Optimizing Ourselves to Death | Historical Books | 2 Samuel 5:1-16

Ten Minute Bible Talks Devotional Bible Study

Ten Minute Bible Talks

Christianity, Health & Fitness, Religion & Spirituality, Spirituality, Mental Health

4.9 • 960 Ratings

🗓️ 6 June 2025

⏱️ 12 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Are you optimizing yourself to death? Are you exhausted by your constant attempts to improve? What does real growth look like? In today's episode, Jeff shares how 2 Samuel 5:1-16 reminds us that true improvement is a deeper dependence on God. If you're listening on Spotify, tell us about yourself and where you're listening from! Read the Bible with us in 2025! This year, we’re exploring the Historical Books—Joshua, Judges, 1 & 2 Samuel, and 1 & 2 Kings. Download your reading plan now. Your support makes TMBT possible. Ten Minute Bible Talks is a crowd-funded project. Join the TMBTeam to reach more people with the Bible. Give now. Like this content? Make sure to leave us a rating and share it so that others can find it, too. Use #asktmbt to connect with us, ask questions, and suggest topics. We'd love to hear from you! To learn more, visit our website and follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter @TenMinuteBibleTalks. Don't forget to subscribe to the TMBT Newsletter here. Passages: 2 Samuel 5:1-16

Transcript

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0:00.0	Welcome to 10-minute Bible Talks, where we connect the Bible to your life.
0:08.9	In the time it takes to get to work.
0:10.7	I'm Jeff Parrott.
0:12.3	Many of us are treading water, just trying to keep our heads above the surface in a culture of optimization. Some call it the cult of optimization.
0:25.7	It's the overarching yet sometimes covert belief that life can always be improved and possibly
0:33.5	be perfected with just the right kind of inputs, executing meticulous habits based on the most
0:41.2	advanced research available, probably featured on a podcast you recently listened to. The unspoken
0:47.8	slogan of incessant optimization could probably be the memorable line in the 1967 Beatles song, Getting Better. It's getting better all the time. Better, better, better.
1:03.2	We can optimize truly everything within the realm of our humanity. Our health, our study habits, our approach to work and time management,
1:12.5	parenting, romantic relationships, the ethos of modern life says that if you can live in it,
1:18.4	you can be making it better all the time. I'm reminded of the 2005 book by Richard Winters,
1:26.1	perfecting ourselves to Death.
1:29.2	20 years after it was written, the title of that book still rings true, but we don't
1:34.9	usually say that we're perfecting ourselves, we're just improving, refining, or enhancing.
1:41.2	We're getting bigger, better, faster, stronger, always up and to the right if we're
1:48.0	doing it well. And of course, we should want to grow to mature under God's design for humanity.
1:55.7	That's not a bad thing. We want to be faithful with the gift of life we receive each day.
2:03.2	The problem isn't a desire to grow. The problem is when our desire to grow controls us, when it stops serving our lives and
2:11.3	starts stealing our lives. I know this is true for me when I can no longer enjoy my work or enjoy being a husband, a dad, or a friend,
2:21.3	because I'm always working on those things, but never living in them.
2:26.9	I'm optimizing myself to death.
2:30.6	I wonder if you're like me and the many, many people I talk to, people who are doing well
	...

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