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Pain, Pain, Go Away
Bubba Garner
I was driving down I-45 when it
happened. An unfamiliar, orange-colored light appeared between the oil and temperature gauges. In horror, I read the dreaded
words on the dash—“Check Engine.” I didn’t know what it meant, I just knew it was going to be expensive.
The mechanic looked the car over, tested all the systems on his computer, but couldn’t find anything. When I got in
to drive home, I asked why the “Check Engine” light was off. “I disconnected it,” he said. “It’s
fixed.” A lot of people are “fixing”
their problems the same way. When we feel the pains of conscience or some other spiritual discomfort, we would rather eliminate
the symptom than find the source. Pain, just the “Check Engine” light, is an indicator that something is not right.
And sometimes we think that as long as we cover it up, disposing of the messenger, we have treated the problem. But in fact,
all we end up doing is intensifying the pain. Pay
less attention to prayer. How do we think that’s going to help? Yet, when we are burdened and feel the signal that something’s
wrong, we assume that leaving the Lord out of the loop will somehow make things better. Someone who is really struggling,
who has not been attending the services will tell you, “well, I’ve got a lot of things I’ve got to work
on in my life and when I get those settled, I’ll come back to the Lord.” They’ve got it backwards. You can’t
get it straightened out without Him. And when you turn everything over to Him, He’s the One who makes the pain manageable
because you see that it actually has a purpose in your life. I’m afraid that many of us don’t believe in the power
of answered prayer because we’re not praying. He who kneels before God can withstand any pain. Don’t worry with worship. That’s an easy fix, too. Because if you’re not praying,
what’s the point of worshiping? We often neglect the worship service because we don’t “get anything out
of it.” The song leaders never lead any of our favorite songs. The prayers are long and a waste of time because they
don’t include anyone in our family. The preacher’s subject doesn’t fit our mood or our schedule for that
matter. Where is the concern to give to God what is His? Before we think about what we can get out of it, let’s be certain
we have put something into it that has been pleasing in His sight. When that is our concentration and focus, we will derive
certain benefits from worship that will help prepare us for heaven. A place where there is no longer any pain (Rev. 21:4). Isolate rather than assimilate. I once heard about a weatherman
who was reporting during a heavy snowstorm. He noticed that the trees that were clustered together were not breaking under
the weight of the snow. “They lean on each other,” he said. You want to know why it’s important for us to
stay together? Consider the trees. But how can we “bear one another’s burdens” (Gal. 6:2), when we don’t
know what each other’s burdens are? Or when we don’t use what we’ve learned about our pain to help someone
who is experiencing the same sufferings? We need one another. Don’t think it makes you brave and strong to try to face
your problems by yourself. All it does is leave you out in the cold. Someone has said, “Pain makes us think. Thinking makes us wise. Wisdom makes us profitable.”
Be willing to reach down and help someone up. But be just as willing to reach up when you think you’re beyond all help.
And keep looking to Jesus who promised rest to all who are weary and heavy-laden (Matt. 11:28-30). There’s no better
way to spell relief.
http://www.folsomchurch.com
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From the mail:
I wish I did not suffer from Co-dependency. I wish I did not suffer
from depression. I wish I had not experienced the 'darkness of despair' that caused me to attempt suicide. I wish
I did not obsess over being liked and my work accepted by brethren. I wish I could transfer my intellectual knowledge of God's
loving care to my emotional anxiety over the future.
Most of all, I wish I could tell brethren my story without
the fear of being ostracized as if I were unfit to be numbered among the faithful.
1st response: Rational Thinking
Thank you so much for writing. There are several things you
mentioned that I would like to comment on and I'm going to do so in a general sense to all who may be having similar inner
struggles. As I stated at the top of the page, it is best if I don't answer too personally as I'm not sure all you
are dealing with and I wouldn't want to do more harm than good. Please, dear readers, take what is helpful, but if what
I say doesn't apply to you, then please don't take it personal as I realize there is much about all of your lives
I am ignorant of. Feel free to respond to anything I write. My heart goes out to all of you as I've known inner pain.
-Pat
The following are some things in the note above that I would
like to comment on for all who may be having similar inner struggles.
