WEBVTT

1
00:00:03.160 --> 00:00:06.719
<v Speaker 1>Welcome to Spotlight Advanced. I'm Marina Sante.

2
00:00:07.160 --> 00:00:13.160
<v Speaker 2>And I'm Colin Lava. Spotlight uses a special English method

3
00:00:13.320 --> 00:00:18.480
<v Speaker 2>of broadcasting. It is easier for people to understand no

4
00:00:18.640 --> 00:00:21.079
<v Speaker 2>matter where in the world they live.

5
00:00:28.280 --> 00:00:32.320
<v Speaker 3>I made big mistakes before, but never this big, and

6
00:00:32.520 --> 00:00:34.840
<v Speaker 3>I never regretted anything I did before.

7
00:00:35.759 --> 00:00:40.039
<v Speaker 1>Derek looked at the jail walls surrounding him. He put

8
00:00:40.119 --> 00:00:43.079
<v Speaker 1>his head in his hands. How did he get into

9
00:00:43.119 --> 00:00:44.000
<v Speaker 1>this predicament?

10
00:00:46.399 --> 00:00:51.359
<v Speaker 2>Have you ever been in a predicament, a bad situation?

11
00:00:52.320 --> 00:00:57.399
<v Speaker 2>Have you asked yourself? How did I get here? People

12
00:00:57.560 --> 00:01:02.600
<v Speaker 2>face difficult situations ever every day, and often they do

13
00:01:02.679 --> 00:01:07.760
<v Speaker 2>not know how it happened. They are in a predicament.

14
00:01:08.879 --> 00:01:14.000
<v Speaker 2>In other Spotlight programs, we looked at Rick Warren's answers

15
00:01:14.040 --> 00:01:19.359
<v Speaker 2>to difficult questions in life. Rick is a famous Christian

16
00:01:19.519 --> 00:01:24.000
<v Speaker 2>leader and advisor. Today we look at some of his

17
00:01:24.319 --> 00:01:29.959
<v Speaker 2>answers to the question how did I get into this predicament?

18
00:01:31.319 --> 00:01:33.799
<v Speaker 2>Here is Derek's story.

19
00:01:35.799 --> 00:01:39.040
<v Speaker 1>Derek was only fourteen years old when he joined a gang,

20
00:01:39.560 --> 00:01:43.040
<v Speaker 1>a group of young people who perform crimes. They may

21
00:01:43.120 --> 00:01:48.400
<v Speaker 1>steal cars, sell drugs, and even hurt other people. Gang

22
00:01:48.439 --> 00:01:53.040
<v Speaker 1>members are often troubled young people, they may feel alone

23
00:01:53.040 --> 00:01:58.200
<v Speaker 1>in life. They want friends. Derek was one of these

24
00:01:58.239 --> 00:02:03.480
<v Speaker 1>young men. The gang became his friends and he felt important.

25
00:02:04.200 --> 00:02:07.959
<v Speaker 1>He felt that he was part of something. However, when

26
00:02:07.959 --> 00:02:10.800
<v Speaker 1>he was sixteen, his life changed completely.

27
00:02:12.120 --> 00:02:16.639
<v Speaker 2>Derek was at a New Year's Eve party. He was

28
00:02:16.759 --> 00:02:21.759
<v Speaker 2>there with his gang members, but an enemy gang was

29
00:02:21.840 --> 00:02:28.639
<v Speaker 2>there too. One of the enemy gang members, Tim, insulted Derek.

30
00:02:29.159 --> 00:02:34.120
<v Speaker 2>Derek felt disrespected, and even worse, it was in front

31
00:02:34.280 --> 00:02:40.159
<v Speaker 2>of his friends. Derek could not accept such a public insult.

32
00:02:40.960 --> 00:02:43.159
<v Speaker 2>He remembers that time.

33
00:02:45.080 --> 00:02:48.240
<v Speaker 3>My friends looked at me. I pulled the gun from

34
00:02:48.360 --> 00:02:52.599
<v Speaker 3>under my clothes and Tim froze. He did not move.

35
00:02:53.800 --> 00:02:56.639
<v Speaker 3>I liked the feeling I had. It was a sense

36
00:02:56.680 --> 00:03:00.199
<v Speaker 3>of power. Tim begged and cried for me not to

37
00:03:00.240 --> 00:03:03.039
<v Speaker 3>shoot him, but I pulled the trigger of the gun.

38
00:03:04.000 --> 00:03:07.639
<v Speaker 3>He fell to the ground and my friends ran away.

39
00:03:08.719 --> 00:03:12.280
<v Speaker 3>Then I understood that they were not really my friends.

40
00:03:13.479 --> 00:03:18.639
<v Speaker 3>I stayed there alone. I waited for the police to arrive.

41
00:03:19.520 --> 00:03:24.080
<v Speaker 3>Then I admitted that I shot Tim. Thankfully, Tim lived.

