Two of the biggest lies to plague mankind


     As I was walking earlier this morning.. talking with God.. I had quite
a time of it.  I found out quite a lot which I had been needing to know..
about life in general.. and my life in specific.. and why I had been
struggling so much with God's love for me and had such troubles
understanding that it truly was love.  As I went through idea after idea..
I seemed to notice something which had inundated society.. and which had
plagued it from probably the very beginning.  These two difficulties seemed
to have popped up in virtually every facet of my own life.. and I am sure
they probably plague yours.  And though they probably seem quite evident to
many of you.. you may not realize just how much they influence your
decisions in every area of your lives.
     The first one is what I call Sensational Irony.  From the time we are
babes.. we learn to equate good things with good sensations.  We grow up
learning that if something is good for us.. then it will guaranteedly feel
good.  And unfortunately.. we also come to the converse conclusion -- that
being that something which feels good is necessarily good for us.  
     Now.. most of us learn quite early on that this is not always the
case.. but we seldom realize just how much this little snippet of
information influences our decisions.. perhaps every decision we ever make.
Granted.. the whole idea of sacrifice.. which many of us know to be a good
and loving decision on the part of the person who makes it, lends us to
believe that sometimes painful circumstances can bring about good.  However,
the problem is that in a lot of areas in this world.. we tend to find
ourselves saying, "How can this be wrong if it feels so good?"  I know I,
myself, have often found this thought bouncing around in my brain.  And
though I don't always find it at the forefront of my thoughts.. upon careful
consideration.. I find that this notion leads me towards the greatest
trouble to ever hit mankind -- that is, of course, sin.
     As we all know.. sin's pleasure is a very real thing.  And due to our
own stubborn heartedness.. we often equate the good feelings we receive
during our sinful-hearted behavior with actual "good" in itself.  We may
find ourselves saying, "Hey.. this can't be that bad.. after all it tastes
mighty good."  But often when I hear that I think of how antifreeze is with
cats and dogs.  They taste it.. they like it.. they'll even drink it.. but
it will kill them if they get enough of it.
     So what are we to do?  How can we get past this little irony which
seems to be implanted in our very existence?  I guess God knew what He was
saying when He told us that the way to life would be narrow and difficult.
After all.. with all that sin out there just waiting for us to open the door
to.. all that pleasure lurking behind every dark corner.. it's a wonder that
any of us will ever make it to eternal life.
     Now on to the second thing God showed me today.  Upon my second walk
today.. God had me thinking on the subject of love.. and what it really was.
And ya know... I think that very few of us really know.  I mean.. Christians
will point to Christ and His work on the Cross and say, "That's love".. but
how deep do we go into that to really understanding what love is?
     In my testimony (also on this homepage) I wrote about my relations with
a girl named Renee.. a girl who accepted me as I was.. and didn't at all
desire any sort of change.. or seem to point me towards one.. and how it
paralleled the church I was going to.. and how they didn't seem to accept me
as I was.. because they were constantly demanding that I change to fit their
lifestyle.
     I must admit that back when I first began my walk with Christ.. back
then when I first was introduced to His call on my life, I was not truly
interested in giving my life to Him.  Rather.. I wanted to give my life to
the right girl and live with her for the rest of my life.
     You see.. Renee had done something no other girl had ever done.  She
had awakened inside me something which had never sprouted before -- a sense
that I was worthwhile.. because she accepted me as I was.. no strings
attached.  And I can't help but say how much I was torn when the church told
me that I shouldn't be with her because she wasn't truly a Christian.
     For years this whole dilemna plagued my brain.  I mean.. what was love?
Was what I got from Renee love?  Or was something else really love?  I
mean.. Renee made me feel so loved.. or at least that's how I felt.. but was
I?
     Eight long years and a number of girlfriends later.. I have learned
something about the essence of true love.  And though many who read this may
not want to hear this.. it's the truth.  Love is not that all encompassing
force which you receive from someone who accepts you as you are and ceases
to go any further.. but love is that which doesn't just accept you as you
are.. but loves you as you are.. and directs you towards being the best
person you can be.
     As most of you would agree (hopefully all of you) if you had a friend..
and that friend was heading for a cliff.. but they couldn't see that cliff..
however you knew about that cliff.. it would be your duty.. out of love.. to
tell them about that cliff.. so they wouldn't end up falling and killing
themselves.  Love is that action which seeks the absolute best for an
individual.  And because it is always seeking the best.. Love will do one
thing which false love will never do -- and that is.. tell the truth.  And
that means.. tell the truth regardless of how much it might hurt the
recipient of that truth.  Now I'm not saying that tact shouldn't be present
in the truth's telling.. but I am saying that in today's society.. we are
often so afraid to hurt others' feelings that we refuse to tell them the
truth which they most need to hear.  Perhaps because they went through a
traumatic experience recently and we figure that telling them things they
don't want to hear will only make things worse.  On the contrary.. if it's
the truth.. and truth which they need to hear.. then though it may bring
pain in its reception.. in the long run, it will make them better off.. for
they heard what they needed to hear.. and hopefully gave it enough thought
and applied it.
     I know that I, myself, do not always appreciate hearing the truth from
my friends.  I know that often, the truth seems a little cold and uncaring..
and painful.. and seems to push me off of my rear end when I'd rather be
sitting on it.  But the Bible is full of incidents where it talks of the
power of dilligence.. and the power of love.. and of course.. the power of
truth.  Frank Peretti's book, "Prophet" has a lot to say about truth.. and
our reaction to it today.  If you haven't read it.. I highly suggest that
you go to your local library and check it out.. or perhaps the bookstore and
buy it if you can afford it.  I can guarantee you that it's a worthwhile
purchase.
     These two lies I have just spoken about seem to go hand in hand.  On
one side.. we have the fact that something which causes pain can often be
the better of two directions.. where the other direction causes no pain.  On
the other side, we have love as being that which may sometimes bring pain to
light in a person.. and not always comforting.  
     I think that America.. and especially the Pacific Northwest is an area
where we have a great deal of trouble with our abilities to see the
importance of what I'm speaking about here.  You see.. in these areas.. we
have grown to exalt comfort beyond its measure.  Due to the climate of the
pacific northwest.. though we tend to get a bit of rain.. the extremes in
temperatures simply aren't there.  We tend to go from 30's to 80's.. and
seldom do we get out of that realm.  And do to this fact.. one can get away
without the difficulties that one might have in other areas where it gets
much warmer or much cooler.  And of course, where one values comfort to an
extreme.. one will most likely devalue the power and utility of pain.
     I remember having a discussion with a friend a number of years back..
about how pain was not a bad thing.  Though my friend simply would not agree
with me, I tried to point out how pain informs us of damage.. and often
helps us to see areas where we need to be fixed.  Though the cause of pain
may not be the most pleasant.. pain, itself, is a very beautiful thing to
have.  For without pain.. we would not know when we were damaged.. and could
easily end up killing ourselves and each other.. without much thought of it.
    Herein lies our quandry.  Why in the world would God unleash us in a
society where we are utterly confused about what love (the most powerful
force in existence) truly is.. and where pain often leads to good and not
bad?  Perhaps it is to make us better people.  Perhaps it is to teach us
what we could not learn otherwise.  Who truly knows?  All I know is.. I have
begun to think a little differently about the Hand of God.. as well as the
hands of my neighbors.. and truly am beginning to see what love really is..
and what pain really means.