- Sharing personal pain with the brethren:
The writer said, "Most of all, I wish I could tell brethren my story without the fear
of being ostracized as if I were unfit to be numbered among the faithful." (My disclaimer: Because I don't
know who you are and your own personal history, I am going to respond to this on face value of what you wrote. If there are
any other problems you have in regard to the church, that I am unaware of, this doesn't apply.) I agree, from my own experience,
there are quite a few Christians who make it difficult to share emotional problems and inner struggles. This is such a shame
because God wants us to be able to go to each other and edify one another. These same Christians will speak out against psychologists
and emphatically state that Christians have no business going to these "ungodly" men and women, but at the
same time, will not make themselves available to listen to others who are in great need of empathy and helpful advice. I have found, however, there are other Christians who want to help; some have the wisdom and others
don't know what to say but they will give a big warm hug and tell you they will put you in their prayers. Both are
needed! It's important for you to not give up on Christians because you've
had some bad responses. Learn who you can share your thoughts and feelings with and rather than feeling anger towards the
others, just chalk it up to ignorance.
- "I wish I could transfer my intellectual knowledge
of God's loving care to my emotional anxiety."
For right now, I left off the "anxiety about the future."
We'll talk about that later. This statement you made is so important for we are to gain intellectual
knowledge of God's loving care, using this knowledge in discretion and wisdom, acting on what we know, and placing
this knowledge on top of fleshly desires and emotions, thus creating proper responses, whether in action or thought. Intellectual knowledge is indeed what we need and that is going to be what saves us
from ourselves. Frankly too much emphasis is placed on how we feel and not enough emphasis on what we know. It is knowledge
that prompts the right thoughts and actions and when proper reactions occur, that will take care of the negative emotions
that lead to worry and despair.
There are two
kinds of knowledge: (1) Knowing facts and (2) A working knowledge. The first one does no good. The second has
great power but only if there is true belief in the power. There are three
kinds of "feeling" I would like us to think about: (1) Feelings that are produced as a response to
outside stimulus, (2) Feelings that are produced from our own thoughts, whether those thoughts are accurate or unreasonable
and (3) Feelings based on intellectual reasoning of Truth. The first is automatic and most often out of our control. The
second is the outcome of our attitude and beliefs. The third is rational and controlled. It is this one we must exercise
in order to gain discretion of which feelings are acceptable and which must be controlled. On the chronic illness page there is an article on the power of the word of God that I would like to be read with
this article. God's word is our foundation of rational thinking which will help us to control our irrational thoughts
and feelings. Rational Thinking:
Rational
thinking is proper exercise of the mind; thinking that is consistent with known facts refers to logic or reasoning
being involved in the thought process. It refers to providing reasons or rational behind thoughts or ideas. It adds an element
of calculation and planning to a stream of thoughts rather then basing them on emotion or personal opinion. Rational thinking is going to be what changes us
and this is what we are going to be talking about in the next few issues. When negative thoughts and emotions come, we need
to allow our intellectual knowledge of God's word and the simple logic of reality to examine our thoughts and feelings
Rational thinking (intellectual knowledge)
also produces understanding of God's loving care and that is what will transfer our knowledge of God's love into our
life and into our ability to love life, love others, and love ourselves. We need to think rationally about love
and the way to do that is to grow in knowledge of God's love and how He wants us to think and act. Let's read our
Bible and concentrate on teaching ourselves the academics of love. Let's look at the Word of God afresh and learn what
love is, even making a list of what we read, if desired. I know it may sound lifeless to just concentrate on the academics
of love, but what it is doing is laying down a good foundation to build on.
I will continue to talk about love next
month because many emotional problems Christian women have is a misunderstanding of what love is and they feel a great
emptiness because they aren't feeling what they think love should produce in them. They worry so much about the phrase,
"You must love yourself before you can love others," that they remain in depression because they don't know
how to love themselves, therefore it's impossible to love others...therefore it's impossible to love life. Forget
all that. That is one of those catchy phrases society has come up with that gives no direction and only burdens the individual
with confusion and even more self-loathing because she doesn't know where to begin to start loving self.
"YOU CAN'T LOVE
OTHERS UNTIL YOU LOVE YOURSELF." Pat
Gates
Barbara
De Angelis who writes self-help books as well as lectures gives us the following quotes:
“Women
need real moments of solitude and self-reflection to balance out how much of ourselves we give away.” “We
need to find the courage to say NO to the things and people that are not serving us if we want to rediscover ourselves and
live our lives with authenticity.” “If you aren't good at loving yourself, you will
have a difficult time loving anyone, since you'll resent the time and energy you give another person that you aren't
even giving to yourself.” “Love yourself,
for if you don't, how can you expect anybody else to love you?"