42
00:03:24.439 --> 00:03:27.280
<v Speaker 3>The bullets missed his heart, so I was sent to

43
00:03:27.400 --> 00:03:29.680
<v Speaker 3>jail for twelve years.

44
00:03:31.319 --> 00:03:35.759
<v Speaker 1>That night changed Derek. He understood that the gang members

45
00:03:35.759 --> 00:03:40.159
<v Speaker 1>were not truly his friends. He was all alone. Derek

46
00:03:40.280 --> 00:03:43.599
<v Speaker 1>was in a bad situation. He was there partly because

47
00:03:43.639 --> 00:03:46.639
<v Speaker 1>of his behavior, and he was there partly because of

48
00:03:46.639 --> 00:03:51.240
<v Speaker 1>his friends. Rick Warren says that friends can be very important.

49
00:03:51.960 --> 00:03:56.080
<v Speaker 1>Everyone needs friends. They can add such joy to life.

50
00:03:56.199 --> 00:04:00.719
<v Speaker 1>They can also offer encouragement during hard times. True friends

51
00:04:00.719 --> 00:04:04.000
<v Speaker 1>are there in good times and in bad times. But

52
00:04:04.080 --> 00:04:07.599
<v Speaker 1>Derek did not find good friends. He found friends who

53
00:04:07.639 --> 00:04:10.479
<v Speaker 1>influenced him to do wrong things, and they did not

54
00:04:10.560 --> 00:04:14.360
<v Speaker 1>stay with him during his most frightening time. They were

55
00:04:14.360 --> 00:04:18.279
<v Speaker 1>not with Derek when the police arrested him. These friends

56
00:04:18.399 --> 00:04:19.480
<v Speaker 1>all ran away.

57
00:04:21.040 --> 00:04:25.759
<v Speaker 2>Rick Warren believes that many people are in bad situations

58
00:04:26.079 --> 00:04:30.839
<v Speaker 2>because of the friends they choose. Bad friends can get

59
00:04:30.879 --> 00:04:32.959
<v Speaker 2>people into predicaments.

60
00:04:33.480 --> 00:04:37.399
<v Speaker 4>He says, we are asking for trouble if we choose

61
00:04:37.439 --> 00:04:41.839
<v Speaker 4>the wrong friends. Wrong values, and wrong ways of thinking

62
00:04:42.079 --> 00:04:43.319
<v Speaker 4>will affect our lives.

63
00:04:44.680 --> 00:04:47.279
<v Speaker 1>Rick believes that there are ways to know if a

64
00:04:47.360 --> 00:04:51.560
<v Speaker 1>friendship is good or bad. He says that bad friendships

65
00:04:51.720 --> 00:04:56.120
<v Speaker 1>make people feel bad. They often find themselves doing things

66
00:04:56.160 --> 00:04:59.480
<v Speaker 1>that they do not want to do. They feel pressure

67
00:04:59.519 --> 00:05:03.079
<v Speaker 1>from their friends to do these things, and these friends

68
00:05:03.199 --> 00:05:06.079
<v Speaker 1>may try to control them through anger or fear.

69
00:05:06.920 --> 00:05:10.920
<v Speaker 4>Rick says the kind of friends you should have will

70
00:05:10.920 --> 00:05:13.800
<v Speaker 4>bring out the best in you. They will lift you up,

71
00:05:14.399 --> 00:05:16.879
<v Speaker 4>encourage you, and make you a better person.

72
00:05:18.240 --> 00:05:22.079
<v Speaker 2>Rick Warren says that another way that people get into

73
00:05:22.279 --> 00:05:29.160
<v Speaker 2>bad situations is by repeating their mistakes. Often, they do

74
00:05:29.199 --> 00:05:33.120
<v Speaker 2>not try to change when they make a mistake, They

75
00:05:33.160 --> 00:05:39.600
<v Speaker 2>continue doing the same things over and over. Derek was

76
00:05:39.639 --> 00:05:44.759
<v Speaker 2>in the gang for two years before he wanted to change.

77
00:05:44.800 --> 00:05:48.920
<v Speaker 2>He did not want to change until the terrible shooting.

78
00:05:49.720 --> 00:05:54.240
<v Speaker 2>That incident made him examine his life.

79
00:05:54.319 --> 00:05:58.000
<v Speaker 3>He said the hardest part about being in jail was

80
00:05:58.040 --> 00:06:01.279
<v Speaker 3>that no one cared. There was no one to tell

81
00:06:01.279 --> 00:06:04.920
<v Speaker 3>me that I needed to change. I had no family.

82
00:06:05.720 --> 00:06:08.680
<v Speaker 3>I sat in jail and kept thinking about my crime.

83
00:06:09.279 --> 00:06:13.959
<v Speaker 3>I deeply regretted it, so I asked God to forgive me.

