Wednesday, November 23, 2005
Arriving In The Same Place From Different Directions
Yesterday, the Bluefish looked an a Guardian piece on philospohy and happiness and concluded:
That feelings are important at all is a modern phenonmena. Until just the last century or so, most people were so busy just trying to survive, they had little time to pay attention to their feelings. "Gee, I'm unhappy," doesn't matter much when you and your family will not eat if you don't get busy.
Please don't get me wrong, I am not belittling depression or any other emotional disorder here, but I am saying perspective matters. What we value has a lot to say about what we find depressing and what we don't. Which is what both these guys are saying.
It is hard to be insecure, when your security rests in the God of creation. It is hard to worry when you know that God has your back. It is hard to be afraid of failure, when you know you are powered by the Holy Spirit. It is hard to feel unloved, when you know that Jesus died because He loves you.
It may be simplistic, but I think the treatment for most emotional disorders is the same -- faith. Not blind faith, not unreasonable faith, but faith in the one true God.
As I approach Thanksgiving and the emotional roller coaster that is the holiday season, I want to make sure my roots in Him are firm. Then the emotions of the holidays are not threatening, they are simply part of my life.
True pleasure is found only in Jesus Christ. The purpose of life? Give glory to God by enjoying him. In him is pleasure forevermore (Psalm 16v11).On Monday, Linc Ashby, writing at Common Grounds, looked at whose fault it is.
I'm starting to learn that Jesus loves to raise people up when they're down and out, all the while shooting others down who think they're up and all together. That's the gospel. Jesus always picks the loser on the bottom of the barrell - "he would not even look up to heaven..., 'God have mercy on me, a sinner'" - while pulling the rug out from under well to do citizens - "God, I thank you that I am not like other peopel - robbers, evildoers, adulterers..." It's almost as if Jesus sees things upside down. And it makes me wonder if the closest we will ever be to him might be the moment we feel farthest away. If true, it would be just like him wouldn't it?Feelings are funny things aren't they? We chase them, if we ever catch them, it is most transitory. Both these pieces show us that if there is any hope of "feeling good" consistently, it lies in Jesus, and that maybe Jesus wants us to view our feelings in a way that is entirely different than the world might have us view them.
That feelings are important at all is a modern phenonmena. Until just the last century or so, most people were so busy just trying to survive, they had little time to pay attention to their feelings. "Gee, I'm unhappy," doesn't matter much when you and your family will not eat if you don't get busy.
Please don't get me wrong, I am not belittling depression or any other emotional disorder here, but I am saying perspective matters. What we value has a lot to say about what we find depressing and what we don't. Which is what both these guys are saying.
It is hard to be insecure, when your security rests in the God of creation. It is hard to worry when you know that God has your back. It is hard to be afraid of failure, when you know you are powered by the Holy Spirit. It is hard to feel unloved, when you know that Jesus died because He loves you.
It may be simplistic, but I think the treatment for most emotional disorders is the same -- faith. Not blind faith, not unreasonable faith, but faith in the one true God.
As I approach Thanksgiving and the emotional roller coaster that is the holiday season, I want to make sure my roots in Him are firm. Then the emotions of the holidays are not threatening, they are simply part of my life.