On the surface Ms De Angelis' suggestions may
sound good to a woman who lives with depression and a lack of self-worth: (1) We can't keep giving to others without an
equal amount of giving to self, (2) If others don't appreciate what we give to them or mistreat us in anyway, it's
self-abasement to keep giving to them, (3) And most of all, it is impossible to love others if we don't love ourselves.What
a relief we don't have to feel guilty about separating ourselves from others, after all we're still learning to love
ourselves! A woman who takes Ms De Angelis' suggestions
to heart will look for ways to treat herself better and spend more time and perhaps money on herself. She will no longer waste
her time and energy for those who don't deserve it for she believes this will help her in learning self-love.
In the meantime there's no need to even try to love others until she learns to love herself because it's impossible
to do so. And what will be the end result of a depressed woman who follows Ms De
Angelis' doctrine? At the beginning this advice seems to work because it is a temporary distraction in the false
sense she is actively doing something to alleviate her depression. She believes if she keeps trying new ways to please
herself maybe she'll find that elusive trait of self-love. However, in the end she will not love herself, nor will she
love others; as a matter of fact, she will be more depressed than ever because this selfish, worldly advice doesn't work.
This creates more desperate feelings of failure because the woman failed to learn to love herself, therefore, she feels there
is no hope for happiness, no hope for love towards self and others. [Selfish
thinking and actions do not equal self-love. It equals selfishness.] Ms
De Angelis' advice will never work. How can I say that with such conviction? Because God has given us "all things
that pertain to life and godliness" and Ms De Angelis' ideas on love are non-existent in the Bible. There is no definition
of love outside God's word; there is no self-worth or even loving others outside God. God is love; anything beyond this
is man-made and is good for nothing. Worldly people may teach some ideas of love that are correct but it is only because they
happen to repeat what God has already told us, however, Ms De Angelis' suggestions are not found in scripture therefore
I can say with all conviction, they are wrong and will be harmful to the individual.
LOGICAL THINKING? GODLY THINKING?
"You can't love others until
you love yourself." "I don't love myself so it's impossible to love others therefore I am worthless
to myself and to others."
Then one of the scribes came, and having heard them reasoning together, perceiving that He had answered them well,
asked Him, “Which is the first commandment of all?”
Jesus answered him, “The
first of all the commandments is: ‘Hear, O Israel, the LORD our God, the LORD is one. And you shall love the LORD your
God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ This is the
first commandment. And the second, like it, is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There
is no other commandment greater than these.”
So the scribe said to Him, “Well said,
Teacher. You have spoken the truth, for there is one God, and there is no other but He. And to love Him with all the heart,
with all the understanding, with all the soul, and with all the strength, and to love one’s neighbor as oneself,
is more than all the whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.”
Now when Jesus saw that he
answered wisely, He said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” Mark 12:28-34
After reading this passage some may say, "Aha!
See, Jesus is saying you can't love others until you love yourself because we are suppose to love others as
ourselves." They create 3 commandments from a verse that contains only two: I. Love the Lord your God. 2. Love others 3. You can't
love others until after you love yourself. (?)
That 3rd
statement is not commanded in that verse, nor any verse in the Bible. Jesus is not responding to man's dysfunctional
thoughts about love and we should never interpret scriptures according to our own irrational thoughts. Jesus is quoting
a command that speaks to how great the commandment is to love one another. It is coupled with loving God with all our mind,
soul, and strength. The command to love
others as ourselves speaks in terms of the natural, rational love of self that includes: ♦ How we value ourselves. We take care of our needs and we place value on our physical and spiritual life. ♦ We want others to treat us with value and to have our physical and spiritual needs recognized
and acted upon. ♦ We love ourselves unconditionally, even after mistakes
in judgment concerning ourselves and others. In the sense Jesus
is talking about, most people do love themselves. They may interpret dissatisfaction with self as a lack of love for
themselves, but that is not the case in that they will still care for their needs and place value on their life and on
their soul. Jesus is addressing how important loving others is; He is not addressing a lack of self-love or a lack of
self-confidence. He is saying we must love others in the same way as we value our own bodies and souls, wanting the best for
ourselves. Even the most depressed among us wants the best for herself. If one believes that 3rd commandment does exist
(you can't love others until after you learn to love yourself),
does that mean she is excused from loving others if she doesn't love herself? Of course not; that erroneous belief is
not from the mind of God.
