Unashamed with the Robertson Family - Ep 1295 | Willie Robertson Sparks Envy With a Fancy Gadget & ‘The Algorithm Is My Shepherd’

Episode Date: March 23, 2026

Jase, Zach, and Al challenge the modern idea of love and romance, pointing out how shallow, consumptive, and ultimately unsatisfying it’s become. Zach confesses his covetous heart with a funny story about Willie’s fancy new gadget that turns into a bigger realization about how easily our desires are shaped by algorithms and constant scrolling. Jase contrasts that with Phil’s example of a life lived free from the noise and untouched by the pressures of modern culture. It all leads to a bigger question: if everything around us is shaping what we want and believe, who—or what—is really leading us? In this episode: Genesis 2, verse 24; Matthew 19, verse 5; 1 Peter 5, verses 1–3; Galatians 5, verses 19–21; 1 John 3, verse 19; 1 John 4, verses 7–10; Deuteronomy 1, verses 32–39; Isaiah 7, verses 14–16 “Unashamed” Episode 1295 is sponsored by: https://texassuperfood.com — Get 35% off your first order when you use code Unashamed. https://fastgrowingtrees.com — Get 20% your first purchase when using the code UNASHAMED at checkout. https://timtebow.com/tree-unashamed/ — Get your copy of If the Tree Could Speak by Tim Tebow on Amazon today! http://unashamedforhillsdale.com/ — Sign up now for free, and join the Unashamed hosts every Friday for Unashamed Academy Powered by Hillsdale College Check out At Home with Phil Robertson, nearly 800 episodes of Phil's unfiltered wisdom, humor, and biblical truth, available for free for the first time! Get it on Apple, Spotify, Amazon, and anywhere you listen to podcasts! https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/at-home-with-phil-robertson/id1835224621 Listen to Not Yet Now with Zach Dasher on Apple, Spotify, iHeart, or anywhere you get podcasts. Chapters 00:00 “The Algorithm Is My Shepherd” 10:20 A Vacuum Sealer Opens the Door to Coveting 20:40 Why Social Media Fuels Shame, Envy & Division 26:05 The HOA Mindset & Power Trips 32:10 Worshiping a Cause Instead of a Creator 39:45 Putting Our Hearts at Rest  44:10 Who Are You Listening To? 48:20 Born Again: The Only Way to Start Over — Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

I am unashamed. What about you? So welcome back to Unashamed. I've been thinking a lot. I guess it's, you know, I mentioned the last podcast that we've been doing a lot of kind of grief ministry this week. And then at the same time, I watched this episode of the revival show about Dad. So, you know, I was kind of misty about that as well, just, you know, thinking about his legacy. And so I've been thinking, thing about a lot of his sayings jays and uh someone sent me uh one of our listeners that noa sent me a saying and zach we did a whole thing on c s louis and i never heard this quote but i i immediately attributed it to dad even though he never said it that i know of and it says this my prayer is that when i die all of hell rejoices that i am out of the fight c s louis said that did you ever heard that quote before is that no that's pretty good I mean, that's a good one.

And I thought that I would say that probably about that would be a good one if dad had said it. But one thing is that dad did say, Jay, that I get tickled because Zach's always talking about AI. And, you know, everything is the future and how these things are going to go. That dad, and I say this all the time that dad said, I am a low-tech man in a high-tech world. Oh, yeah. Zach. I can't talk about AI. Jill gets so mad at me.

Well, I'm getting there. I'm getting there with Jill. I'm like underground. I'm not even, like I can't talk about it in the house. Wasn't that a famous saying somebody said, I'm with her? Yeah, that was Hillary Clinton. That was her campaign. I'm not with Hillary, but I'm with Jill.

I don't talk about it. We get up every morning to have coffee and we have like a little time. We just talk about the word, talk about what's going on in our life. It's the only time our house isn't. chaos. And so I was going through this whole thing about AI and where I saw it, you know, where I saw it headed, how it could be utilized, how it could be dangerous. And I mean, she did not like that conversation. And we got the biggest fight. And so now we've decided that that's the one thing we're just not going to talk about.

Well, I got a sermon. I got a sermon for you. So I heard, I brought up that sermon on the last podcast about that I heard from Tyson on the Good Shepherd. And we talked about that. Well, he made a point, and I'm going to make it to you. You know, when you read that, most people I think, they're like, well, that happened a couple thousand years ago. We're in America. We're not shepherds outside of a few ranches in Texas.

is, well, what do we talk? This, you know, people think it doesn't relate. And then you read the story, and you're like, ooh, well, if I was a shepherd, this is pretty good. And when you look around and talk about false teachers and, but that principle about everyone's being shepherded by something, but he did something that I thought was very good toward the end of the sermon since you brought up the AIA. And because the most famous verse is Psalm 23, The Lord is my shepherd. I shall not be in one.

