So without going into much detail I've been particularly frustrated recently. I dont even really no why. My life is awesome and in all honesty its really really hard to stay grumpy for any amount of time simply because their are always fun things that I could be doing...things I often am not willing to participate in like movies, video games ect... So I've been doing alot of thinking, trying to answer this question, "why do I have a lack of peace?" Trying to answer this question gave rise to numerous other questions like, "if I'm a Christian and the God I serve is the Prince of Peace then shouldn't I be at peace all the time?" Am I even a Christian? what exactly does Prince of Peace mean, perhaps, peace is something different and more complicated then merely a calmness of the inner being? All these questions have been pounding through my head day and night, haunting my dreams and making life a chore, doing the things I normally love like talking to friends or playing games with my siblings or eating or praying all proved tiring and so for the past two weeks I've allowed Satan to drag me deeper and deeper in this quagmire of guilt, remorse and self doubt. I think most of you know what sort of quagmire I'm talking about, most of us have experienced it at some point some of us are in the midst of it right now.
It wasn't until this evening that I really allowed God to give me some encouragement. Now the frustration is not gone, it is still terribly real as are all my feelings and as is this quagmire which I still need to work through but I do have some thoughts from my time with God earlier this evening which were helpful, so here they are. I'm putting them in list format to avoid being all confusing and to possibly lessen the prevalence of my grammatical errors.
I. beliefs determine our actions.
II. Our thoughts determine our beliefs
III. actions show us what we believe.
IIII. Our thoughts determine our reactions to feelings.
V. People must make mental effort to control their feelings, not to subdue hide or pretend their not there.
VI. We can not control our circumstances
VII. God can control our circumstances
VIII. Our circumstances are the barrier between allowing us to feel how our thoughts wants us to.
VIIII. To the degree that we can ignore our circumstances is the degree to which our thoughts determine our feelings.
X. God wants us to embrace reality while trusting in Him and so we can not merely abandon the world around us for a sense of spiritual bliss like the Hindu monks
In light of all these random facts which are merely the output of my mind computer not necessarily an insight I had from reading the word, a question is raised. Does God command us to feel particular ways, or does He merely expect us to act certain ways? I think the evidence is very clear that he commands us to feel things. He commands us to love, to be at peace to be humble all of which are at least have some feeling component they are not straight out commands they are more states of being. If God commands us to feel a certain way and yet we cannot control entirely how we feel without forsaking the world and being hermits then doesn't that mean that God commands us to do something we can not do? If this is true then how is that fair, how can God command us to do things we can not do then judge us guilty when we dont do them?
There is the impass at which I found myself and only tonight did God remind me of something I had written alot about in my journal a few months ago, mainly that God commands us all the time to do things we can not. He commands us to be perfect and love your neighbor as ourself and to forsake everything and follow Him these are commands that are entirely impossible to accomplish without His divine intervention. So answering my own question above "does God command us to do things we can not do?" Yes he does and He in His own perfect timing enables us to do just as He pleases. So how is it fair that God asks us to do things we can not do? It isn't
Why does God have to be fair to us He's God and the day He decides to be fair is the day I'd stop calling Him God. Justice is not treating everyone fairly, its treating them according to their worth and ability.
Tell me what you think, where I am wrong? where were my thoughts were misguided by carnal desires or the significant lack of green tea in my diet recently?
Oh I almost forgot, Over The Hills and Far Away by Nightwish is really cool. I've been listening to it all night.
Question: do you consider "fairness" to be the same as treating everyone equally? If so, I would disagree with your definition of the word. I'd say that true fairness is just judgement without bias and impartiality.
ReplyDeleteAlso, I think that it's completely fair of God to ask for perfection in us. After all, He's given us complete forgiveness, purpose in this life, and a hope for the next. At this point, it's "fair" of God to ask anything of us, regardless of how practical or realistic it is. Since He understands the nature of us weak humans, He even provided a way for our perfection to come about - the Holy Spirit. Yes, we won't become perfect in a matter of days. In fact, not even in the course of our whole life. But He did provide a way for us to head our course towards perfection, so I'd say He's still in the "fair" zone.
Other question: did you stay up ridiculously late, or get up rather early? Either way, 5:17 is pushing it.
Sir Madame or Otherwise,
ReplyDeleteI think regardless of my definition of fairness the point of my post would remain unchanged. Of course fairness is not treating everyone absolutely equal, that would be impossible and entirely unhelpful. I think we would both agree that what is fair, is what ought to be; what one deserves, what one earns, what one is worth.
I agree with you that God can ask us whatever He wants and can command us to do anything He wants but their is comfort in the knowledge that He doesn't give us commands that wont help us. Whether we can follow these commands or not means little to God who asks only for the entirety of our being to be devoted to following His commands and after that He is responsible for helping us follow His decrees.
Oh and as for the time its a riddle for anyone who comes to my blog. Theirs a very simple solution and it has nothing to do with hacking into the system and getting it to post whatever time I say. I wasn't up at 5:17 I think I posted this around midnight.
huh. sadly i have just now read this but that Justice definition just hit me. it is really cool. the funny part was that i laughed at the line before and then that just brought it right back. it was really cool :) thanks :)
ReplyDelete