Two men of equal ability were given identical houses and assignments. One side of each house was filled with heavy rocks. The men were given one month to move the rocks from one side of the house to the other. The work was grueling, and after two weeks, the first man gave up. The other man, however, kept working until he finished the task.
What was the difference? The man who quit had been promised $10,000 if he completed the task, while the other man was promised $1 million for doing the same thing. For the second man, the reward of the future justified the pain of the present.
Every time you act out, you are choosing what you want now over what you want most. Until you recognize the benefits of true recovery, you’ll keep dropping out before the task is completed.
Paul addressed this well: “For our momentary light affliction is producing for us an absolutely incomparable eternal weight of glory. So we do not focus on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal” (2 Corinthians 4:17-18).
Recovery Step: When you focus on the reward of recovery, the work of recovery will get lighter.
