WEBVTT - Do Psychedelics Bring You Closer to God? 0:00:11.240 --> 0:00:13.600 What's up everybody? Welcome back to the podcast, So glad 0:00:13.640 --> 0:00:15.600 you're with me. The format of this what I do 0:00:15.680 --> 0:00:18.320 is I answer your questions. If you have anything about 0:00:18.320 --> 0:00:22.440 any subject, email podcast at drangersmith dot com. We'll put 0:00:22.480 --> 0:00:25.720 it in the cube and man, we'll arrange this and 0:00:25.920 --> 0:00:28.319 try to put together the best questions we canswer that 0:00:28.320 --> 0:00:30.000 I could answer them like we're just sitting in the 0:00:30.000 --> 0:00:33.040 cab of a truck or sitting around a campfire, and 0:00:33.159 --> 0:00:36.320 they really could be about any subject. Just ask that 0:00:36.360 --> 0:00:39.599 you keep it about a phone link long so that 0:00:39.760 --> 0:00:42.960 it doesn't get overwhelming. But what I want to do 0:00:43.159 --> 0:00:44.800 first is I want to answer a question that I 0:00:44.840 --> 0:00:50.360 got in person about a guy named Blake Mikoski. Blake 0:00:50.640 --> 0:00:55.160 is the founder of Tom's Shoes, and you might you 0:00:55.240 --> 0:00:59.080 might remember Tom's. It started two thousand and six ish 0:00:59.520 --> 0:01:03.280 mid two thousands, something like that, and ended up being 0:01:04.240 --> 0:01:09.200 wildly successful. He sold shoes, and he was inspired by 0:01:09.280 --> 0:01:12.480 going to Argentina and seeing all the kids there without shoes, 0:01:13.040 --> 0:01:17.000 and he decided to start a shoe company that when 0:01:17.000 --> 0:01:19.280 you bought a pair of shoes Tom's is the name 0:01:19.280 --> 0:01:23.280 of the shoes, he would donate one pair of shoes 0:01:23.640 --> 0:01:27.520 to children that didn't have any, and it took off. 0:01:27.560 --> 0:01:30.640 I mean, people loved to buy a product and knowing 0:01:30.720 --> 0:01:33.479 they were helping kids and they were putting shoes on kids. 0:01:33.520 --> 0:01:35.959 I mean, who wouldn't. It is and still is a 0:01:36.000 --> 0:01:40.200 great cause. As time goes on, Blake ends up having 0:01:40.520 --> 0:01:43.000 a lot of competition with a lot of other companies 0:01:43.040 --> 0:01:45.480 that bigger companies that try to push them out and 0:01:45.760 --> 0:01:48.680 are taking the idea and saying, hey, this is we 0:01:48.680 --> 0:01:52.400 could do this too, We could do philanthropy and give back, 0:01:53.040 --> 0:01:55.960 and people buy into that. Customers go, hey, I want 0:01:55.960 --> 0:01:58.440 my dollar to matter, and if I'm going to buy 0:01:58.480 --> 0:02:00.360 shoes anyway, I want it to matter. Well, a lot 0:02:00.360 --> 0:02:02.840 of other companies decided to compete. Some of them even 0:02:02.960 --> 0:02:05.080 came in and said, well, we'll give two pairs of 0:02:05.120 --> 0:02:09.400 shoes for everyone. You know. So through all this Blake 0:02:09.600 --> 0:02:13.440 uh making hundreds of millions of dollars on Tom's. He 0:02:13.919 --> 0:02:16.239 begins to struggle over time, and this is where the 0:02:16.320 --> 0:02:18.440 question came to me from a lady the other day 0:02:18.880 --> 0:02:22.120 who asked me thoughts on this. She talked about possibly 0:02:23.520 --> 0:02:29.400 sending her boyfriend, who was struggling a little bit with life. 0:02:29.440 --> 0:02:35.280 Evidently to this retreat that Blake put on, evidently, and 0:02:35.720 --> 0:02:39.840 the reason for this retreat is because Blake began to 0:02:39.880 --> 0:02:42.280 struggle and this is what I kind of want to 0:02:42.280 --> 0:02:45.720 think about today. He began to struggle with the idea 0:02:45.800 --> 0:02:48.959 of if I'm going and I'm doing I'm helping people out, 0:02:49.360 --> 0:02:53.080 and I'm helping all these kids, thousands and thousands of kids, 0:02:53.520 --> 0:02:56.400 and I'm doing good for all this all these worldly things, 0:02:56.400 --> 0:03:01.080 and I'm helping poverty. But I'm not feeling any better 0:03:01.080 --> 0:03:05.600 about myself. I'm not feeling fulfilled myself through all