Not Let Your Hearts Be Troubled (Updated from 7/12/2014)

 

"Peace I leave with you, my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid... Until now you have not asked for anything in my name. Ask and you will receive, and your joy will be complete."

-- John 14:27 & 16:24

I hear from people every day how angry they are, how hurt they are, how sad they are, how poor they are, how overworked they are, how lonely they are, how God has forsaken them, and the complaints go on.  Yet, they go to bed at night and wake up the next morning having been given the "gift" of another day; perhaps, for some, they choose another day in hell.  And yet, if these complaints were a heartfelt reality, why wake up?  Why abuse the gift given to you by wasting it by complaining?  Why endure another pitiful day in a self-imposed hell?  I say "self-imposed" because life is all about making choices and living with the consequences.  If you live in "hell" it, therefore, must be your choice to do so.

When you were born, life was gifted to you.  This gift was reality; the only true reality.  Awareness of the world around you allowed you to make choices that replaced this true reality with your own "created" reality.  Your "created" reality has thrown the one true reality out of balance.  The further out of balance this reality becomes, the more misery is felt, to the point that our misery begins to affect the true reality of others, and so on, and so on.  But, we have the ability to end this cycle, or at least mitigate the damage.  While Christ lived, and before He died, He gave us yet another gift; a chance to bring our reality back into balance.

He came, He lived, and He showed us the path.  He endured more than any of us could imagine prior to his death, yet in those final minutes, he still forgave mankind.  With everything we think we endure in this life, we still wake up the next morning with a fresh chance to make our lives right; to put our reality back in balance.

"Peace I leave with you, my peace I give you."  Unconditional peace and love, brought by Christ from God, for all mankind; a peace which is free for you to enjoy, as long as you make good choices.

"Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid."  To what end are your troubles and fear?  It will gain you nothing to worry over that which you have no control.  If it affects you so much, ask for peace in His name "and you will receive, and your joy will be complete."  Or, you can continue to wallow in self-pity wondering each morning why God has forsaken you by making you wake up to another miserable day in your self-imposed hell.  

Why would God do this to you?  You wake up every morning and, yet, you don't really wake up.  Every morning God gives you another chance to understand and, like many, you remain in a near-vegetative state, constantly ignoring lessons in favor of whining and complaining about your misery.  Does it compare to the misery Christ endured for you?  I think not.  If you truly think this, then consider going to the garage, getting a 60-penny box nail, driving the nail through your hand with a 4-pound sledgehammer, and then asking yourself if you want to repeat this "lesson" with the other hand.  No?  Then I doubt if your misery comes close to that of the passion of Christ.  Yet, you wake up every morning to endure... what?

We all have to ask ourselves why we are miserable in our lives.  Why do we dread waking up every morning instead of reveling in the paradise we were gifted.  Once we figure out why our "created reality" sucks, we can do something about making it right again.  The point is, it's not someone else making our lives miserable.  If you're looking for someone to blame for all of your ills, look in a mirror.  When the analysis is complete, you will find that the 800-pound gorilla in the room is you.  If you are miserable because of your job, but the job supports your lifestyle, you have a logical choice; change jobs or change the lifestyle.  If you don't want to do either then quit complaining and suck it up, because misery seems to agree with you.

The bottom line is, your heart doesn't need to be troubled.  You are always in control of your own life.  Whatever misery befalls it, is misery you create, so stop creating it!

Maybe it's time to wake up and take control of your life by making better choices, choices that will diminish, or extinguish, all the drama you allow into your life.

As always, this is just my opinion.  Not many will agree with me.  I understand this and never expect much from my detractors.  Personally, I don't think many folks are awake enough to understand or desire to understand, the changes they need to make.  Many will shift the blame on others for their misery, even though it was their own poor choice which set the wheels of misery in motion.  It always seems to be someone else's fault.  I find it a conundrum that we are so afraid of change and yet change is the only constant in the universe.  We encounter changes in our lives daily, yet we fear those changes which can make our lives happier and more fulfilling.  We fear these changes so much that we subconsciously make ourselves ignorant of them.  We need to stop fearing change and learn to embrace it.

Tomorrow morning, ask yourself if you are truly awake, and then take this gift of life and go out to feel the joy of another great day in paradise. It is your life, after all. Stop complaining, and make your life count.  It is a personal choice only you can make.

“The love of wilderness is more than a hunger for what is always beyond reach; it is also an expression of loyalty to the earth, the earth which bore us and sustains us, the only paradise we shall ever know, the only paradise we ever need... if only we had the eyes to see.”

-- Edward Abbey

Editor's Note

(Re: disclaimer cum "get out of jail free" card)

Before you go getting your panties in a bunch - it is essential to understand that this is just an opinion site and, as such, can be subjected to scrutiny by anyone with a differing opinion. It doesn't make either view any more right or wrong than the other. Opinion, presented in this context, is a way of inciting others to think and, hopefully, to form their own opinions, if they haven't already done so. This is also why, occasionally, I will present an "opinion" just to stir an emotional pot. Where it may sound like I agree with the statements made, I'm more interested in getting others to consider an alternate viewpoint.

I fervently hope that we keep open and active minds when reading opinions, and while engaging in peaceful and constructive discussion, in an arena of mutual respect, concerning those opinions offered. After twenty-three years of military intelligence, I have come to believe that engaging each other in this manner, and in this arena, is a way we will learn tolerance and respect for differing beliefs, cultures, and viewpoints.

We all fall from grace, some more often than others; it is part of being human. God's test for us is what we learn from the experience... and what we do afterward.

Pastor Tony spent 22 years with United States Air Force Intelligence as a planner, analyst, briefer, instructor, and senior manager. Following his service career, he spent 17 years working with the premier and world-renowned Western Institutional Review Board, helping to protect the rights of human subjects involved in pharmaceutical research. He also served 8 years on the Board of Directors for the Angela J. Bowen Foundation.

Ordained 1n 2013 as an "interfaith" minister, he founded the Congregation for Religious Tolerance in response to intolerance shown by Christians toward peaceful Islam. As a weapon for his war on intolerance... he chose the pen. He wages his "battle" in the guise of the Congregation's official online blog, The Path, of which he is both author and editor. "The Path" offers a vehicle for commentary and guidance concerning one's personal, spiritual path toward peace and the final destination for us all. He resides in Pass Christian, Mississippi, where he volunteered as the lead chaplain at a regional medical center.

Feel free to contact Pastor Tony at: tolerantpastor@gmail.com