When We Are Our Own Worst Enemy.....

One of my favourite books is by Fr. Benedict Groeschel and it is called Arise From Darkness: What to do when Life Doesn't Make Sense.  It is a highly recommended read...

Fr. Benedict Groeschel explains in this excerpt the following in relation to the topic in
Chapter 5 "When We Are Our Own Worst Enemies ....

I have been just that on many occasions. I still am. I know I’m supposed to place all of my trust in Our Lord; but, I must say, it is easier said than done. I’m always fretting over things that I have no control over, and I get angry because I can’t control them! What a vicious cycle.



"We have considered the problems that we may have with others and our difficulties with the Church. Now we must look at the problems we have with ourselves. You may find that if you look into your own life (especially as you get older) one of the most important realizations in the process of maturation is that we bring many, if not most, of our problems on ourselves. When things don’t make sense, it’s often because we didn’t make sense out of things. There may be some consolation in knowing that this is a general human experience.

"One finds the tendency to make troubles for oneself even in the lives of saints. Like the rest of us, even these special people brought on many of their own troubles. Few are exempt from being their own enemies at least some of the time. Saints, sinners, biblical personages, and even modern celebrities all gather together under the great banner that says: "Let’s sink our own boat." It’s one of the more obvious and universal signs of original sin that with a series of well thought out moves, carefully considered, prudently studied, and done with great expeditious-ness and even prayer, we sink our boats, saints and sinners alike.


"In many cases, one has to be a bit of a sinner to be one’s own worst enemy. However, it is not by any means necessary. You can do this just as effectively even if you’re devout—you will just do it a bit more piously. We can all say with a certain amount of conviction that ‘we’ve met the enemy and it’s us’ (pp. 85 – 86).

How do we avoid being our own worst enemies? "We should organize our lives around eternity to avoid self-destruction," asserts Fr. Groeschel. "I’m not saying that everybody should enter the cloister. That’s a rare vocation. But I am saying that whatever we do, no matter what evaluation other people may make, we should consciously and purposely live every day so that it contributes to our salvation…."