Denial is not just a River…
May 30th, 2008 by ljkim
Here’s something to meditate on at the end of a short week: There are religions that say “just let go” of the things that bother or scare or affect you in some way – Be happy by not admitting you’re sad. Be kind by not admitting when you’re pissed off. Be at peace by not admitting you’re worried…And many people think that’s what Christianity is about, but the Bible’s advice to this is “DON’T DO IT!” Jesus’ word for this kind of religion was “hypocrisy” (from the Greek word for “acting”). It results in people acting like robots with repressed emotions and passive aggressive behavior…
Of course the other alternative isn’t recommended either…’Letting it all out – all the time’ isn’t the solution either… But the Bible has a better way. We need to remember the paradox…that the way to getting really strong requires you to feel weak. This is literally true sometimes: after a long workout you don’t FEEL strong, but you are actually getting stronger… In the same way getting inner peace can come at the end of a lot of worried prayer… Loving enemies requires admitting you can’t stand the person (acknowledging they are “enemies” and realizing how God treated us when we were enemies of God). Getting wisdom and insight can require feeling really really stupid (at first). It’s only through the dark realizations that lead us to repentance that the morning comes…
Socrates taught that you can only become wise if you admit how little you know (he claimed he knew nothing)… St. Paul said that when he is weak (really weak), then he is strong (really strong). The only reason many people never see the light is that they can’t admit that they’re in the dark…
(About the photo: Omar meditating on funny thoughts).
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