Five Reasons People Crash and Burn
five reasons people crash and burn
A "crash and burn" refers to when someone self-destructs.
We've all seen it. Some of us have done it.
Why do people crash and burn?
There are many reasons. I’ll just give you five.
1. Greed
Some people take what they want and don’t care about the consequences. They live in the moment.
If some is good then more is better. It’s not any deeper than that. Eventually their greed consumes them.
The Bible speaks to greedy leaders...
Your rulers are rebels, companions of thieves; they all love bribes and chase after gifts. They do not defend the cause of the fatherless; the widow's case does not come before them. Isaiah 1:23
When people over-reach their grasp, it’s easy for them to crash and burn.
2. Pride
Pride typically works with greed. For some reason greedy people feel entitled to take what they want because they think they deserve it. They think they are better than others and for the same reason they don’t think they will face the same consequences as other people. But as the Bible says:
Pride leads to destruction, and arrogance to downfall. Proverbs 16:18
3. No self-control
Some people can’t say no to themselves. They’re not greedy or prideful. They want to stop the madness but they can’t. At least they don’t think they can.
They feel helpless against temptation.
I was in the hospital the other day with someone like this. They are slowly killing themselves with an addiction but they feel powerless to change.
4. Shame
Some people feel so bad about themselves – so worthless - that they don’t think they deserve to live a better life so they self-destruct.
It’s like they sabotage their lives on purpose as a way to punish themselves for not being good enough. To crash and burn is their idea of justice for being “less than” others.
5. Feeling trapped
Other people get pulled down by the people around them. If it was left to them they would change but destructive people control them.
They are victims of a dysfunctional system that sucks them into a vortex of destruction and they crash and burn along with everyone else.
How to prevent a crash and burn
Your life might be surrounded by people who crash and burn and you’ve wondered why. What's the answer?
It starts by taking the focus off yourself. Each of the five problems is focused on self, either in an inflated or deflated way. We weren't made to have our lives revolve around ourselves. We were made to revolve around God...to put him first.
Whether you are trying to recover from a crash and burn or prevent one, putting God first is a good place to start. I'll share more practical steps in my next post.
Question: What are other reasons you think people crash and burn?
Learn more about recovering from a crash and burn scenario in my books, Healing the Hurts of Your Past and Starting Over.
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