of 0:03:05.639 --> 0:03:09.600 this good stuff. I'm doing all this philanthropy. So what 0:03:09.600 --> 0:03:11.640 do you do? So he starts searching, like, well, maybe 0:03:11.639 --> 0:03:16.200 there's more to life than helping kids, because on the onset, 0:03:16.240 --> 0:03:19.040 you look at it and you gobdude, the goal of 0:03:19.120 --> 0:03:25.960 life is to help kids impoverished countries have shoes. And 0:03:26.000 --> 0:03:28.040 so if I could start a business and be a 0:03:28.080 --> 0:03:35.240 capitalist entrepreneur, live the American dream, make money, design cool apparel, 0:03:35.680 --> 0:03:39.360 and at the same time help kids around the world, 0:03:40.240 --> 0:03:43.840 that's my purpose in life, right, So then my purpose 0:03:43.960 --> 0:03:48.040 is fulfilled and my job and then this becomes my identity, 0:03:48.080 --> 0:03:50.480 and that's a really good identity. I get to live 0:03:50.480 --> 0:03:53.360 out this dream of helping kids and around the world. 0:03:53.760 --> 0:03:58.800 And then suddenly he realizes there's more to it. He 0:03:58.960 --> 0:04:02.440 feels empty, and so he feels unfulfilled, he feels he 0:04:02.480 --> 0:04:05.080 feels depressed, he feels like he doesn't have a purpose, 0:04:05.600 --> 0:04:08.120 which is very strange. And the reason it's strange is 0:04:08.120 --> 0:04:10.400 because you would expect that kind of story from a guy, 0:04:10.640 --> 0:04:15.240 a movie star or a big you know, pop such star, 0:04:15.680 --> 0:04:20.520 or or a professional athlete that's done at all and 0:04:20.520 --> 0:04:23.880 and feels like they still haven't done it, they haven't 0:04:24.640 --> 0:04:29.440 accomplished the purpose yet, And you don't expect to hear 0:04:29.480 --> 0:04:31.440 that kind of thing from someone that's actually trying to 0:04:31.480 --> 0:04:34.800 help out the world. So what do we do with this? 0:04:34.839 --> 0:04:37.400 What do we do with this? Well? I looked him 0:04:37.480 --> 0:04:40.800 up and I started to see what he's doing today 0:04:40.960 --> 0:04:44.560 and how he is fulfilling himself, and how he is 0:04:44.680 --> 0:04:50.640 this guy Blake, how he's trying to fix this whole problem, 0:04:50.800 --> 0:04:52.040 and this is how he's trying to fix it. I'm 0:04:52.040 --> 0:04:54.080 gonna pull up this video. I'm gonna screen record it 0:04:54.120 --> 0:04:56.880 so you could see what I'm what I'm looking at. 0:04:56.880 --> 0:04:59.000 Here you go, I'll shut up. 0:04:58.960 --> 0:05:01.919 Here, that's the path of that's the Hoffin process. That's 0:05:02.000 --> 0:05:05.000 you know iiO energetic therapy, and that is working with 0:05:05.080 --> 0:05:08.040 a plant like ayahuasca. Ayahuasca is no fun. I mean 0:05:08.040 --> 0:05:10.560 it can be euphoric in some moments that it can 0:05:10.600 --> 0:05:13.560 be a really really difficult teacher. And for me, it's 0:05:13.600 --> 0:05:15.840 had me really look hard to myself that I didn't 0:05:15.880 --> 0:05:17.720 really want to look at. I mean, one of them 0:05:17.800 --> 0:05:20.279 is is just you know, my need to be in control. 0:05:20.400 --> 0:05:23.159 I mean, just showed me this like the darkness and 0:05:23.400 --> 0:05:27.440 the shadow side of me thinking I'm helping people by 0:05:27.480 --> 0:05:29.880 trying to control them or I know what's better for them, 0:05:29.920 --> 0:05:32.839 whether it's my wife or my kids or my brother. 0:05:33.040 --> 0:05:35.920 This need to think that I know what is right 0:05:35.960 --> 0:05:39.880 for someone else, So I know that kind of incredible egotism. 