We should
never interpret scriptures according to our own emotional and spiritual dysfunctions.
God is love. Love is a creation of God. The true definition of love. You must believe with all your heart God's way is Truth. You can not practice
the truth of God and man's ideas that are not found in the word of God. You will not have good mental, emotional, and
spiritual health if you try and combine any ideas man has about love that conflicts with the word of God.
No man can serve two masters;
for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God
and mammon. Matt. 6:24
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TRUE LOVE
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MANKIND'S DYSFUNCTIONAL IDEAS CONCERNING LOVE
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Does love think on self or on God and others?
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Is love active or passive?
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Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who
loves is born of God and knows God. He who does not love does not know God, for God is love. In this the love of God was manifested
toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him. In this is love, not that
we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved
us, we also ought to love one another. 1 John 4:7-11 1. We know love by the great love God manifested
to us in giving His Son and we need to emulate this love that seeks the good of others.
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Love is what sounds good and makes us feel good. We don't
know love unless we are good to ourselves and love ourselves.
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God & Others 
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Active
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Now behold, one came and said to Him, “Good
Teacher, what good thing shall I do that I may have eternal life?”
So He said to him, “Why do you
call Me good? No one is good but One, that is, God. But if you want to enter into
life, keep the commandments.”
He said to Him, “Which ones?”
Jesus said, “ ‘You
shall not murder,’ ‘You shall not commit adultery,’ ‘You shall not steal,’ ‘You shall
not bear false witness,’ 'Honor your father and your mother,’ and, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’”
The young man said to Him, “All
these things I have kept from my youth. What do I still lack?”
Jesus said to him, “If you want to be perfect,
go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come,
follow Me.” But when the young man heard that saying,
he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions. Matt. 19:16-22 2. Share what you have with others. This verse is not upholding the
idea of "you can't love others if you don't love yourself" but rather has the idea of taking care of the
needs of others just like you do yourself. The young man had deceived himself into thinking he loved his neighbor as himself
but he loved himself more for he did not want to give up his treasures for others. He had false love in self-pleasure and
ignoring the needs of others.
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As a child of God I'm suppose to be wise. I can't touch my IRAs,
bonds, stocks, savings etc. etc. or I won't be able to live the retirement I had planned so wisely. In loving my life
I need to be sure to be able to take care of myself sufficiently in the future or I won't be able to care for anyone,
including myself.
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God & Others
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Active
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He turned toward the woman and said to Simon, "Have you noticed
this woman? When I came into your home, you didn't give me any water so I could wash my feet. But she has washed my feet
with her tears and dried them with her hair. You didn't greet me with a kiss, but from the time I came in, she has not
stopped kissing my feet. You didn't even pour olive oil on my head, but she has poured expensive perfume on my feet. So I tell you that all her sins are forgiven, and that is why she has shown great love. But anyone who has
been forgiven for only a little will show only a little love." Then Jesus said to the woman, "Your sins are
forgiven."Luke 7:44-48 This passage is taken from the story of the woman, who
was a sinner, who washed Jesus' feet with her tears and dried his feet with her hair. Jesus isn't saying that people
who sin less or have "minor" sins often won't and can't recognize the great gift of forgiveness (all sin is
major and will separate us from God); rather, He is speaking to the attitude of humbleness in that this woman humbly
recognized her great sin and appreciated the Lord's mercy towards her. 3. Love meditates, understands, and appreciates the mercy, forgiveness, and salvation we have in Christ.
Love is a humble attitude that recognizes the great love that our Lord has given us, when we are so undeserving.
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Man's idea of the love of God is that He overlooks most sins and it's
only the "big" sins that we need to repent of. This idea prohibits humbleness and limits our love for God's
great mercy we have in Christ. When our love is limited, our heart hardens and if our love and appreciation towards God is
limited, so it will be with mankind.
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God & Others
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Active in meditation
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And behold, a certain lawyer stood up and tested Him, saying,
“Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?”
He said to him, “What is written in the law? What
is your reading of it?”
So he answered and said, “ ‘You shall love the LORD your God
with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind,’and ‘your neighbor
as yourself.’”
And He said to him, “You have answered rightly; do this and you will live.”