You've heard it. It's been read more times and more funerals than probably any passage in the Bible. So he did something that I thought was profound because, you know, this guy's in New York. And I'm sure everyone is tech savvy there in his crowd. because he was saying, you think, oh, what's this got to do with anything? And he's like, I'm telling you, you're being shepherded. And he said, think about the time that you spent, that you spend scrolling on the internet, all the social media, the metaverse, and the Twitter and all this kind of stuff, Instagram.

And so he said, what's happening is someone has figured out through technology to figure out when you ask these questions or you go here or go there, well, then they shepherd you with content out. They call them algorithms. Just think about what they're doing here for money, basically trying to exploit you. This is the thief and the robber. So he said, I wrote what's happening.

with the 23rd Psalm in mind. So I'm going to read this. This is John Tyson. It's called cultural shepherding. The algorithm is my shepherd. I shall always want. It makes me doom scroll through digital pastures. It leads me beside the rapids of engagement.

It activates my anxiety. It guides me along paths of monetization for its profit's sake. Even though I walk through the valley of comparison, I will fear missing out, for you are always tracking me. Your notifications and your ads, they compel me. You prepare a curated feed before me in the presence of those I. envy. You fill my head with validation. My anxiety overflows. Surely dissatisfaction and envy will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in your monetized data analytics forever.

The crowd burst into applause. They first into applause. The great punchline would have been that he would have followed up with, and I got that off of chat GPT. I'm kidding. I'm kidding. But that is good. He said that before.

He said, which the camera didn't show up, but he said, how many have you have actually went to the, whatever you called that, chat GPT? Chat GPT. And asked for counseling. And he's like, raise your hand.

We're in church. This is a safe place. I was thinking, you're filming it. It's not that same. But I couldn't see the crowd. So I guess some people raised their hand. He was like, yep, he's like, I've done it. He said, just think about what you've done there.

You've now given this machine the intel into your inner soul. And now they're going to cater for money and, and extortion, whatever's coming next, you're giving them that power to lead you. Because that's what shepherding is. It leads you to where the shepherd wants you to go. Yeah. And, I mean, it was kind of terrified.

Well, it is terrified, but I think that, and the algorithms even, I mean, we're not even talking about algorithms anymore. Now we're talking about machine learning that can in real time, I mean, like what AI is going to be able to do, it is, it is scary, what it can do. And I think that the fear that I have over that is mitigated by the fact that I do think that are incredible limitations when it comes to the human spirit and a soul, because it's a soulless entity, if you want to call it that, doesn't have a soul.

and I think there's just certain things that you really can't replicate. You know how like when you can go in to a service, I've tried to think of a way to describe this. You don't know if something's missing. Maybe you could watch something and you don't really, and you can enjoy it and you can be a part of it, and you don't really know it's missing. But then when you're in the presence of something that's profoundly,

like with a Holy Spirit where he is there, you know that he's there. And I think that's the difference. Like you may not, AI may be able to do things where you don't really know what's missing, but it cannot compare when something is truly spirit-filled. Because if it's truly spirit-filled, you know that God is there,

and you know that God's moving in our midst. And I think that what these digital algorithms in the digital world has done, it has turned us into a product. So you're not only a consumer of the content, you're actually a product that's being sold. It really is one of the most dehumanizing. Well, you know why?

Because it's a love killer. Yeah. This goes hand in hand with people not being able to communicate and have relationships and live life and go outside and fish together and have a conversation. It turns people into just self-absorbed mind. zombie robots where they're catering to your deep desires or trouble or what fascinates you. And you're just sitting there wasting time hour after hour and days go by and it turns into weeks and months. And then you get out and you see other humans and you just get back on your phone.

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just feeling better about your help. I've been taking Texas superfood now for several months, and it just makes me feel better throughout the day. This really is the real deal. It's the original superfood. It was super easy to incorporate into our morning routine. Jill likes the capsules. It just keeps us steady throughout the day. You can also mix your powder into your morning smoothie. You can take the capsules like Jill does on the go, whatever you need to do. They've sold over a million bottles and not because of some fancy marketing, but because real results create real loyal customers. So go to TexasSuprood.com. Use discount code unashamed to get 35% off your first order. Plus there is a 100% satisfaction guarantee. That's Texassuperfood.com. code unashamed. Well, it's not just that it's not that it just appeals to your desire. What it does is that it actually informs and forms your desire. And like, think about like if you've ever gone on Instagram or Facebook or the internet

and you want to buy something. You saw something that somebody had. Or maybe you saw it on a, on like somebody else's Instagram page or whatever. I'll give an example. Willie has this thing last time I was in town, not the cheese grater. That didn't really appeal to me, but he has this vacuum sealer. It's called Meet Your Maker, M-E-A-T, free plug there. And it's a vacuum sealer that you can vacuum.