0:05:39.920 --> 0:05:42.279 Ayahuasca's just like throwing it right in my face and 0:05:42.320 --> 0:05:44.640 then like you silly, silly man. Life is not to 0:05:44.680 --> 0:05:46.839 be controlled, just to be lived. And when you're constantly 0:05:46.839 --> 0:05:49.400 trying to control life, you don't give God or your 0:05:49.480 --> 0:05:52.560 spirit or whatever ayahuasca is bringing up in you the 0:05:52.600 --> 0:05:55.760 opportunity to actually give you what you really need. Because 0:05:55.760 --> 0:05:57.719 you're fighting and you're resisting it by trying to control 0:05:57.760 --> 0:05:59.200 it so much. That's the path of love. 0:05:59.480 --> 0:06:05.279 Okay, So what he's promoting now is essentially psychedelics. He's 0:06:05.320 --> 0:06:09.680 talking about ayahuasca here in this video, and he's going 0:06:09.720 --> 0:06:13.279 around and he's speaking to a lot of people. Briefly, 0:06:13.279 --> 0:06:16.560 I spent probably ten minutes this morning kind of researching 0:06:17.120 --> 0:06:19.720 what Blake is up to now. A guy that has 0:06:19.880 --> 0:06:23.159 lost his purpose and yet had a purpose that most 0:06:23.160 --> 0:06:25.000 people would think, most people in the world would think 0:06:25.160 --> 0:06:28.480 is really noble, and yet we learn that he's now 0:06:28.640 --> 0:06:32.000 depressed and looking and searching, so he turns to psychedelics. 0:06:32.960 --> 0:06:39.120 Ayahuasca is made famous through the Native Americans who used 0:06:39.160 --> 0:06:44.800 ayahuasca to get in connection with the Great Spirit. And 0:06:44.920 --> 0:06:51.400 so now he's experiencing these psychedelic trips and he's wanting 0:06:51.480 --> 0:06:53.840 to promote this so that it becomes legal. And there 0:06:53.880 --> 0:06:56.320 are several states I looked at up at one point. 0:06:56.720 --> 0:07:02.279 There are several states that are completely legal now with psychedelics, 0:07:02.520 --> 0:07:07.080 and there are a lot of them that aren't psychedelics. 0:07:09.000 --> 0:07:14.000 Let me look this up real quick for serious serious 0:07:14.040 --> 0:07:23.960 reading me. Psychedelics legal in the US. Let's see what 0:07:25.520 --> 0:07:28.840 Let me just type in map, see what that does. Oh, perfect, 0:07:28.880 --> 0:07:36.560 this is exactly what I need. So, psychedelics are legal 0:07:37.640 --> 0:07:45.720 in of course, California, Oregon, excuse me, Washington, Oregon is 0:07:48.720 --> 0:07:53.240 legal for recreational use. California is completely decriminalized. In California, 0:07:53.320 --> 0:07:58.360 excuse me. Colorado is legal for recreational use. It looks 0:07:58.400 --> 0:08:06.200 like Missian and the up is decriminalized completely. Uh, New York, 0:08:07.160 --> 0:08:10.080 maybe a few others, all the ones that you would expect, 0:08:10.680 --> 0:08:14.920 except Michigan. That's kind of strange, right. So, so what 0:08:15.040 --> 0:08:18.760 Blake is doing is he's trying to push this, the 0:08:18.880 --> 0:08:21.880 legalization of this, because he's pushing for this for PTSD. 0:08:22.320 --> 0:08:28.680 He's pushing he's pushing for veterans that suffer with horrific experiences. 0:08:28.680 --> 0:08:32.280 And like he said in that video, it's not always 0:08:32.280 --> 0:08:36.080 easy to go through the psychedelic trip because it's digging 0:08:36.160 --> 0:08:39.920 up things. It's connecting you with God. It's definitely a 0:08:39.960 --> 0:08:43.360 lowercase G God that he's referring to, or great Spirit 0:08:43.640 --> 0:08:46.800 or spirit of yourself or whatever it might be, the universe. 0:08:46.880 --> 0:08:51.280 The karma. Psychedelics are connecting you with that, He's saying, 0:08:52.080 --> 0:08:55.240 So what do we do with this? As Christians? What 0:08:55.240 --> 0:08:59.240 do we what do we say to these things, Well, 0:08:59.280 --> 0:09:02.559 one go to the Bible. We always go to the 0:09:02.559 --> 0:09:07.120 Bible for any kind of questions like this, and we 0:09:07.160 --> 0:09:09.480 need to be prepared to have an answer or to 0:09:09.559 --> 0:09:12.760 have some kind of basic understanding. And really the purpose 0:09:12.800 --> 0:09:15.000 of this podcast in so many ways is not ever 0:09:15.280 --> 0:09:17.160 for me to just feed you the answers, but more 0:09:17.200 --> 0:09:19.600 so that we could learn how to think on our 0:09:19.640 --> 0:09:22.200 own and learn how to answer questions on our own. 0:09:22.559 --> 0:09:25.520 And so maybe my encouragement would be to just kind 0:09:25.559 --> 0:09:29.319 of model my thought process as I hear from this lady. 0:09:29.400 --> 0:09:32.719 She's talking about Blake Mycoski's I look him up. He's 0:09:32.720 --> 0:09:35.760 talking about psychedelics. He's a guy that is given back 0:09:35.800 --> 0:09:39.199 to the world for decades and yet still feels unfulfilled. 