84
00:06:15.000 --> 00:06:17.480
<v Speaker 3>I asked him to guide me down a different road.

85
00:06:18.439 --> 00:06:22.199
<v Speaker 3>Then I wrote him a letter to apologize, and now

86
00:06:22.319 --> 00:06:26.519
<v Speaker 3>we are friendly. We have both left the gangs. Also,

87
00:06:26.720 --> 00:06:30.199
<v Speaker 3>I started reading in jail and I finished my high

88
00:06:30.240 --> 00:06:35.279
<v Speaker 3>school degree. I made a change. Many people refuse to

89
00:06:35.319 --> 00:06:38.199
<v Speaker 3>admit they need to change.

90
00:06:38.360 --> 00:06:41.879
<v Speaker 1>Rick Warren agrees with Derek. He says that people need

91
00:06:41.920 --> 00:06:43.160
<v Speaker 1>to learn from the past.

92
00:06:44.439 --> 00:06:47.680
<v Speaker 4>We are asking for trouble if we refuse to learn

93
00:06:47.720 --> 00:06:48.879
<v Speaker 4>from our mistakes.

94
00:06:50.759 --> 00:06:55.519
<v Speaker 2>It is not easy to learn from mistakes. Many people

95
00:06:55.720 --> 00:06:59.560
<v Speaker 2>do want to stop what they are doing, but the

96
00:06:59.639 --> 00:07:04.000
<v Speaker 2>problem is that they do not know how. They may

97
00:07:04.160 --> 00:07:09.800
<v Speaker 2>have a physical or emotional dependence on something. For example,

98
00:07:10.279 --> 00:07:15.560
<v Speaker 2>they may be drinking alcohol or taking illegal drugs, and

99
00:07:15.720 --> 00:07:21.639
<v Speaker 2>some people simply cannot stop. For them, it is necessary

100
00:07:21.839 --> 00:07:26.399
<v Speaker 2>to get support. They can get help at treatment centers

101
00:07:26.759 --> 00:07:28.079
<v Speaker 2>and from doctors.

102
00:07:29.279 --> 00:07:33.240
<v Speaker 1>Some people are afraid to ask for help. They feel

103
00:07:33.279 --> 00:07:37.079
<v Speaker 1>that they have failed so many times before. They may

104
00:07:37.160 --> 00:07:40.160
<v Speaker 1>think that it is too late for them. But Rick

105
00:07:40.240 --> 00:07:42.279
<v Speaker 1>says it is never too late.

106
00:07:43.399 --> 00:07:46.879
<v Speaker 4>God can help us when we honestly look at the facts.

107
00:07:47.439 --> 00:07:48.480
<v Speaker 3>He has not given up.

108
00:07:48.399 --> 00:07:52.319
<v Speaker 4>On You give him the pieces of your life.

109
00:07:52.560 --> 00:07:57.079
<v Speaker 2>There is a way out of even the most difficult predicament.

110
00:07:57.720 --> 00:08:05.439
<v Speaker 2>With hard work and with God's help, there is always hope.

111
00:08:07.040 --> 00:08:11.360
<v Speaker 2>From what mistakes, have you learned something that made you

112
00:08:11.639 --> 00:08:16.160
<v Speaker 2>change what you do? How important is it to have

113
00:08:16.439 --> 00:08:21.000
<v Speaker 2>good friends? Tell us what you think. You can leave

114
00:08:21.079 --> 00:08:24.560
<v Speaker 2>a comment on our website. You can also find us

115
00:08:24.800 --> 00:08:30.759
<v Speaker 2>on YouTube, Facebook, TikTok, Blue Sky, and x. You can

116
00:08:30.920 --> 00:08:35.720
<v Speaker 2>also get our programs delivered directly to your Android or

117
00:08:35.840 --> 00:08:41.200
<v Speaker 2>Apple device through our free official Spotlight English app.

118
00:08:42.039 --> 00:08:45.320
<v Speaker 1>The writer and producer of this program a part of

119
00:08:45.360 --> 00:08:49.039
<v Speaker 1>the Spotlight team. The voices you heard were from the

120
00:08:49.159 --> 00:08:53.159
<v Speaker 1>United Kingdom. All quotes were adapted for this program and

121
00:08:53.279 --> 00:08:56.759
<v Speaker 1>voiced by Spotlight. You can listen to this program again

122
00:08:56.840 --> 00:09:01.120
<v Speaker 1>and read it on the Internet at WWLYE dot Radio

123
00:09:01.200 --> 00:09:06.320
<v Speaker 1>English dot net. This program is called The Predicament Question.

124
00:09:07.159 --> 00:09:09.960
<v Speaker 2>We hope you can join us again for the next

125
00:09:10.200 --> 00:09:14.639
<v Speaker 2>Spotlight program. Goodbye,