You can vacuum cell all your meals and your leftovers. So when I was with him, he was explaining to me, cooked dinner, and he was putting all the leftovers. And then, of course, he's got a whole pitch on this thing. He's got the freezer full. and he's telling me you've got to get the small bags. Whatever happened in that moment, like I started to covet that meet your maker vacuum sealer. And then I started Googling it.

I wonder how much these things cost. And when I tell you that I went down a rabbit hole, and it's like, whatever, I have to have one of these things. Like, I started to desire a vacuum sealer. Never had a, never had a want for that in my life. But the algorithm picks up on it. And I mean, then it speeded me all these other ones. And then I'm deep-dye-

And I'm like, and you get to the end, you want the best one. And I wanted the best one that money could buy. And then you're like, I would never be satisfied with these old normal. Thank you, sailors. I got to have the best one. So the algorithm actually curated in me a desire for something. I was kind of serious. Honestly, I was just kind of curious about it at first.

How much is this cost? Looked it up. And from there, man, the internet had its way with me. And, you know, I'll just, I won't tell you what ended up happening. happening, but you know, you could lose a lot of money on that, I'll say that. Do you lost a lot of money? Well, I mean, I'm just saying that I may or may not have overspent on something I did not need or really even want, but my covetous heart was, was fixated on this particular thing,

mainly because of the algorithm. Each one, the Bible does say each one is dragged away and enticed by his own evil desire. So maybe it did start with me, but I'm telling you, that desire grew. very, very strong, the more that I looked online and started to research and started to think about things. Yeah, well, that was my point. The words that he used, I didn't write them all down, but of course, some of them I don't even really know what they mean, but I've heard them before in terms of the digital oil. But I did pick up on the idea of shame and the idea of putting people down, which is such a big part of all the things, the platforms that have been mentioned.

Supposedly it's to go and to find things that would be uplifting, but we know it always, almost always winds up the other way. And it just kind of provides this anonymity for people to just say rotten, terrible things to other people and through the process as well. Maybe things they would never have the, you know, guts to do to somebody's face. And so I just, it just, It definitely has become a place that the evil one for sure has figured out it's a way to pull people out of relationship out of opportunity. But, I mean, to me, and we laugh about that, but I mean, he really did have the right solution. You don't have to be engaged in all that. You can't unplug.

You don't have to do it. It's not like it's. Yeah. Well, I mean, I'm a good point. I mean, how to feel the accusations and the amount of just anger that came at him throughout his life, particularly in the laterers when he got famous, I don't think it ever bothered him. I really don't think that it bothered him. It would, like, it would bother me.

But I think it didn't bother because he would say it. He said, if they're saying it about me, guess what? I'm not seeing it. I'm not reading it. not reading it and I think man he I mean like it wasn't the world he was in he had curated his world that was the real world and the people that he was doing life with it the people in the church I mean he would have cared what we thought about him and you know but he didn't care he didn't care what what was on the news and how liberating would that be.

Well another one of his sayings was either you're being influenced or you're doing the influencing Yeah. And I was a very profound statement, which had an impact on me. I thought, there's no way to go through life and not be one or the other. Yeah. You're either being influence, especially when you're in high school, you're either being influenced or you're doing the influencing, which was a major shift in my life when I decided to start dishing out the influence. Well, and that's even a word used, right?

That's a big word now in the monetization side of social media or the influencers, right? I mean, that's the idea. But it's mostly about money, you know, which is why Zach in the last podcast. Mostly. Well, sometimes it's about power. But you did, Zach, you read that passage out of 1st Peter 5. And, I mean, it came up there about the idea of shepherding about for greed. And so it's just like anything else.

I mean, when you get it down to that list, again, from Galatians 5, the acts of the sinful nature are obvious. When that becomes the voice and then you find things in that list, that's when you know it's trouble. Yeah. And that's when it are to be simple for you, when people are trying to take advantage of just. And you saw it, Zach, even in something like, there's nothing wrong with a meat saver. I mean, you know, they're great. But, I mean, anything simple can become something bad. Well, you start thinking about

I want a new vehicle and you start looking online and you start and then what happens is you go down the street and you're driving down the interstate and you've never noticed that particular car before and now you can, everyone that drives by you're like, they're everywhere. Yeah, you've been, so it is.