0:09:39.400 --> 0:09:42.640 What's missing here? He thinks it's psychedelics. So what is 0:09:42.720 --> 0:09:45.600 my process? As I'm kind of working through this, I 0:09:45.640 --> 0:09:48.560 go to the Bible. First. Peter five eight says be 0:09:49.080 --> 0:09:54.360 sober minded, be watchful your adversary. The devil prowls around 0:09:54.360 --> 0:09:59.920 like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. You'll see 0:10:00.040 --> 0:10:02.440 many times of the Bible it talks about the mind 0:10:02.800 --> 0:10:05.360 and the clarity of the mind, and so anything that 0:10:05.400 --> 0:10:07.679 goes against the clarity of the mind. And anything that 0:10:07.760 --> 0:10:17.120 dulls the mind, that smokes the mind, that numbs the mind, 0:10:17.600 --> 0:10:20.160 is something we have to stay away from because why 0:10:20.200 --> 0:10:24.640 Because the Bible says that the adversary, the devil, uses 0:10:26.120 --> 0:10:32.839 these numbed minds to make his attack so that he 0:10:32.880 --> 0:10:36.240 could devour. That's really scary stuff. The spiritual warfare is 0:10:36.320 --> 0:10:41.040 terrifying stuff. First, Thessalonians five to six says, then let 0:10:41.120 --> 0:10:44.600 us not sleep as others do, but let us keep 0:10:44.679 --> 0:10:51.199 awake and be sober. Be sober, be awake, clear mind, 0:10:51.480 --> 0:10:55.360 be awake, be sober. Don't go to sleep. This is 0:10:55.360 --> 0:10:59.559 obviously not talking about a physical sleep, but an awareness. 0:11:00.480 --> 0:11:06.839 Don't go unconscious spiritually, stay awake. Feed your feed your 0:11:06.920 --> 0:11:12.000 mind with clarity, take captive every thought. Understand the gospel 0:11:12.600 --> 0:11:17.480 that God, a holy God, is separated from people that 0:11:17.559 --> 0:11:25.920 have become rejecters of Him. And to that separation that 0:11:25.960 --> 0:11:28.000 we have caused through our own sin. All of us, 0:11:28.160 --> 0:11:29.640 none of us are good. None of us could go 0:11:29.679 --> 0:11:33.480 to Argentina enough times and give shoes to kids, but 0:11:34.120 --> 0:11:37.720 enough of us, all of us have created the separation 0:11:37.840 --> 0:11:41.480 individually between us and our God and God. Knowing that 0:11:41.600 --> 0:11:44.120 knowing that there was no hope to ever reconcile us 0:11:44.200 --> 0:11:47.040 or to bring us back to him, knowing that there 0:11:47.080 --> 0:11:48.840 was no hope for us to do this on our 0:11:48.880 --> 0:11:51.480 own sins his only son into the world. Jesus, who 0:11:51.559 --> 0:11:53.880 goes to the cross, dies the death that we deserve, 0:11:54.040 --> 0:11:56.520 takes the punishment on the cross of all the sin 0:11:56.600 --> 0:12:00.520 that we deserve from rejecting God, from being reject doors 0:12:00.600 --> 0:12:04.880 of God. Jesus comes to reconcile God's people back to himself. 0:12:05.160 --> 0:12:07.200 That's the gospel. So we look to that, we looked 0:12:07.200 --> 0:12:09.880 at the cross. We remember our depravity. We remember we 0:12:09.920 --> 0:12:12.720 can't be good enough. We remember that we can't buy 0:12:12.800 --> 0:12:15.520 enough shoes for kids, even though it's a great thing 0:12:15.960 --> 0:12:18.080 to love kids, and we should do that, but not 0:12:18.200 --> 0:12:21.199 because we're earning anything or trying to figure out an identity, 0:12:21.360 --> 0:12:24.400 but instead as an overflow for the fact that God 0:12:24.440 --> 0:12:26.880 loved us enough to sind his only son into the 0:12:26.920 --> 0:12:29.960 world so that whoever believes in him would not perish 0:12:30.000 --> 0:12:32.600 but have eternal life. The overflow from that kind of 0:12:32.640 --> 0:12:35.439 love then makes us go into the world and want 0:12:35.480 --> 0:12:39.520 to give shoes to kids, but not the other way around. Right. 