Sid: I want everyone everywhere to be red hot for the Messiah, but have you noticed that there are these little foxes that are stopping you from being red hot for the Messiah. There’s the little foxes that are stopping you from having peace; there’s the little foxes that are causing you to suffer and to have pain. How would you like to say pain is in evitable but suffering is optional? Now that’s a pretty profound statement. Let me read this to you from a book on “How to Stop the Pain” by Dr. James B. Richards and I’m reading from page 11. It says “Most people have never acquired the tools necessary for resolving person hurt. As a result hurt grows into bitterness, sorry, depression and eventual loss of physical health. Our future becomes controlled by a past that has locked us into an unending cycle of more hurt and more disappointment. And then there are those that would say ‘Well, wait a second I’m a new creation I don’t have to deal with the past I’m giving it no place I’m going on with my life and I don’t understand what you’re talking about Sid.’” So don’t say that to me say that to my guest Dr. James Richards we finally caught up with him in Colorado Springs, Colorado. James what would you say to someone that’s says “I’m a new creation I don’t have to deal with anything in the past.”
Jim: You know Sid I’d say that “Yeah, you’re a new creation and if the past isn’t affecting your life that’s a wonderful thing.”
Sid: I don’t believe that’s possible.
Jim: I don’t think it’s possible.
Sid: Okay I just want to make sure.
Jim: (Laughing) Yeah the truth is today we are all the sum total of our last experiences up to this point. And there is no way that the past cannot factor into how we’re facing life, viewing life, and how we’re dealing with life’s problems.
Sid: Now I have to tell you something I live with a wife that’s been involved in a number of the areas that we’ll be discussing and so by osmosis I picked up a lot of this understanding. But even though I have I’ve been reading pages of your book I’ve been convicted and I’ve been… but not convicted in a bad way in a good way.
Jim: Right.
Sid: I’ve been saying to myself “You dummy look what you’ve done now you can be free.”
Jim: Yep.
Sid: I didn’t use that word but I really have but you know what I’m saying?
Jim: Oh yeah, and that’s an incredible thing about it I’m not wanting to get people stuck in the past, I’m not wanting to get them enslaved to the past. I want to show them some simple Biblical steps that they can take that will once and for all break the power of the past over their lives. And really move unfettered into the destiny that Jesus has called them to.
Sid: Let me read a little bit more about your book. “How do we get rid of pain from the past and the present? We forgive those that have hurt us and still feel we are in pain from offenses. What is keeping us from getting out of the boxes we seem to be in? Why are things not changing in our lives? What are some emotional areas that are doorways to sickness? How do we stop judging ourselves and others? How does judging torment us?” And I want to start right out with this whole deal of Judgment because to be quite candid with you I’ve been kind of confused on this? I’m a prophetic type of person; I call sin sin black is black, white is white I’m that type of personality but it’s a fine line. And you say you know you say not just you Jesus says, “Do not judge or you too will be judged.” What is the fine line between judgment and speaking truth as a teacher?
Jim: You know that’s a great question and I don’t think we’ll ever really resolve well. You know in judgment, judgment is not… you haven’t judged because you have an opinion about something. I remember years ago I preached at a church and I had a particular insight that I thought that the Lord had shown me and I wrote the pastor back and I encouraged him, I said “You know I really believe that this would be something that would greatly benefit your ministry.” And he wrote me this horrible letter and said “How dare you judge my ministry” and he felt like I had an observation that I had in fact passed the judgment. And that of course was the last thing on my mind it wasn’t my intention and over the years I started saying “What is judgment?” Judgment belongs to God we know that it is something that it’s not our place to judge. But you know actually ever since man fell in the Garden of Eden and became god of our own worlds we claim, we started claiming the right to judge. It came inherently with the sin nature.
Sid: Well you know you did a spin in your book that I hadn’t seen before, about in the Garden of Eden when Adam and Eve ate from the tree of good and evil. Explain that.
Jim: As far as what happened next?
Sid: No, as far as that opened them up to in effect be their own god and do judging.
Jim: Yeah, because that was the basic temptation. See whoever has the right of judgment and judges what is good and evil is the person that has set themselves up as god of their own world. And that was what Adam was looking for; he was looking for a way to function in this world independent of God being the judge and had the right to say what was good and evil. So the minute he became a sinner and took control of this world around him on his own terms, he began judging it. The conscience mind up until that point was properly was only used for observation now became a mind that looked at things and passed judgments about them.