I mean, I think that that's the whole thing about when we talk about the kingdom so much on this podcast and everything does matter. And the reason why it matters is because nothing is really neutral. Like we're being formed by what we behold, whether you like it or not, you're being formed into a particular type of person. It's not a matter of if you're going to worship.

That's the whole thing that people, I'm agnostic. No, you're not. Nobody's agnostic. No, nobody is. You're going to worship something. And the reason why you're going to worship something is because that is primarily what it means to be human, is that the very center of what it means to be human is that you are a worshipper. So it's not a matter of if you'll worship.

It's a matter of what or who you're going to worship. And you're going to worship, you're going to have affection for, you're going to love, you're going to desire, you're going to have a longing for whatever it is that you're beholding the most. And so that's why these rhythms are super important of life. You know, I used to kind of make fun of the old. I went to one of those churches, what was all about just reading your Bible every day and saying three prayers and going to church. And I'm like, looking back now, I'm like, that's. was pretty good advice.

That wasn't a bad thing. Like to read your Bible every day, say three pairs and go to church. Yeah, that's going to form you into a particular kind of person. That's a good thing. Well, I think the end goal, though, is we're to image Christ. He didn't call us just to sit on the sidelines and take care of ourselves. I tend to think people, because I saw the difference in my dad of just trying not to be influenced, like making a break from his past, which is why he moved to the middle of nowhere.

I mean, he made the break and studied his Bible, but at some point, he turned it around in that I'm going to do the influencing through the Holy Spirit, and I'm going to declare, which tends to clean your life up and you have less time to be just sitting around scrolling or whatever. Well, and it's about the right side, right? Jay's because, I mean, it was dad that told Zach and I before we ever started this podcast. He said, you boys have got to figure out how to get me on this internet. I don't know how to turn it on.

But I need to be on there. So, I mean, the very thing we're talking about that could be negative and terrible is also the thing. That's where you saw the John, that's where you get your Tyson sermons, Jays. And that's where people get this podcast. Well, you can create your algorithm. And by the way, I do want to say one thing. if you're not participating in these Hillsdale classes, you're missing out. These have been absolutely incredible to be a part of.

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I've just found these to be extremely inspiring. educational and honestly just uplifting to our faith. So if you are wondering about the history of the Christian faith, what was it like in ancient Christianity? This is a course you want to take. I'm telling you that it is absolutely incredible. Won't you guys to be a part of that? Unashamed for Hillsdale.com and go check it out and join us.

But like Zach, I had a similar experience since he shared his vulnerable side on the meat maker or whatever. So I was thinking about this love section because he, which is the problem. These leaders, it's a lack of love problem. Just because you have a bunch of followers, even in a church-type platform, are you doing it to, are you being vulnerable

just to get a lot of followers and make a lot of money? Because you don't know these people, you know, for sure. There's always a question of motive. What are you doing this for? And the false teacher, it's hard to see because they're saying the right things or whatever and giving you an image of what they want you to see.

So I was thinking about this love problem and for some reason that Simon and Garfunkel song came into my head that sound of silence. Because it's my old friend. Oh yeah. Because it's all about a connection problem. Way before technology, it was like prophetic almost. about we don't know how to hear, we don't know how to listen, we don't know how to connect,

we just go through the motions and we're isolated. And so, you know, I'll listen to that song and I thought, yeah, boy, they had something going. Spring is right around the corner and it's time to get back outside and transform your yard with fast-growing trees. Fast-growing trees is America's largest and most trusted online nursery with thousands of trees and plants and over two million happy customers. We were decimated by the ice storm. We lost a lot of trees. I am going to get me some fast-growing trees because I like the shade, I like the privacy, and I like what they do.

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Well, in my little, I thought it was an algorithm. rhythm but now Zach can tell me what it whatever it is well the next up was this dude that had a had a earring like but he had it below his lip and I thought man you missed your ear

by four inches here I mean it looked painful and it had the sound of silence and the name of his band was disturbed and I looked over there and it was like

two billion, maybe a billion and a half. I can look it up, but I don't want to look at it again. I've heard it. And, oh, oh, I was one of the views. Well, I listened to it 10 times. I thought it was fantastic. I had in my mind what I thought it was going to be, and it was like, well, I like this, I like this, I like this, I like this, I like this person better, you know. It just builds, and you're like, it starts like, you know, at the end of it, you're wanting to run through a brick wall.

I mean, I'm like, I don't, I mean, it was disturbing. It was really good, and I thought, I mean, it was over a billion. That's with a B. And I thought, which is why I listened to it. Then I thought, is this the most listened to song ever? So I did a search. I'm going down my rabbit hole now, Zach. I was like the top 10 most viewed songs on YouTube.