0:12:41.160 --> 0:12:44.440 Galatians five nineteen says, now the works of the flesh 0:12:44.480 --> 0:12:50.640 are evident sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, inimity, strife, jealousy, 0:12:50.679 --> 0:12:55.440 fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and 0:12:55.480 --> 0:12:58.320 things like these. I warn you, as I warn you before. 0:12:58.360 --> 0:13:01.120 Paul says that those who do such things will not 0:13:01.200 --> 0:13:06.720 inherit the Kingdom of God. That's interesting, right, I mean 0:13:06.920 --> 0:13:09.280 you could say that that term sorcery can refer to 0:13:09.320 --> 0:13:14.760 the use of drugs for magical or hallucinogenic purposes, which 0:13:14.760 --> 0:13:17.640 align very closely to psychedelics. 0:13:18.600 --> 0:13:18.920 On p. 0:13:19.160 --> 0:13:21.720 Four seven, the end of all things is at hand. Therefore, 0:13:21.800 --> 0:13:25.960 be self controlled and sober minded. For the sake of 0:13:26.000 --> 0:13:30.160 your prayers, Jesus says in Matthew six thirty three, seek 0:13:30.280 --> 0:13:33.599 the Kingdom of God and his righteousness. Seek first the 0:13:33.679 --> 0:13:35.760 Kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things 0:13:35.800 --> 0:13:38.079 will be added to you. We're encouraged to seek Him, 0:13:38.360 --> 0:13:41.440 not some other way to get to him. See, there's 0:13:41.480 --> 0:13:46.040 so many ideas that that psychedelics, for instance, allows us 0:13:46.080 --> 0:13:49.560 to channel God, or to channel the Great Spirit, or 0:13:49.960 --> 0:13:53.480 to bridge us from this world to His from earth 0:13:53.600 --> 0:13:59.000 to Heaven, from the present to the spirit world, whatever 0:13:59.000 --> 0:14:02.400 you want to call it. And so psychedelics provides, as 0:14:02.400 --> 0:14:07.280 it said, is it's thought to provide that bridge. In fact, 0:14:07.880 --> 0:14:11.400 God says I made a bridge his name is Jesus, 0:14:11.840 --> 0:14:15.160 to fill the gap of separation between you and your sin, 0:14:15.559 --> 0:14:18.040 the separation that you cause, that your sin has caused. 0:14:18.280 --> 0:14:21.560 I made the bridge for that. And he is Jesus, 0:14:22.160 --> 0:14:25.400 the Son of God, came in the place of us 0:14:26.040 --> 0:14:29.040 and dies on the cross. Right. That's the gospel. So 0:14:29.080 --> 0:14:31.880 that the bridge to the spirit world or whatever you 0:14:31.880 --> 0:14:34.680 want to call it, is already built. We look to 0:14:34.800 --> 0:14:38.880 him with a clear mind. Romans twelve two. Do not 0:14:39.080 --> 0:14:42.200 be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the 0:14:42.240 --> 0:14:46.280 renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern 0:14:46.400 --> 0:14:48.080 what is the will of God, what is good and 0:14:48.120 --> 0:14:52.240 acceptable and perfect. The transformation and renewal of the mind 0:14:53.000 --> 0:14:55.720 should come through God's word and the Holy Spirit, the 0:14:56.000 --> 0:14:59.280 acknowledgment of the Sun, and not through some kind of 0:14:59.440 --> 0:15:04.040 mind altering substance like a mushroom or a psychedelic in 0:15:04.040 --> 0:15:07.640 any way. We have to remember this. We have to 0:15:07.680 --> 0:15:12.600 remember that ayahuasca or whatever. Blake, what's his name, Mi 0:15:12.720 --> 0:15:16.880 Coskey is promoting here, and it's easy to see on 0:15:16.920 --> 0:15:19.160 the outside looking in and go, Yeah. The guy is 0:15:19.200 --> 0:15:23.760 searching for his identity, not knowing that he has made 0:15:23.840 --> 0:15:26.360 in the image of God in need of a savior 0:15:26.680 --> 0:15:29.440 that has been provided to him. Should he look to 0:15:29.520 --> 0:15:34.160 him and by faith, by then he would be saved. 0:15:34.640 --> 0:15:37.480 If he believed in the Son, he would be saved. 