But he, wanting to justify himself, said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” Then Jesus answered and said: “A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves,
who stripped him of his clothing, wounded him, and departed, leaving himhalf dead. Now by chance a certain
priest came down that road. And when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. Likewise a Levite, when he arrived at the
place, came and looked, and passed by on the other side. But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was. And
when he saw him, he had compassion. So he went to himand bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine; and he set
him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him. On the next day, when he departed, he took out two denarii,
gave them to the innkeeper, and said to him, ‘Take care of him; and whatever more you spend, when I come again,
I will repay you.’ So which of these three do you think was neighbor to him who fell among the
thieves?”
And he said, “He who showed mercy on him.”
Then Jesus said to him, “Go
and do likewise.” Luke 10:25-37 4.
Love is showing compassion and mercy to others in giving our heart, attention, time, and sometimes money for the sake of others
even if we have never received anything from them.
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Ms.
De Angelis said, “If you aren't good at loving yourself, you will have a difficult time loving anyone, since you'll
resent the time and energy you give another person that you aren't even giving to yourself.” “We
need to find the courage to say NO to the things and people that are not serving us if we want to rediscover ourselves and
live our lives with authenticity.”
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God & Others
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Active
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"Jesus answered and said to him, “If
anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with
him. He who does not love Me does not keep My words." John 14:23-24a 5. Love obeys our Lord. It's that simple.
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God expects me to love Him, but His unconditional
love does not interpret my love for Him in how many of His laws I follow. As long as I love God in my heart, His love
will accept me as I am. I don't have to do works in order to love God.
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God & Others
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Active
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By this we know love, because He laid down His life for us. And we also
ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. But whoever has this world’s goods, and sees his brother in need,
and shuts up his heart from him, how does the love of God abide in him? My little children, let us not love in word or in
tongue, but in deed and in truth. And by this we know that we are of the truth, and shall assure our hearts before Him. 1
John 3:16-19 6. Love is shown not only in word, but in deed and truth.
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The capacity to love others arises from our capacity to
love ourselves...How can we serve others in love if we don't love ourselves?
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God & Others
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Active
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Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil.
Cling to what is good. Be kindly affectionate to one another with brotherly love, in honor giving preference to one
another; not lagging in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord; rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation, continuing
steadfastly in prayer; distributing to the needs of the saints, given to hospitality. Rom 12:9-13
7. Love seeks truth, righteousness,
and clings to good. Love is beautiful in the sense of its unhypocritical purity. It is being kind, considerate, giving and
fervently serves the Lord in perseverace. It rejoices in hope, continues in prayer, always thinking of the needs of others.
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You must love yourself first. See to your needs first,
be kind to yourself, stand up for yourself and never allow anyone to walk over you.
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God & Others
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Active
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Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does
not parade itself, is not puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; does
not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
Love never fails. 1 Cor. 13:4-8 8. Love puts others first.
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It's fine to love others you don't like, but
don't allow anyone to step on you, misuse you, or expect you to serve them. This is not love as love is doing good for
self and putting self first.
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God & Others
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Active
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“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love
your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, love your enemies, bless
those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, that
you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just
and on the unjust. For if you love those who love you, what reward have you? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? Matt. 5:43-46 Luke 6:27-38 . 9.
Do good to your enemies and pray for them. It's not a matter of self-abasement to do so,
but rather you may be "sons of your Father in heaven." Glorious!
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It is demeaning to ourselves to use our time and energy on people who
mistreat us. We are children of God and we should never allow anyone to mistreat us and if they do, we must separate ourselves
from them in our thoughts and actions. We must always stand up for our rights and if anyone harms us, then we harm back. They
don't deserve us.
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God & Others
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Active
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You will not know love if you think on
self all the time. Some thoughts must be given to self at times and that's just plain common sense, as well as the command
to "examine self to see if we are in the faith." However, love's thoughts extend outward to God and to others
and doesn't spend a great deal of time on thoughts of selfish needs and desires.