That's what I put. Well, the top 10 songs came up. I had heard of none of them. So I clicked on number one and don't do this because I didn't last longer than 30 seconds. One, it wasn't in English. Two, it was some kind of love song, but it was filled with gyrations and scantily clad women. And I thought, this is number one in our world. And it was almost $8 billion.

Wow. I thought 8 billion people have listened to this because it's about love, in quote, air quotes. But it was not about love. It was about the physical side of sex. And, you know, that kind of romance, if you can call it that. And I thought, man, where are we at in our culture here? Which kind of fits in what we're talking about with what love actually is? it's not that it's not that it's it's it's you hit it in that john 10 from the last

podcast about the idea of of really having a care for sheep and not doing it for just money or because you're paid but because you care i'd tell you another good example of it you guys have given some is i see it down here and uh it's the uh and we've talked about this before jays it's the old h-o-a mindset and you know we kind of have a running thing on the show about that because, you know, but it wasn't super serious, although Jay's did have a little incident there. He shared. I was dead serious. I know you are, but I'm saying we kind of made fun of it. Yeah. But I'm telling you down here, it's all serious all the time. These people, they come from all across the fruited plains and they retire to these communities,

like the one I'm sitting in today, these retirement areas and pretty places or even where Zach is. and their whole thing is they want to get on a board of people because that's the only community they have a lot of times is in their little neighborhood and they want to run your life. I mean, I'm telling you these people, I mean, like so much so that I did a, I pulled a field. I was like, get me out of here. I want to, the next place we live cannot have an HOA. It cannot have it. I'm not going to do it.

And the difference was is because some people there have the right idea. you want your neighborhood to look nice. You want to have nice things for people to have. Because they love people. We're all people. We're people doing it together. But it's not self-rule, but there will always be one or two that want to exercise power. And it's like, we got our power.

So we're going to send you the ugly emails. We're going to come by your house. And we're going to tell you if your garbage can is, you know, six feet from where it's supposed to, you know, just over and over and over all this stuff. And it's about just this thirst for power over people's, lives. And that's what I see here. As much as the greedy side, a lot of it is just people want to rule over other people. It's just the human nature. And some people, it's not everybody. But man, they can make your life miserable. And you finally just have to get out. There's just no,

you can't win. So it's like, I got to get away. And it's a shame. But it's exactly the same sort of spirit. And it's because of their power. Well, that's interesting one. I kind of if you want to compare the two, of real love versus what Jace was watching on YouTube. Yeah, it's the consumptive love. It's not love, but it's like a consumption. Like pornography is about consumption. It's about consuming the other person, consuming that sexual experience as an experience, not as the mingling of souls or the union of people. It's not that. It's not. It's not. In a covenant, right, Fidelity, kind of a covenantal relationship. It's not that.

It's more like, I'm just going to consume you, get what I can get from you. It's take, it's not give. And the other picture, which is not going to be the number one song on YouTube or any algorithm for that matter, because it takes a lot more time to develop it, is real love. It's more of the sitting on the porch at 80 years old. with the woman you've been married to for 50 years and you have a legacy and you've got 15 grandkids and you've got, you know, they got kids coming. And that's a different kind of picture. Well, that story, that thing cannot be experienced with a click of a button or the snap of a finger.

I can't click with a mouse on an image and have the experience of the 80-year-old man and woman on the front porch of a home they've. we've lived in in a life they built over the last 50 to 60 years. And that's why the default position for us is going to be this good at the consumptive model because it's easier. It's quick and we can bypass all the processes and I can get kind of the thing. I can kind of get a good dopamine hit from it, but it's not sustaining. And it's one of the reasons why I think we're so miserable in this generation. It's one of the reasons why this is the most anxious and depressed generation in the history

of the world. It's because their brains, our brains are fried with dopamine hits by short-cutting the process, missing out on real intimacy because we want this fake imposter of these algorithms

that it's giving us. And I think the key difference between the two is one, it's about consuming, and the other one is the life of Christ to lay down your life. And to actually lay down the word. And think about this,

all of the, Think about all of the false gods that have risen up in this generation. Now, you talked about worship earlier. I see worship with some of these causes, cultural causes, that wind up being protest is what they're called, because that fits in the Constitution. But it's really the worship of a new God. It's whatever the call, and it could be anything.

I mean, it could be all the range of stuff that's going on. But, I mean, they rally, they sing, they chant. They have their own Bible. I mean, they community together and plan these things. And it has become their version of God. And all the new gods that you're talking about are just versions of the old gods that aren't God. Exactly.