0:15:37.680 --> 0:15:41.280 He would his identity would be fulfilled. God would say 0:15:41.320 --> 0:15:44.640 to him, Jesus would say to him through the gospel, 0:15:45.040 --> 0:15:48.600 like I heard through my guilt with losing riv you 0:15:48.680 --> 0:15:52.680 hear through the gospel. You can't be good enough. You 0:15:52.720 --> 0:15:57.360 can't give enough enough shoes to kids in Argentina. You 0:15:57.400 --> 0:16:01.760 can't be a sufficient father on your own. I give 0:16:01.840 --> 0:16:06.120 you my identity. Through belief in Me, you are inheriting. 0:16:06.400 --> 0:16:09.680 You gain an inheritance of the Kingdom of God. You 0:16:09.680 --> 0:16:14.120 yourself become adopted as sons of the Kingdom, not from 0:16:14.160 --> 0:16:17.440 anything you do, but by faith through Me, from my 0:16:17.600 --> 0:16:21.760 divine right. So we look to Jesus as the substitute, 0:16:22.160 --> 0:16:25.800 and our identity flows from that. Our identity flows from Christ. 0:16:26.240 --> 0:16:31.400 How could you know anybody? How could anyone know themselves 0:16:31.640 --> 0:16:35.040 without knowing the one that made them, and that that 0:16:35.160 --> 0:16:37.400 would go for anything. How would you know? How would 0:16:37.400 --> 0:16:40.320 you possibly know anything without first knowing the maker of 0:16:40.400 --> 0:16:43.120 the thing. How would you understand your own heart or 0:16:43.160 --> 0:16:46.840 your own identity without knowing the maker of your heart? 0:16:47.640 --> 0:16:52.120 Who is your identity? You're a child of God, you 0:16:52.200 --> 0:16:54.400 were you were saved by grace through faith if you're 0:16:54.400 --> 0:16:57.200 a believer, so we look to him and then your 0:16:57.200 --> 0:17:02.840 purpose from then on ising glory to God, which may 0:17:02.880 --> 0:17:07.200 be bringing shoes to Argentina, Lord willing, or it might 0:17:07.240 --> 0:17:12.399 be faithfully working in whatever job you have. This podcast 0:17:12.440 --> 0:17:14.480 has brought to you, guys by better help you know. 0:17:14.520 --> 0:17:17.160 Amber and I benefited a lot from therapy. You might 0:17:17.160 --> 0:17:19.359 have read that in my book Like a River, and 0:17:19.560 --> 0:17:21.880 Amber and I could both say that as we went 0:17:21.920 --> 0:17:26.280 in for grief during counseling, during therapy, we ended up 0:17:26.320 --> 0:17:28.439 coming out knowing a lot more about our marriage and 0:17:28.480 --> 0:17:30.560 our life. In addition to all of that, because we 0:17:30.600 --> 0:17:33.200 really opened up with a therapist. It helped us a lot. 0:17:33.240 --> 0:17:36.120 It honestly did. And I could also say that it's 0:17:36.160 --> 0:17:38.600 also a little bit uncomfortable to pack up everything and 0:17:38.600 --> 0:17:41.560 to go somewhere or to have a scheduled appointment with 0:17:41.600 --> 0:17:44.760 a therapist and sit on the proverbial green couch and 0:17:44.920 --> 0:17:47.800 talk about your problems. That just sounds weird, and that's 0:17:47.800 --> 0:17:50.560 where better Help comes in. It's entirely online, So if 0:17:50.600 --> 0:17:53.959 you're thinking about starting therapy, give Better Help a try 0:17:54.400 --> 0:17:58.240 to be online designed to be convenient, flexible, and studed 0:17:58.240 --> 0:18:01.000 to your schedule. Just works out really nice. Just fill 0:18:01.040 --> 0:18:03.520 out this brief questionnaire to get matched with a licensed 0:18:03.600 --> 0:18:06.000 therapist and then switch therapist at any time for no 0:18:06.119 --> 0:18:10.920 additional charge. Take a moment visit better Help dot com 0:18:10.920 --> 0:18:15.320 slash granger today to get ten percent off your first month. Again, 0:18:15.359 --> 0:18:20.000 that's Better Help. Hlp dot com slash Granger podcast is 0:18:20.040 --> 0:18:22.960 sponsored by the Wellness Company. So here's the scenario. You 0:18:23.000 --> 0:18:26.760 wake up with a scratchy throat, congestion, running nose, and cough. Hey, 0:18:26.760 --> 0:18:29.399 you know your body. You know you're getting sick, so 0:18:29.440 --> 0:18:32.440 your choices are tough it out, get sick and take 0:18:32.440 --> 0:18:34.919 time off work, hope that the doctor could see you 0:18:34.960 --> 0:18:38.080 this month, Wait two hours at urgent care and sit 0:18:38.119 --> 0:18:40.560 in a room full of sick people. You don't want 0:18:40.600 --> 0:18:43.320 any of those options, Or you open up your medical 0:18:43.359 --> 0:18:47.320 emergency kit, match your symptoms to the doctor recommended prescription, 0:18:47.880 --> 0:18:50.120 and then you start on the right meds and nip 0:18:50.200 --> 0:18:52.840 this in the bud right now now. Your medical emergency 0:18:52.880 --> 0:18:54.919 kit is not a first aid kit. It comes with 0:18:55.000 --> 0:18:58.400 doctor prescribed meds to treat over thirty nine medical issues, 0:18:58.680 --> 0:19:03.879 strong antibiotics for infection of all types, strap throat, pneumonia, UTIs, bronchitis, 0:19:03.880 --> 0:19:06.760 and so much more. Plus a doctor's easy guide so 0:19:06.760 --> 0:19:09.520 that you'll know exactly when and what to take. No 0:19:09.640 --> 0:19:12.240 waiting to see the doctor, no waiting at the pharmacy. 0:19:12.320 --> 0:19:14.639 It's all right here. So every home should have at 0:19:14.760 --> 0:19:18.600 least one medical emergency kit. Order yours online. In minutes, 0:19:18.640 --> 0:19:20.959 your kit will be rushed to your door. Get fifteen 0:19:21.000 --> 0:19:25.560 percent off at TWC dot health slash granger and use 0:19:25.640 --> 0:19:30.280 promo code Granger. That's promo code Granger at TWC dot 0:19:30.440 --> 0:19:33.280 health slash Granger. Also, if you ever want to get 0:19:33.280 --> 0:19:36.679 a hold of me, remember cameo dot com slash granger Smith, 0:19:37.280 --> 0:19:40.399 or download the cameo app and search for me Granger Smith. 0:19:40.440 --> 0:19:43.919 I could do a quick video message saying happy birthday, 0:19:43.960 --> 0:19:48.320 happy anniversary, congratulations, I'm sorry, whatever it might be. I 0:19:48.400 --> 0:19:51.280 record a video on my phone and send it straight 0:19:51.359 --> 0:19:53.679 to you saying whatever you need me to say to 0:19:53.920 --> 0:19:56.520 whoever you want me to send it to. Again, that 0:19:56.680 --> 0:20:01.600 is cameo cimeo dot com slash Ranger Smith, and I'll 0:20:01.600 --> 0:20:03.879 send you a message today. All right, let's answer some 0:20:03.920 --> 0:20:05.600 of these questions. If you have a question for me, 0:20:05.760 --> 0:20:08.520 email podcast at grangersmith dot com will put it in 0:20:08.520 --> 0:20:10.600 the queue here. Could be about any subject, and we're 0:20:10.640 --> 0:20:12.679 gonna start with Peyton. It says, good morning, Granger. My 0:20:12.720 --> 0:20:15.159 name is Peyton. I'm twenty years old and a college 0:20:15.160 --> 0:20:20.200 student studying accounting. Recently studying accounting. Recently, one of my 0:20:20.240 --> 0:20:23.280 best buddies from high school asked me to not only 0:20:23.320 --> 0:20:26.800 be in his wedding, but to officiate it. This is 0:20:26.800 --> 0:20:29.399 a huge ask of me because I want his wedding 0:20:29.440 --> 0:20:31.600 to be what he wants, and I'm a bit nervous 0:20:31.640 --> 0:20:34.600 about doing this part for him. I have been growing 0:20:34.600 --> 0:20:36.320 in my faith a lot in the last year and 0:20:36.359 --> 0:20:38.240 I think I could do the job. But is there 0:20:38.280 --> 0:20:41.720 any advice or wisdom you could lend to me? And 0:20:41.840 --> 0:20:43.920 how do I go about doing this the right way? 0:20:43.960 --> 0:20:46.760 Thank you, Peyton? All right, Peyton, thanks for the email. 