“Dirty Diamonds” is Cooper’s 24th studio album – released in 2005. The album is a back to the basics Rock album. It has no theme per se. Some songs that we will most likely revisit from the album include: “Perfect”, “The Saga of Jesse Jane”, “Run Down The Devil”, and “Stand”. A good portion of the album has a comedic feel and vibe about it. It’s one of the more light-hearted in his repertoire of albums.

“Your Own Worst Enemy” is a track that spoke to me on an intimate level. To think about all the times when I have been the biggest hindrance to my faith and walk is a daunting but needed task. True reflection is often hard to digest but almost always provides a way for adjustment and growth. The truth is, God wants us to be in communion with Him. Walking step by step together with Him or having Him carry us when needed. I personally believe that trying to do it alone is the greatest mistake any Christian can make. Life is a daily struggle – a day by day, hour by hour, minute by minute ordeal. He wants nothing more than to be a part of that struggle – rejoicing with us during the highs and lifting us up during the lows.

For me, I’ve found that even when the Lord has shown me His plans in a specific area or provided me with a specific calling, I’ve still tried to make that happen without continuing to further ask for guidance and direction. Just because the Lord opens a door or plants a vision doesn’t always mean you’re going to be provided the means for those things to happen. Often times, He will want to try, test, and prepare your heart, mind, and soul for whatever the next step may be. Of course, this isn’t always the case. The only way to truly know is by holding strong to the Word and by regularly communicating with Him in prayer. How many times have we kept ourselves from allowing God to move and take us deeper on our journey with Him?

While there are many examples of men and women in the Bible self-destructing for various reasons, the one that almost automatically comes to mind is the story of Moses. Of course, Alice’s song is meant to be satirical in nature. The lyrics of the song don’t apply to the life of Moses. But he most definitely did mess things up for himself by using his own devices and methods instead of choosing to adhere to God’s command and authority. Before diving in to his story, stop and think about your own life. Are there areas where you aren’t listening? Other areas where you are listening, but instead chose a different path? Or maybe you’ve been given the call and shown the way but decide your way of handling things doesn’t need His approval or guidance. Let’s see where Moses went wrong in his journey with God. This is going to be the condensed version (which is honestly still pretty long). At some point, take some time and study each group of verses on their own.

NOTE: Before we even begin, it should be noted that God loved Moses, and held him in high esteem. His love is unconditional and is not based on obedience, works, etc. Even in his shortcomings, Moses still played a vital role in Judeo-Christian history and ultimately gave glory to God in the process. But indeed, he was his ‘own worst enemy’.

Seems the best way to tell Moses’s story is through a timeline of sorts. It’s quite a bit longer than most blog posts but the references and timeline will help paint the scenario. It will make sense at the end.

Exodus 2:1-10: The Pharaoh at the time of Moses’s birth decrees that all Hebrew baby boys should be killed in fear that one of the Israelites would one day rise up against him. Moses is placed in a basket by his mother and sent up the Nile River. Pharaoh’s daughter intercepts the basket and raises Moses as her own son.

Exodus 2:11-25, 3: Moses realizes his heritage and roots. After killing an Egyptian (who murdered an Israelite slave), Moses escapes as a fugitive and spends nearly 40 years in Midian as a shepherd. After creating a life for himself there, the Lord presents Himself as a Burning Bush and instructs Moses to return to Egypt and free the Israelites from slavery.

Exodus 4-13: Moses pleads with the current Pharaoh to let the people of Israel go. Pharaoh denies Moses multiple times resulting in numerous plagues upon Egypt. The final plague killed the firstborn sons and animals of Egypt – only the Israelites that marked their doors with sacrificed lamb’s blood were spared. After this plague, Pharaoh agrees to release the Israelites.

Exodus 14: Moses and the Israelites exit Egypt but not without Pharaoh deciding to apprehend them as they depart. The Israelites become trapped between the Red Sea and Pharaoh’s Army. Moses lifts his staff and the sea parts allowing the Israelites to pass through. After crossing through, Moses raises his staff and the waters close in on the Pharaoh’s advancing army.

Exodus 15-19: Through a series of miracles and obedience to God, Moses and the Israelites are provided with manna, quail, and water for survival. Moses gives praise and glory to God for that which He provides them.

Exodus 20: God summons Moses to the top of Mt. Sinai and delivers the Ten Commandments. God promises the Israelites that if they keep His commandments, He will go with them to the Promised Land.

God keeps His promise but not without the Israelites wandering in the wilderness, disobeying God, and questioning Him at every turn. How much easier could it have been for them had they not questioned Him and become so disgruntled with their surroundings? They were given everything they needed to survive – just not to their liking. Long story, shorter. The Israelites and Moses all have their complaints about the situation they are in. Some things the Lord provides – such as food, leaders, and land, but the Israelites decide they don’t have the manpower to take on Canaan – even after seeing the Lord provide and protect them previously. For not trusting Him, they are forced to wander 40 years in the wilderness. However even during those years, they wanted for nothing. God STILL blessed them.

To this point, Moses had given God praise and glory for what the Israelites had and were given. At times, he questioned and even seemed perplexed by what it was that God was doing. But he always gave God praise. This all changes in Numbers 20:10-11 almost 38+ years after they had begun wandering in the wildness. In those verses, we find Moses and Aaron pushed by the community to summon water from the rocks. Angered by those around him, Moses strikes the rock twice claiming, “Listen, you rebels, must we bring you water out of this rock?” God provides the water, but Moses has taken the credit. For this, God refuses Moses from entering the Promised Land (but keeps his promise by allowing Moses to see it). Can you imagine? He’d done everything by the book up to that point. But then decided in a moment of rage to disobey and lose it all. It seems harsh and tough, but the point is Moses’s actions kept him from entering the Promised Land. Moses betrayed himself.

How does this story apply to your life? Your walk? Your journey with God? Even bigger question, based on the above scriptures, who are you? Are you Pharaoh? A member of his army? Are you an Israelite? Are you Moses? What have you witnessed in this lifetime? Have you sought out the Lord? Giving Him the praise and glory He deserves for what you’ve been given and have? It’s easy to gain possessions on this earth and not want for anything like Pharaoh. It’s also easy to follow the Pharaohs of this world wanting a piece of their pie or promised protection. The Israelites on the other hand were desperate – they saw and witnessed miracles but even that wasn’t enough for them. They needed more. Only Moses was willing to listen and obey on a regular basis. True, he slipped up when he didn’t give God the glory (which may have happened more than once – we don’t know for sure), but his example is a tough act to follow. What remains obvious is the fact that at some point, due to the nature of sin, every person (excluding Christ) has been or will be their ‘own worst enemy’.

In conclusion, we’ve become a society that loves to play the blame game. But the tough love, God’s honest truth of it all is that we are responsible for our own actions and consequences. At times, life isn’t fair – it’s true. But our reactions, lack of communication with the Lord, and unwillingness to adhere to His Word are to blame. The list goes on – David, Solomon, Jimmy Swaggart, Jim Bakker, you, me, everyone is their ‘own worst enemy’. Luckily, we’ve been given a ticket to ride to glory despite that fact. The very person we are fighting with – ourselves – is the same person our Lord wants to call His own. Have you accepted Him? Or will you and your pride go down as being someone that eternally offended our Creator?