Ironically, I got this from the Internet, Zach. But when you gave your little spill about pornography and this fleshly love, and based on the number one song viewed, just listen to this is the best explanation of marriage this is genesis 224 that is the explanation that they're given it's a they're kind of teasing you there you want to know the how to explain marriage i thought this was very clever so they have the verse here this is why a man and then they'll have a little section, a man, and they have above it maturity. It's not a boy.

A man who is mature. Leaves, there's a transition. So you got maturity, a transition. His father and mother. Well, now you have a model of a complete family because the man left his father and mother. which would be a model of complete family, and becomes,

which would be a new family, becomes attached, let's see, becomes attached, yeah, that's part of the new family, to his wife, his wife, a compliment that completes,

and they become, which is, is a process of learning, friendship, and trust, they become one flesh, which is deep intimacy between two people. If you break that verse down and have all those comments and think about what that is, it becomes beautiful. And that was God's idea and God's plan, Genesis 224. And that's the exact verse that Jesus quoted, and I think it's Matthew 19, when asked about marriage. Exactly. I mean, that's the one thing he said.

He just went back to the standard. Here's the idea. He said the ultimate thing about it. Here's what it looks like. So anything other than that is not what he had in mind. We love our friend Tim Tebow, who was on the podcast recently talking about his new book, if the tree could speak. And it's such an important bug, guys.

I mean, I'm telling you, stop what you're doing, just listen for a minute. You ever think about this? We all know the story of the cross. It's a very common story that we've all heard our whole life. But what if you could hear it

from a totally different perspective? What if the cross itself could tell you exactly what it experienced that day? Well, that's actually the idea behind a new book from our friend Tim Tebow. It's called If the Tree could speak. Jace, I think you got a copy right there on the table.

I was in the airport yesterday and a Florida Gator fan came up because he had a jersey on. And I said, if the tree could speak. And he looked around and there was a potted plant beside me. I said, not that tree, which led to about a 15-minute Jesus presentation, which is why I love this book. It's a great conversation starter. It's very well written.

It's beautifully illustrated. It makes you slow down and actually fill the weight of what Jesus did for us. And if you've heard the Easter story a thousand times, which a lot of this audience, I know you've heard it. this one will challenge you and it'll deepen your faith. So what you get from this book will stick with you long after you put it down. And you're going to want to pick it up year after year after year to prepare for the Easter celebration is we'll remember what Christ actually did on the cross. So step inside the story, hear the witness and experience Easter like never before.

Check out Tim Tebow's new book. If the Tree Could Speak on Amazon. That's If the Tree Could Speak by Tim Tebow. Order your copy on Amazon today. I'm telling you you're not going to regret it. Well, people read it so many times that they just don't think about what it actually says. Yeah. It's very profound and it works.

Yeah. Well. Yeah, I think that's why it's so important as we think about the trajectory of what we're headed as humans is. We're trying to actually live in our pillows and our design intent purpose that God has for us. And so I pray this all the time. I pray that God, would you not let me, like, shape my theology of how I wanted to be, but how it actually is? Would you align my will with your will?

Would you align my understanding of your word with reality? Because what happens is that we all have our little biases. Man, I mean, if I was, I mean, if I wrote the Bible as an example, here's what I tell you, it would not be the same Bible that you read. it would be a lot different if I wrote it. If I wrote the Bible, it's going to have all the things I want in it. And the problem is, is I don't really know what I want. And we talked about that earlier.

I mean, I thought I wanted the meat saver. You know, I really thought that that was going to, like, do something for me. But how many things have you thought that you wanted that once you got it? You're like, man, I never wanted that. Or especially when you look in your garage like I have recently, and literally we've hauled off a dump truck load full of junk that, I won't say who, but somebody I'm related to, her name rhymes with Bill, bought on Amazon. And it's just, it ends up in the garage and you're like, all this crap.

I'm like, I never wanted this crap. And at the time, you know, we thought we wanted it, but we didn't want it. And so I can't really trust my own desire. I really can't. And I think that that's what the, that is, by the way, it's one of the ideas of hell is you're left of your own vices, right? And think about to be in that state of just, I'm left of the thing. think I want, and I'm actually missing out on heaven, which heaven is when your will aligns with what God's will is. That's where we're headed with all this. I think that's hard for us to get

because the shortcut, the easy bypass, let's reroute this thing and give me the, I want the outcome of what I'm after, but I don't want to put in the process to get the outcome. And when you shortcut that, then what you're essentially doing is you're rerouting, your desires and you're fundamentally shaping them into very, what's the word I'm looking for, shallow and empty and hollow desires. That's what you're shaping your desire to be. Yeah, and that's why you have to trust in him. I find myself quoting this verse a lot this week and what we've been doing with grieving families

and widows. Because, you know, everybody's asking why. It's a sudden situation that happened. And I knew. The problem is, even in initial shock, it's hard to know why because it's a trust issue. But I've quoted this verse all week in prayer and also with people. And it was the one from 319. This then is how we know we belong to the truth and how we set our hearts at rest in his presence.