0:20:47.280 --> 0:20:50.159 I think it's a great question and I have personally 0:20:50.200 --> 0:20:53.040 struggled with this, so I think it's probably good too 0:20:53.520 --> 0:20:58.480 to bring it up. I personally have officiated, probably not 0:20:58.600 --> 0:21:01.880 a lot. I'd say no most of the time, but 0:21:02.240 --> 0:21:11.760 I've probably officiate officiated six to ten weddings, and each 0:21:11.840 --> 0:21:15.960 time I've done it, I have said to myself, I'm 0:21:16.000 --> 0:21:20.840 not going to do this anymore with increasing intensity. And 0:21:20.920 --> 0:21:23.520 the reason I've said that is not because it's not 0:21:23.560 --> 0:21:25.680 because I don't like to do it. It's not because 0:21:26.920 --> 0:21:28.760 it's not because I don't know how to do it. 0:21:29.359 --> 0:21:31.320 It's not because I think I'm doing a bad job 0:21:31.359 --> 0:21:35.199 for the family. It's different. It's a spiritual thing, and 0:21:35.240 --> 0:21:37.880 I get a little bit and I get a little 0:21:37.880 --> 0:21:42.200 bit worried for this. This is the reason I believe, 0:21:43.600 --> 0:21:49.879 as we know, weddings are the most important decision that 0:21:49.920 --> 0:21:52.960 you could you will make in your life outside of 0:21:53.040 --> 0:22:00.199 Christ and picking your spouse and making the decision to 0:22:00.280 --> 0:22:03.840 love them, which is what marriage is really. It's it's 0:22:03.880 --> 0:22:09.000 making a decision to love someone through sickness and in health, 0:22:09.200 --> 0:22:15.679 through riches and poor So to to make that kind 0:22:15.720 --> 0:22:20.120 of decision should be celebrated and it should be supported 0:22:21.240 --> 0:22:25.800 and encouraged by your community. Now as Christians, we believe 0:22:26.000 --> 0:22:31.640 that the marriage is ordained by God, and it's an 0:22:31.640 --> 0:22:36.200 institution reflecting the covenant that God makes with his people. 0:22:37.200 --> 0:22:40.120 And so because of that kind of reflection of that covenant, 0:22:40.119 --> 0:22:46.400 which is essentially a promise, there should be marriage counseling 0:22:46.400 --> 0:22:50.160 that happens before it, and there should be there should 0:22:50.200 --> 0:22:52.960 be a wise counsel that walks with you after it. 0:22:53.880 --> 0:22:57.960 So I believe that the person officiating should be able 0:22:58.000 --> 0:23:01.800 to do all of those things the counsel before walking 0:23:01.800 --> 0:23:06.320 into the day of the actual exchanging of the vows, 0:23:07.280 --> 0:23:13.480 and then walking for years, perhaps decades after the wedding itself. 0:23:15.359 --> 0:23:18.439 Those are roles that I'm saying that should be in 0:23:18.480 --> 0:23:22.480 my mind fulfilled by the pastor of the local church, 0:23:22.800 --> 0:23:27.240 in the local body that you and this guy and 0:23:27.280 --> 0:23:31.240 his wife are members of. You coming in and kind 0:23:31.240 --> 0:23:34.040 of swooping in or me doing the same thing on 0:23:34.119 --> 0:23:37.760 the day of the wedding and saying all the right 0:23:37.800 --> 0:23:40.280 things and getting them to say their vows and telling 0:23:40.320 --> 0:23:42.359 who puts the ring on wet finger, and then telling 0:23:42.359 --> 0:23:44.960 them to kiss the bride. You doing that is such 0:23:45.280 --> 0:23:48.240 a tiny, tiny fraction of what it means to be 0:23:48.320 --> 0:23:51.439 married for them, and so even though it's an honor 0:23:51.840 --> 0:23:53.800 for him to ask you to officiate it, and you 0:23:53.880 --> 0:23:56.000 might think that you're making him happy by saying yes, 0:23:56.080 --> 0:23:58.320 I think it would be more encouraging and you would 0:23:58.320 --> 0:24:00.800 be a better friend to tell him no. This should 0:24:00.800 --> 0:24:04.280 go to the local pastor who holds the position of 0:24:04.400 --> 0:24:07.879 walking you and your wife and Lord Willing your future 0:24:08.000 --> 0:24:12.479 kids through life together. So you go to him, and 0:24:12.520 --> 0:24:14.920 he goes to you and says, I was there the day. 0:24:15.000 --> 0:24:21.439 I stood before you too, and I oversaw before God 0:24:21.800 --> 0:24:25.560 the vows that you said. And we were there, us 0:24:25.640 --> 0:24:29.200 three in counseling for months before the wedding, and we 0:24:29.320 --> 0:24:31.520 walked through this. So now that we've arrived at this 0:24:31.680 --> 0:24:34.159 problem that we're having, I want to tell you I 0:24:34.200 --> 0:24:36.480 was there, and I want to walk you through because 0:24:36.520 --> 0:24:39.240 I know you and I stood there. Right. That's something 0:24:39.240 --> 0:24:42.200