life, but I found little time but to only acquaint myself with them, and never discussed my life with them. It comes down to absolute trust though where …we know a friend will not tell the world…that even though a friend listens they don’t recommend or advise a course of action…and they always make you make the decision. No matter what process you use to make decisions in your life you should always make sure that the resolution is yours so that the success or failure belongs to you. Why so? Because when you make a decision for you rather than allowing outside elements to make the decision, you do not take the risk of blaming someone you care deeply for….and as I believe; GOD should be at the center of every decision in life. Let me be very clear in this…friends and friendships are a wonderful thing, and it’s our acceptance of who someone is and not what they were or are, that makes a friendship a friendship…and it’s very possible that a friendship can blossom into a lifelong companionship!

RELIGION for all intents and purpose is why people came to America. The call of freedom and the ability to live in a free society to not only express yourself, but that everyone have the opportunity to be what they wanted to be and do so without the intrusion of a government dictating the what, when, where, why and how of life. Foremost, people were allowed to be free to practice religion; a Christ centered religion without a King advising a church to selectively dictate political policy or personal desire from a pulpit.

The uniqueness of America made it possible for man [man of course being but a description of the whole and all inclusive], every person, to practice their faith on their own terms, whether another established faith liked it or not. Unfortunately, some puritanical elements [in early America and now as well], failed and are failing to understand this freedom, influenced and are influencing townships, the countryside, and cities today with illegitimate pretense either through the guise of GOD or no GOD at all to scrutinize the purpose or need of religion. In fact, this scrutiny is at a fevered pitch, where a faction within society is attempting to redefine The Freedom of Religion into the The Freedom from Religion, and working toward the effort to prevent any and all public acknowledgement of GOD being visible in or spoken of in public! It nearly lends to the appearance that an attempt to either wipe or even outlaw Christianity, and I ponder in amazement if such a thing possible in a country founded upon religious precepts, and remind all that those whom committed treason against the crown of England, that their faith in GOD was crucial in their combined decision to create America; yet the mere mention of GOD seems to anger society today.

At this point, Christian churches that actually teach the truth of the gospel are being assaulted from every side with nasty vilipends directed at the foundation and individuals alike, because we (Christians) refuse to accept social diversification and won’t yield from our view of scripture regarding national and personal sin…and, why should they or we that believe in the Living GOD compromise our truth for acceptance of a false doctrine? Yet, I am always reminding myself that man will never solve man’s challenges. But, you can solve your own challenges in life thoughtfully with the consultation of GOD and the Spirit of Wisdom at your side; which for every purpose is the only way to conquer conflict in our lives. I furthermore believe the moment you allow outside influences or government to create an abstract flowchart of how something should be done, that’s when fans become deadly and the real issue is lost to the precipitous ramblings of someone who simply doesn’t understand you or your needs.

What do I mean by this? It means that no one can understand you unless they specifically have lived the exact life you have; which means family, friends and not even a preacher of GOD can truly understand…they can only offer a common solution or guidance that may or may not work based on common factors that may or may not exist in our lives. Only GOD can correct the direction of a life!

Truth is I can’t know how you feel about anything…life that is...your job even, unless I work at your job, and that my interpretation of our work can or will be different with common understanding and complaint, if I have any, while what grates at you about work can or will be different than mine. You are not capable of determining what concerns me unless you actually walk in my shoes or walk through my front door, and examine life from my perspective; you know…watch it all unfold through my eyes, my behaviorism, my emotions, how I understand life, my interpretation, my thoughts…all different than yours, and the questions I have as to why! As well, the rich are different from the middle class from the poor, and backwards. We are alike, yet significantly different, and no man or woman…no one, can truly understand your needs…except GOD!