Because I've been talking to a bunch of troubled hearts this week. Whenever our hearts condemn us, for God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything. And that's the thing that sets it apart. And I've really stressed that this week because we don't know everything. We can't put all those pieces together. And when it's death and when it's, you know, accidents and when it's things like this, I mean, it is so hard for us as human beings. But you said, Zach, when we think about the will of God and trying to live in his will

and trust that he knows what he's doing when we worship him and when we love him and we know he loves us, then we make it through. whatever the situation might entail when our hearts are not at rest and when our hearts are condemning. And when we're unsure about people and, you know, where they stood with Christ and all the things that come up, you know, in these tough situations. So, you know, the love of God does make the difference. So should I read this next section where we're here at the end of the podcast so we can say it for next time? Well, I wanted to, in the first verse of the next section, so when he gets to 1st, John 4, 7, he says, dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God, which is profound.

Chapter 4 and verse 7, dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. I just want to say one thing about that. If you're kind of keeping up with what he's talking about, he keeps bringing up this, we're our children. 1st John 2 you know 28 then it's like when he gets to the end of chapter 3 after he's already defined love in 310 this is how we know what love is Jesus Christ laid down his life for us and we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and when he gets to 310 those who obey his commands

I mean this is 21 live in him and he and them and this is how we know that he lives in us. We know it by the spirit he gave us. And then we talked about that little section in the world about recognizing the spirit of the Antichrist who's not acknowledging that Jesus came from God in the flesh. But then he brings up this idea about being born again, which is a common theme here.

He also said it in the last verse of chapter 2 when it says, if you know that he's righteous and you know that everyone who does what is right has been born of him. So he's making a point there. And it led me back to kind of doing a rabbit hole when it comes to doing right and wrong of in the garden. Here's Adam and Eve. They're having fellowship with God himself. He's walking along in the garden.

He's giving them everything. because he loves them, there's one thing they can't do, and it's described as partaking in the tree of good and evil. And the only reason I'm bringing this up is this is why I think he's using the reference to that we are children of God. Because what I found fascinating, if you look up all the verses after that of this contrast of good and bad, I'll give you an example.

in Deuteronomy chapter one, it's kind of a review of God leading the Israelites out of the wilderness to the promised land. It's kind of a review. And if you just pick up the story, you can read the whole story in your own time. But if you get down to verse about 32, it says, in spite of this, you did not trust. in the Lord your God, who went ahead of you on your journey, in fire by night and a cloud by day, to search out places for you to camp and to show you the way you should go. When the Lord heard what you said, he was angry and solemnly swore, no one from this evil generation shall see the good land I swore.

And you got to remember what was Israel called, the children of God. And he's trying to lead them. but they won't trust him. And it says, the whole idea about the shepherd, about who you're listening to. They're all with each other, griping and complaining about the journey,

which is not unlike what's happening in our life today, just journeying through. Who are you listening to? But there's a profound verse here that I want to bring out. Verse 37 says, because of you, the Lord became angry with me also and said, you shall never enter it either, but your assistant Joshua will enter it.

Encourage him because he will lead Israel to inherit it. And then verse 39, and the children that you said would be taken captive. Your children who do not yet know, and here's that phrase, good from bad. The same command given to Adam and Eve, the tree of the knowledge of good and bad. And here it's in the context of children who do not yet know good from bad, they will enter the land. I will give it to them, and they will take possession of it.

And the point I wanted to make is, because there's a lot of religion out there that teaches that children are bad because Adam and Eve sin, they took of the tree of knowledge of good and evil. And that's never set right with me because I thought, no, Kit, when you look at a baby, I'm not thinking, there's nothing bad about a baby when it's born, which is why I think John, and it's filled in the New Testament of this metaphor on where the children of God now being born again. And that's just one example. I mean, if you wanted to look at another one in Isaiah chapter 7, and this is a prophetic prediction about Jesus coming from a virgin in the context, the immediate context of what Isaiah was going through. But listen to this. This is Isaiah 7 and verse 14.