When depressed people dwell on the idea "You must
love yourself before you can love others," they immediately determine they don't love themselves because they don't
like what they see in themselves. However, if they truly didn't love themselves, it wouldn't phase them that they see
no good in themselves and want something better. So much emotional and mental time and energy is spent in trying to build
up self esteem and while that seems to help for a little while due to mental activity, it eventually leaves them
empty and worse off than before because continual thoughts on self is not good mental and spiritual health. They will fail
this futile exercise of self-esteem and their love will grow even colder, as there was nothing in their concentration on self
that determined they were anything special. Along with the time spent on trying to learn to love self by concentrating on self-esteem, love for others didn't
grow, therefore, new and better relationships were not gained. If it were true that, "You can't love others until
you love yourself," wouldn't it stand true that those days spent in learning to "love" self that love for
others would just come automatically? The truth is, there is no 3rd commandment from Jesus about loving self. This was not an issue, nor did
it need to be commanded, because Jesus knows if we love God with all our heart and soul and mind and love others, love of
self will not be a concern.
GOD'S THOUGHTS CONCERNING SPENDING TIME LOVING OURSELVES But know this, that in the last days perilous times will
come: For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful,
unholy, unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, traitors, headstrong, haughty,
lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having a form of godliness but denying its power. 2 Timothy 3:1-5 And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold. Matt. 24:12
"When we comprehend God’s love, when we deeply know He loves us, we don't need to focus on loving
ourselves. The more we experience God’s forgiveness and love, the more we think of Him and the less we think
about ourselves. When we are excited and secure in His love for us, the less the idea of finding meaning through loving ourselves
makes sense." -selected
"It’s
easy to act as if you are a weathervane, always changing your beliefs and words, trying to please everyone around you. But
we were born to be lighthouses, not weathervanes."
.
Pleasing
Everyone by Ron Adams .
There is an old Spanish parable about a man, a boy and a donkey. They were all three
walking down a dusty road on a hot summer day. They overheard some passer-by say, "Look at those foolish people walking
when they could be riding." So they both climbed on the donkey.
They had ridden only a short distance when another passer-by exclaimed, "Look at
that poor donkey carrying those two people. Aren't they heartless?" Whereupon the son climbed down from the donkey
and walked beside the father on the donkey.
Then some said, "Look at that inconsiderate man making that poor little boy walk
while he rides." Upon hearing this the father and boy exchanged places and still they had not satisfied the passer-by,
who then said, "Look at that young man riding and that poor old man walking in the heat of the day."
So the boy climbed down. They
tied the feet of the donkey to a pole and proceeded to carry the donkey. Everyone exclaimed, "Look at those foolish people."
.
~~~~~~~~~~~ .
The lesson is obvious, isn't it? We
spend a lot of time worrying about people being pleased about us. We are continually perplexed because we can never please
everybody. Don't try! (Borrowed
from Unknown Source)
.
We should strive to please God and do unto
others as we would have them do unto us and not worry about someone thinking us foolish. There is a lesson here for all of
us. We will be happier if we learn it. .
~~~~~~~~~~~~ .
The apostle Paul wrote to the Corinthian church: "But to me it is a very small thing that I should
be examined by you, or by any human court; in fact, I do not even examine myself. For I am conscious of nothing against myself,
yet I am not by this acquitted; but the one who examines me is the Lord." 1 Corinthians 4:3-4
 If I Gained The World
by
unknown author
"If I gained the world, but lost my Savior,
Would my life be worth living for a day?
Could my yearning heart find rest and comfort
In the things that soon must pass away?
If I gained the world,
but lost my Savior,
Would my gain be worth the life-long strife?
Is any earthly pleasure worth comparing
To
a moment of a Christ-filled life?
Had I wealth and love in fullest measure,
And a name revered both far and
near,
Yet no hope beyond, no harbor waiting,
Where my storm-tossed vessel I could steer;
If I gained
the world, but lost my Savior,
Who endured the Cross and died for me,
Could then all the world afford a refuge,
Whither, in my anguish, I might flee?
Oh, what emptiness! - without the Savior
Mid the sins and sorrows
here below!
And eternity, how dark without Him!
Only night and tears and endless woe!
What, tho' I might
live without my Savior,
When I come to die, how would it be?
Oh, to face the valley's gloom without Him!
And
without Him all eternity!
Oh, the joy of having all of Jesus!
What a balm the broken heart to heal!
Ne'er
a sin so great but He'll forgive it,
Nor a sorrow He does not feel.
If I have but Jesus, only Jesus,
Nothing
else in all the world beside -
Oh, then everything is mine in Jesus;
For my needs and more He will provide."
"For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? Or what shall a man
give in exchange for his soul?"
(Mark 8:36-37).
. , Was king Nebuchadnezzar mentally ill? (Question from mail; Response by Pat Gates)
Daniel 4 Chop down the tree and cut off its branches,
Strip off its leaves and scatter its fruit.
