|
| Pain Preaches Repentance |
|
| |
Pain--what's it good for? Warning! Warning! Back off! Look out! Something's wrong! Danger! Get away! Destruction ahead! Get the heck out of Dodge! Hurt blurts like a warning siren.
Pain is like the warning lights on an automobile. It means something is wrong with the engine. I have known of several people who have ignored dash board lights signaling (engine overheating or oil pressure falling) and have continued driving only to soon discover their engine was destroyed--burned up.
Physical pain is a very effective warning tool for human beings. When a behavior causes us intense physical pain, most people stop the behavior. For example, very few people will repeatedly carry around a red hot object with their bare hands. Oh, they may do it once or twice, but the physical pain persuades them that grasping hot items is not a good lifestyle choice.
When it comes to mental, emotional, and spiritual pain, however, we human beings are not so bright. For example, many people are eaten up with guilt, yet they continue to do the very things that cause them guilt. Many depressed people hold on to their negative thinking and refuse to let it go, even though it is cooking their goose. Many lonely people refuse to reach out and make a friend, even though their loneliness is driving them crazy. These people are ignoring their warning lights and burning up their engines. Why is that?
When someone crashes their knee into a table, they grab their knee--not the table! They focus on their knee and try to heal it. They sooth it, stop the bleeding, put a bandage on it. They don't fret over the table.
Yet with emotional, mental, or spiritual pain, people act differently. For example, if someone has a verbal run in with another person and suddenly is overflowing with the pain of intense anger, they usually don't try to sooth and heal their anger. Instead they focus on the other person with the pain producing attitudes of blame, hostility, resentment, self-righteousness, and condemnation.
If someone acted that way with physical pain, we would call them crazy. For example, that would be like me crashing into a table, and instead of trying to comfort and heal my hurting knee, I continue to bang my wounded knee into the table again and again. Would that be smart?
Have you ever had a child walk up to you, show you a "booboo" and say; "Every time I touch it here, it hurts!"? What do you tell him or her? Most people say: "If it hurts, don't touch it there." Great advice! Why should emotional, mental, or spiritual pain be any different? If something is hurting you emotionally, don't touch it there! Don't poke it and bang it into self-destructive attitudes and behaviors. Emotional pain is a warning--stop the things you are doing, the things you are thinking, and the things you are believing that are causing you to hurt! Quit touching it there!
Someone has said: "If you could kick the person who is causing you the most pain, you wouldn't be able to sit down for a month." Most of your pain is self produced by your behaviors, thoughts, and attitudes. If you are hurting, it is a warning light telling you that you need to change some things before you burn up your engine.
In our culture we are taught to ignore or deny emotional, mental, and spiritual pain. "Big boys don't cry." "Don't be a wimp." "Sticks and stones can break my bones, but words can never hurt me." "Get over it." "Don't get ahead, get even." "Revenge is sweet." These beliefs are guaranteed to produce mental pain.
We also learn to drown out our emotional, mental, or spiritual pain through constant activity, noise, recreation, anti-depressants, ambition, hatred, sex, hobbies, sports fanaticism, alcohol, materialism/greed, illegal drugs, and violence. Yet we cover up our emotional pain to our peril and self-destruction. Our engines are burning up as we "lead lives of quiet desperation."
Meanwhile hurt blurts! Hear your hurt. Heal it. Stop doing the things that are causing and increasing your misery. You deserve and you can have a life free from emotional, mental, and spiritual pain. But it won't happen automatically. You must discover what is causing your pain and then stop doing it. Only then will your nightmare end. |
|
| To add a comment to "Pain Preaches Repentance" |
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
| February 10, 2008 |
 |
|
|
A great teaching to read before church this morning!
Thanks for your blog! There are so many things I could respond to very positively, but it would not add to this wonderful teaching.
Doing the same things over and over and getting the same response is like insanity. Only when we are willing to admit our wrongdoing in the equation is when true healing can start!
Great teaching! |
|
|
| February 10, 2008 |
|
|
|
| Great blog! |
|
|
| February 10, 2008 |
|
|
|
| Thank you so much, Forgiven, Deb, & Lara. |
|
|
| February 14, 2008 |
|
|
|
Good blog, Steve.
I need to quick kicking those tables. . . |
|
|
Follow this blog
