Life Is Fragile

Very rarely am I at a loss for words, but over the past week I have truly been speechless.  The senselessness of the shootings in Aurora, Colorado have left me pondering on the fragility of life and whether we are safe anywhere.  As optimistic as I am, it pains me to think of the frequency of these mass murders which seem to take place every time we listen to the news.  My heart bled when I heard the stories of some survivors and how they watched others die beside them. What is the lesson for us who are left behind?  I don’t know which lessons you have gleaned, however, I will attempt to list the ones I have learned below:

·         Life is fragile so handle with prayer.  Every time you leave your home may be the last time you walk through those doors, so pray that God’s presence be with you.

·         Tell your loved ones how much you love them.  Yes, this may seem mushy, but let them know how much you appreciate them (even the teenagers who don’t want to show affection) and often – because if you’re taken from them unexpectedly, they know how much you loved them.

·         Treat others with kindness.  When we are kind to others, we acknowledge them as being worthy of respect and also God’s handiwork.  It may be your last opportunity to do so.

All in all, nobody wins in a situation like this.  The alleged murderer and his family feel as much pain as the victims and their families.  It has been said that hurt people hurt other people, and it is my prayer that we are able to help some hurt people heal whenever the opportunity presents itself. 

I was just thinking . . .

We've Lost that Loving Feeling

This is an election year in the USA and as political pundits and candidates take to the airwaves to convince the electorate, I am saddened by the vitriol with which the messages are delivered.

Alfred Adler’s Individual Psychology Theory postulates that people are born with weak, inferior bodies which cause them to have feelings of inferiority, thus making them dependent on others. He also suggests that a feeling of unity with others (social interest) is innate, and as such is the summit for psychological health. In an effort to protect the human’s fragile self-esteem (emanating from the feelings of inferiority), Adler believed that people developed patterns of coping or Safeguarding Techniques.

On the surface, Adler’s theory appears to compare favorably with Christianity on two levels:

·       The sense of community – as seen throughout the Bible, a sense of community – social feeling/community feeling (gemeinschaftsgefuhl) is very important. The early church is a perfect example of this, the book of Acts states that the believers assembled together for prayer and fellowship. We also know that they sold their goods and shared the proceeds.

·       The search for perfection – his teleology stresses that future goals motivate present behavior. Although the Bible does not teach that Christ’s followers can become perfect, it does however, embrace striving for improved relationships with God and fellow believers. Paul says it best in Philippians 3:13-14; the goal being not perfection, but the prize of the upward call of God in Christ.

However, if we want to continue calling ourselves a Christian nation, then the way in which we treat the least among us is in need of an overhaul.  It appears to me that even as one possesses great wealth one can still possess a fragile self-esteem with a penchant to demean others.  It is sad that our public discourse cannot be on a level where we can respectfully disagree without name calling and deprecation.  As the Righteous Brothers sang years ago, “You’ve [We’ve] lost that loving feeling.” 

As a Christian nation, let’s try to regain that loving feeling before it’s gone.  We can do this by reinstating that sense of community and searching for a more ‘perfect’ way to hold our public discourse as we strive for a better nation.

I’m just thinking . . . have we really lost that loving feeling?