Therefore, the Lord himself will give you a sign. The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son and will call him a manual. Well, I know who that's talking about. But listen to the next verse. He will be eating curds and honey when he knows enough to reject the wrong and choose the right. Same little concept. You say, are you sure? The next verse.

For before the boy knows enough to reject the wrong and choose the right. and then he gives this prediction about what's going to happen to the land. The land of the two kings you dread will be laid waste. And I look this up in the scholarship, and they said, yep, this happened about three years later. The Lord will bring on you and your people and on the house of your father a time unlike any sense. Ephelm broke away from Judah.

He will bring the king of Assyria. So I said all that to say, God has given us a way to start over. And meanwhile, debunk this idea that somehow, just because there's sin in the world, that babies know right from wrong. I mean, it's pretty evident to me. This is overwhelming to me once you see this. So I wanted to kind of bring that up because when you think, well, yeah, we are living in a world that's bad.

and what are we going to do about it? Well, I got good news. God came into the world so you could be born again and start over and be included in this love circle of God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit, and be that person. I mean, why would he keep bringing this concept up about being born of God, being from God, being children of God? And so I wanted to make that point and see what you thought about it. No, I love it and agree with it. And I think the picture you painted earlier, even in Genesis 2, which was before the date of that tree, is that picture you're describing.

Because you said something new happens with this family. And that's the way I describe it when I do a wedding. And I actually got it from Tommy Eamond. He said, before a wedding, he's about to do. He said, what we're about to witness is a birth, a birth of a new family. Because a man and a woman are choosing life. and then they have an opportunity to then procreate and bring more life because there will be birth of new life into that family. And so the concept from a physical humanity standpoint is there.

But you're right. It's exactly what he describes from a spiritual connotation as well. And this is when John, I mean, John 3, when Jesus was talking to Nicodemus, that's why he talked about this, this new birth concept. And so John, at the moment when that was happening, I'm sure John had no idea what Jesus. Jesus was talking about. Yeah. Now, you know, 90-year-old John, he's got it. He knows exactly what he's talking about.

Well, we brought up the love thing and the sex thing, and the reason I went down that rabbit hole is, you know, I've shared Jesus with a lot of people. And some of them have been into all kind of sexual sins. And I hadn't had a lot of success bringing them to the Lord. I mean, I shared the good news of Jesus. It's not up to me anyway. But the last person I shared with who did come to the Lord, who was involved in that sin, asked a, made a profound statement, and I wish I would have thought of this before,

because what he said to me was, he said, well, there's nothing I can do about it. I was born that way. I said, I can be reborn. I got some good news for you. You can be born again. Now look, that was the first. time a tear showed up. So I was like, forget the theology on however you're rationalizing what you're doing. I'm just, I'm going to tell you what the Bible is that you can be born again.

And he was like, I think I will. I was thinking, we'll deal with that later. Let's start over. And that's why I wanted to bring this up because he keeps bringing it up. I mean, I think we minimize what Jesus did on the cross and his resurrection by getting so caught up in all the details of why we're screwed up and why we do bad things. And when it's obvious, it either comes from our own decisions

or the evil one or someone abuses when we were kids which helped contribute to us making bad decisions. But the whole reason Jesus died on a cross and was resurrected so that we could start over and be born again and be the children of God. And I think it eerily is then reminiscent to when Adam and Eve, there was an innocence there that the evil one came in because they, and he took advantage of that vulnerability. I mean, did God really say, they were innocent. and here we go. They have that decision to make, and it's the wrong one. Well, and just like we see children grow and mature into young men and young women,

we see that with our own children. We're watching it happen and then become parents, and then we're going to go through the same process we did. We see the same thing with people in their spiritual walk. You'll see people who have been plagued by something, who's like you said, just some sin maybe, maybe not even their own sin, maybe it was a sin against them. And then we see them finally surrender and be reborn.

And then we watch that person grow. And it's amazing to see that the person they were compared to the person they became, compared to the person then that they keep growing into and help other people. And so that it really is the whole process. I'll just close with this. The reason I want to do that, because when you get to verse 10, it's hard to wrap your head around when he says, this is love, not that we love God, but that he loved us.

And my point is, you can't read enough 10-step books and 13 ways to know love and go to the Internet and figure out, you've got to have the love of God in you. And most of the times that means you've got to start over, which is why he surrendered and say, I can't figure this out. And when the love of God gets in you, all of a sudden now you have the power to start experiencing loving relationships. Yeah, it changes everything.

All right, good word. We'll see you next time on Unashame. Thanks for listening to The Unashamed podcast. Help us out by leaving a rating and review on Apple Podcast. And don't miss an episode by subscribing on YouTube. And be sure to click the little bell and choose all notifications to watch every, episode.