This crazy world…
Well, I guess it just goes to show folks that sometimes, you just never can tell. Without any obsequious, attention seeking, self-appointed publicity agents, I have already gotten an unexpectedly prolific burst of initial responses to this, my experiment with the blogosphere. The majority of them have been through e-mail rather than here on the site, but I thank those who have taken the time to respond thus far. It is even illuminating to get input from those who just don’t “get it”…I learn a lot from you as well. Thanks!
I WAS going to express a rather controversial opinion on gospel music…and challenge a long-held belief…but I’m not up to typing it tonight, so I’ll save it for another day.
Today, I have had cause to reflect on the general angry tone I see around me in society. Political opponents of our President try to create non-stories about things he is alleged to do, for seemingly no other reason than personal dislike and disgust. It’s one thing to oppose someone philosophically, but the personal tone of the criticism has seemingly taken on a new level of invective that I can’t recall having witnessed in my relatively young life.
In the workplace, deadline and performance pressures cause people there to nearly come unglued over the least little annoyance…that’s one thing I have been guilty of more times than I care to admit. Sometimes people become so jumpy, it’s amazing that any kind of productivity occurs at all. It’s as though one cannot simply relax and ENJOY what they do anymore..and one’s work ought to be enjoyed.
And even in contact over the internet(e-mail, chat rooms, message boards, etc.), things can get a little testy. Since there is no eye contact or physical expression to lend certainty to one’s expressed thoughts, sometimes false conclusions can arise from reading things into what’s said that aren’t necessarily there, but exist solely in the mind of the reader or the conversational partner. Then, of course, the scene repeats itself…feelings get hurt, egos get bruised, and tempers begin to flare.
And for what? Is any of this THAT important that we must be “on the edge” at all times?
Admittedly, a rhetorical question…but one that not enough of us(myself included)stop to consider before letting fly with toxic reactions.
“As a man thinketh in his heart, so is he.”(Proverbs 23:7) This oft-quoted Biblical reference is a sobering reminder that far from saying when we lapse into these emotional synapses, “Oh, wait! That’s not me…that’s not what I meant!” that that indeed is what we are at that given moment. Just as many current Democrat party leaders truly resent our President, and just as many of us don’t like our set routines disturbed in the workplace, so many of us fall victim to our base natures when we are triggered by stimuli of our own imagination that cause us to react in ways we are justifiably ashamed of doing.
What do we do then? Look inside…or outside ourselves? While there is a certain amount of merit to being able to look within our natures, and face our true feelings…this is only a partial means of dealing with our endemic problems. “Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy-laden, and I will give you rest.”(Matthew 11:28) These words attributed to Jesus are the real means to deal with things in life that we seemingly can’t deal with on our own. When Jesus’ disciples abandoned themselves and allowed Jesus to tend to their needs, their needs and wants were met. And though I can’t verify it firsthand, I would imagine that they didn’t feel the need to be stressful and angry about their circumstances, either.
There likely have been as many ways that people have tried to deal with life situations as there have been people…yet, I don’t think any way has been attempted and been proven more effective than abiding in Jesus, the Christ of God.
I don’t know about you, but pragmatic me says don’t knock or buck a system that works…and has for centuries.
Posted on Mar 21, 2006 - 07:46 PM | [0]
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