Let the beasts get out from under it,
And the birds from
its branches.
Nevertheless leave the stump and roots in the earth,
Bound with a band of iron
and bronze,
In the tender grass of the field.
Let it be wet with the dew of heaven,
And let
him graze with the beasts
On the grass of the earth.
Let his
heart be changed from that of a man,
Let him be given the heart of a beast,
And let seven times
pass over him. (vss 14-16) All this came upon King Nebuchadnezzar. At the end of the twelve months he was walking about the
royal palace of Babylon. The king spoke, saying, “Is not this great Babylon, that I have built for a royal dwelling
by my mighty power and for the honor of my majesty?” While the word was still in the king’s mouth, a voice fell from heaven: “King Nebuchadnezzar,
to you it is spoken: the kingdom has departed from you! And they shall drive you from men, and your dwelling shall be
with the beasts of the field. They shall make you eat grass like oxen; and seven times shall pass over you, until you know
that the Most High rules in the kingdom of men, and gives it to whomever He chooses.” That very hour the word was fulfilled concerning Nebuchadnezzar; he was
driven from men and ate grass like oxen; his body was wet with the dew of heaven till his hair had grown like eagles’
feathers and his nails like birds’ claws. (vss. 28-33)
The definition of mental illness is: Any
of various psychiatric conditions, usually characterized by impairment of an individual's normal cognitive, emotional, or
behavioral functioning, and caused by physiological or psychosocial factors (The Free Dictionary). I believe
Nebuchadnezzar had changes in his cognition and behavior he was not able to control. He was "given the heart of a beast."
Does that mean he believed himself to be a animal or does it mean normal mental function was disrupted in such a
way he either acted wild like an animal or he just couldn't mentally function in all ways that a normal man
would? I don't know. Whether God gave him or allowed him to have a known mental disorder such as Zoanthropy, I'm
not sure. Zoanthropy is a psychosis where the person believes themselves to be an animal and will act in ways an animal
would act. Because of Nebuchadnezzar's pride, Zoanthropy would be a fitting punishment to show him he was just
a created being dependent upon the God of heaven; until he acknowledged "that the Most High rules in the kingdom of men,
and gives it to whomsoever He wills. I do know that at "the end of the days" or throughout the entire time, he knew
he wasn't acting normally and/or knew he wasn't being treated by others as a king with power and sanity, otherwise
this would not have been a lesson in the greatness of God and the lowliness of man. Nebuchadnezzar knew enough
at the end of the days or remembered enough to "raise his eyes toward heaven" and acknowledge the Almighty Creator.
In turn, he regained his normal mental reasoning. And
at the end of the time I, Nebuchadnezzar, lifted my eyes to heaven, and my understanding returned to me; and I blessed the
Most High and praised and honored Him who lives forever:
For His dominion is
an everlasting dominion,
And His kingdom is from generation to generation.
All the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing;
He
does according to His will in the army of heaven
And among the inhabitants
of the earth.
No one can restrain His hand
Or
say to Him, “What have You done?” At
the same time my reason returned to me, and for the glory of my kingdom, my honor and splendor returned to me. (vss 34-36) Some have doubted he had mental
illness because he would never be accepted back to the throne, however, there are good explanations for this. First
of all, nothing is impossible for God. If God wanted Nebuchadnezzar back as king, which evidently He did, he had the
power to do so. Also, the Babylonian kingdom was at its peak under the reign of Nebuchadnezzar. He had built an
extraordinary empire as well as a beautiful city. The Babylonians were advanced in their literature, science, and medicine. People
want a strong leader and perhaps no one equaled Nebuchadnezzar in their eyes. Another possibility as to why Nebuchadnezzar was
able to regain the throne was that he may have had trustworthy nobles and family who kept his illness secret and preserved
the throne for him. They may have told the people he was gone to war (I don't believe the time was 7 days as it had to
be long enough for his hair and nails to grow long and unkempt.) No matter what Nebuchadnezzar went through, his
conclusion is the main focus: "At the same time my reason returned to me, and for the glory of my kingdom, my
honor and splendor returned to me. My counselors and nobles resorted to me, I was restored to my kingdom, and excellent majesty
was added to me. Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and extol and honor the King of heaven, all of whose works are truth, and His
ways justice. And those who walk in pride He is able to put down." (vss 36-37)
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