Discussion Jumpstarter
Study leader reference - not a definitive answer
Question 6
The speaker asks, “How would it be to live in a fallen world and face no resistance?” and argues thorns/thistles are a limiting “check” on human evil (with wealthy/powerful people as examples); where do you see “friction” in your own life acting as a restraint on sin, and where do you resent that restraint?
Another way to ask: The speaker says thorns and hardship are “friction” that can limit human evil. Where do you see that kind of resistance in your life keeping you from sin, and where do you most resent it?
Discussion Jumpstarter
Direct Answer
The speaker’s point is that resistance—limits, difficulty, competition—can restrain evil by reducing what fallen humans can easily accomplish. Applied personally, “friction” includes whatever slows you down and forces patience, though we often resent it because it blocks what we want.
- He asks us to imagine the alternative: “How would it be to live in a fallen world and face no resistance?”
- He warns that if humans could do whatever they wished, “our potential to commit evil would be enormous.”
- He uses wealth/power as examples: very wealthy people have “so much more potential to do evil… less resistance,” and “men that have power… get in trouble.”
- He defines the purpose of thorns/thistles: they are “a check limit on the humans who live in this fallen world.”
- He states the benefit: “This friction builds character, patience, and it limits our ability to commit evil.”