42909.png

Leo Tolstoy once said all happy families are alike; each unhappy is unhappy in its own way (Tolstoy, 1977). I sat for twenty minutes after reading this and continually asked myself…is this true? Is happiness for everyone the same? Is happiness based upon wealth or material things or prominence of friends in society? Is happiness based upon having just enough to get by or is it to own a second car or having a home they enjoy being in? Are there degrees of happiness? Is happiness just a measurement of you?

Happiness is subjective… because there isn’t in existence an objective standard to gauge what happiness is…so, happiness is a judgment of the quality of life and how you, us and we judge the past, and estimate future experience; which you cannot do, making happiness unmeasureable, right? So, do we all endure in and out of struggle and find the perception of happiness through sufficiency or is the common thread of happiness just existing? Is happiness based upon being with family that you love, knowing they love you back?

That you know, I understand Tolstoy to be wrong! Happiness is not the same for everyone, and that means that unhappiness is much different than another person’s. I know happiness cannot come from trouble, and those that experience happiness avoid trouble. It is my belief that happiness truly comes from the relationships we build or have built in our lives through the graciousness we show to those people in our lives (and outside our lives), and the graciousness we receive in return, and that a relationship with GOD is essential for us to have a life of joy! I remember this quotation from Max Lucado ’lower your expectation of earth. This is not heaven, so don’t expect it to be! Mr. Lucado is saying with eloquence that man will fail you, and GOD can’t fail you!

Leo Tolstoy would later in his life set aside his life of writing epic novels. He had been changed by the power of GOD and based the remainder of his life upon the passage known as the Sermon on the Mount found in the gospel of Matthew as inspired by GOD in chapters 5-7. His influence on the world was remarkable, and men such as Gondi and Martin Luther King were likewise influenced by him and his faith in the Living GOD! The atheist that was Tolstoy became a gracious contributor to the world through the Power of GOD!

GRACIOUSNESS, as I mentioned, in this sense is a form of respect, such as the Golden Rule states in Matthew 7:12 therefore, however you want people to treat you, so treat them, for this is the Law and the Prophets (Ryrie, 1978, p. 1456); but not respect in the truest sense of what respect itself demands, that we have given and the respect we receive back. You can nearly argue that there are levels of respect, that require each of us to examine and make determinations upon which applies to those we come in contact with… as in when we first meet someone new; do they deserve respect? NO, they don’t; but they deserve our graciousness in the form of a cordial greeting such as a smile and hello or handshake to show we are approachable and open to communication!

Respect, as we know respect, person to person respect that this society demands comes from the experiences we have and share with people after days, months or even years of contact, and I will tell you now that no one deserves respect just because they exist in your space, and if a person demands as much they really don’t deserve your respect at all; but again, they do deserve your GRACIOUSNESS.

Graciousness must be present every day in our contact with others…even when graciousness is not given to you, because grace is from GOD, and your example glorifies GOD, and very relative to our lives each day. Our ability to inter-relate with one another with graciousness allows us to enjoy love; refrain from hate, and live with zeal, and in the truest sense of {man’s) respect, none of the latter necessarily result from it. I believe in this we become contagious in terms of being a witness to the unhappy that GODs graciousness is wonderful.

In these terms, GOD’s grace and that our being gracious with each other, i.e. mom, dad, brother, sister, wife, husband, friends and strangers…we find that what is not measureable by society, but rather the individual, happiness, becomes love , that we take into the world with us each day. There is no doubt that graciousness slows our anger and tempers our words toward each other. This graciousness is witnessed by all those you contact whether friend or foe, and it’s this graciousness that serves the will of GOD, and man alike, to the betterment of society. In the end we must literally understand that life is precious, and the way we treat others is critical to creating a life of happiness, a life that is fulfilling, and a life with love…a life with GOD.

I need to express to everyone that picks this book up to read it, to read it completely through…and know that Christianity is a simple concept of belief; even if you have thought of GOD, you must examine the reason; and ask these questions; if you don’t believe in GOD, why did you think of GOD? If you don’t believe in GOD, why do you swear against GOD? If you don’t believe in GOD,