Sid: But how do you observe and not judge?
Jim: It’s easier than you think we just need to do it.
Sid: (Laughing) okay.
Jim: As a matter of fact when people first read this book “How to Stop the Pain” they spend about 2 weeks almost tormented because they start realizing how much we actually judge everything around us.
Sid: Do you know that was what happened to me. I’m going to tell you though it’s not torment it’s wonderful because I’m looking at it as this is so liberating!
Jim: Oh yeah. See judgment is not when you have an opinion or observation. But judgment is in fact when you assume to know why someone does what they do it’s just that simple.
Sid: So why do we… why do we as humans do this I mean I do this without thinking.
Jim: I think it’s because it’s a place where we haven’t renewed our mind. It’s a place where we’re still functioning under the principles of this world’s system you know. We were born sinners we spent our entire life judging assuming to know why people did things…
Sid: That’s the big word that I see the why is what makes the difference between observation and judgment.
Jim: Exactly. You know a person… and see here’s the incredible thing and this will help people understand this this is where you get into the pain part of it. Anything that we experience , anything that would bring pain into our lives but it can only bring pain to the degree that we give it significance. Now what gives something significance is when we assume to know why it was done. What was the motive? I sat in counseling this morning a wonderful woman her and her husband are torn apart they’re separated on the verge of divorce and basically all that it is which is 90% of all of the counseling that I ever do in a marriage situation all it is, is they’re judging each other. Give you a good example, let’s say you know you were talking about how your personality is. You’re probably a person that kind of speaks straightforward right?
Sid: Correct.
Jim: So you know a straightforward person their intention and their motive in speaking straightforward really is to be kind. You know, “I don’t want to take up your time, I don’t want to invade your space.” So if you were to call me up on the phone and you wanted to borrow my lawn mower or something you know you’d call me and say “Hey Jim, Sid here I’d like to borrow your lawnmower.” Okay, you can borrow my lawn mower. Now if I were an indirect communicator when I hang up the phone you see I’m going to assume, since I’m god of my own world, I’m going to assume that everybody in the world does things for the same reasons that I do them.
Sid: And you know what? That’s my big mistake. I put people in my box and they’re not in my box. (Laughing)
Jim: And so now an indirect communicator only communicates directly if their angry.
Sid: Hm.
Jim: So I have to assume since I’m an indirect communicator you spoke directly to me. So I’m going to say this is why he did this. He’s angry. So now I’m upset with you. Now I feel like okay he’s angry with me and so you know I…
Sid: And I don’t even have a clue that you’re upset with me.
Jim: You thought that you were being polite.
Sid: I would be shocked if I knew that you were upset with me.
Jim: But you see the direct communicator says “I’m calling this person, I’m invading their privacy I need to get right to the point and if they want to talk about anything after I tell them what I want then we’ll talk.” Now if the coin were flipped around and an indirect communicator calls you and says “Hey listen how you been doing? You’re like well, I’m doing okay. Well, how’s the wife and kids? Well, their doing fine.” And you know the back of your mind you’re going what do you want.
Sid: Hm.
Jim: Because a direct communicator kind of gets to the bottom line.
Sid: Right.
Jim: So finally he gets around to it really you know I’d like to borrow your lawn mower okay. You hang up the phone and you go “You know something the only reason that I would be indirect and just kind of you know ask all of these questions would be about trying to manipulate, why didn’t he just call me and tell me what he wanted?” Now he was doing that to be friendly and kind.
Sid: And so I’m judging him now.
Jim: Yeah, because you would think the only time that I’m indirect is when maybe I’m trying to avoid the point. You know with one of my children I have 5 daughters 10 grandkids. And actually there were two of my daughters that I tell you for years I had a horrible relationship with them. I just could not understand why they pushed my button so badly. And when I realized it was judgment, they were incredibly indirect communicators and you know they would come up and…
Sid: Who was judging who, you were judging them or vice a versa?
Jim: I was judging them. So you know as a child they would come up to me and you know “I love you daddy” da da da…
Sid: Oh, hold that thought I know you’ll be back tomorrow…
Tags: its supernatural, Sid Roth