The Predicament Question

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Welcome to Spotlight. I’m Marina Santee.

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And I’m Colin Lowther. Spotlight uses a special English method of broadcasting. It is easier for people to understand, no matter where in the world they live.

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“I made big mistakes before – but never this big. And I never regretted anything I did before.”

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Derrick looked at the jail walls surrounding him. He put his head in his hands. How did he get into this predicament?

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Have you ever been in a predicament – a bad situation? Have you asked yourself, ‘how did I get here?’ People face difficult situations every day. And often, they do not know how it happened! They are in a predicament. In other Spotlight programmes, we looked at Rick Warren’s answers to difficult questions in life. Rick is a famous Christian leader and advisor. Today we look at some of his answers to the question, ‘How did I get into this predicament?’ Here is Derrick’s story.

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Derrick was only 14 years old when he joined a gang – a group of young people who perform crimes. They may steal cars, sell drugs, and even hurt other people. Gang members are often troubled young people. They may feel alone in life. They want friends. Derrick was one of these young men. The gang members became his friends. And he felt important. He felt that he was a part of something. However, when he was 16, his life changed completely.

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Derrick was at a New Year’s Eve party. He was there with his gang members. But an enemy gang was there too. One of the enemy gang members, Tim, insulted Derrick. Derrick felt disrespected. And even worse, it was in front of his friends. Derrick could not accept such a public insult. He remembers that time:

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“My friends looked at me. I pulled the gun from under my clothes. And Tim froze – he did not move. I liked the feeling I had. It was a sense of power. Tim begged and cried for me not to shoot him. But I pulled the trigger of the gun. He fell to the ground. And my friends ran away. Then, I understood that they were not really my friends. I stayed there alone. I waited for the police to arrive. Then, I admitted that I shot Tim. Thankfully, Tim lived. The bullets missed his heart. So, I was sent to jail for 12 years.”

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That night changed Derrick. He understood that the gang members were not truly his friends. He was all alone. Derrick was in a bad situation. He was there partly because of his behaviour. And he was there partly because of his friends. Rick Warren says that friends can be very important. Everyone needs friends. They can add such joy to life. They can also offer encouragement during hard times. True friends are there in good times and in bad times. But Derrick did not find good friends. He found friends who influenced him to do wrong things. And they did not stay with him during his most frightening time. They were not with Derrick when the police arrested him. These friends all ran away.

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Rick Warren believes that many people are in bad situations because of the friends they choose. Bad friends can get people into predicaments. He says:

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“We are asking for trouble if we choose the wrong friends. Wrong values and wrong ways of thinking will affect our lives.”

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Rick believes there are ways to know if a friendship is good or bad. He says that bad friendships make people feel bad. They often find themselves doing things they do not want to do. They feel pressure from their friends to do these things. And these friends may try to control them through anger or fear. Rick says:

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“The kind of friends you should have will bring out the best in you. They will lift you up, encourage you, and make you a better person.”

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Rick Warren says that another way that people get into bad situations is by repeating their mistakes. Often, they do not try to change when they make a mistake. They continue doing the same things over and over. Derrick was in the gang for two years before he wanted to change. He did not want to change until the terrible shooting. That incident made him examine his life. He said:

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“The hardest part about being in jail was that no one cared. There was no one to tell me that I needed to change. I had no family. I sat in jail and kept thinking about my crime. I deeply regretted it. So, I asked God to forgive me. I asked him to guide me down a different road. Then, I wrote Tim a letter to apologise. And, now we are friendly. We have both left the gangs. Also, I started reading in jail. And I finished my high school degree. I made a change. Many people refuse to admit they need to change.”

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Rick Warren agrees with Derrick. He says that people need to learn from the past.

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“We are asking for trouble if we refuse to learn from our mistakes.”

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It is not easy to learn from mistakes. Many people do want to stop what they are doing. But the problem is that they do not know how. They may have a physical or emotional dependence on something. For example, they may be drinking alcohol or taking illegal drugs. And some people simply cannot stop. For them it is necessary to get support. They can get help at treatment centres and from doctors.

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Some people are afraid to ask for help. They feel that they have failed so many times before. They may think that it is too late for them. But Rick says it is never too late.

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“God can help us when we honestly look at the facts. He has not given up on you. Give him the pieces of your life.”

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There is a way out of even the most difficult predicament. With hard work and with God’s help, there is always hope.  

From what mistakes have you learned something that made you change what you do? How important is it to have good friends? Tell us what you think. You can leave a comment on our website. You can also find us on YouTube, Facebook, TikTok, Bluesky and X. You can also get our programs delivered directly to your Android or Apple device through our free official Spotlight English app.

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The writer and the producer of this program are part of the Spotlight team. The voices you heard were from the United Kingdom. All quotes were adapted for this program and voiced by Spotlight. You can listen to this program again, and read it, on the internet at www.radioenglish.net. This program is called, ‘The Predicament Question.’

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We hope you can join us again for the next Spotlight program. Goodbye.

Questions: From what mistakes have you learned something that made you change what you do? How important is it to have good friends?