Recently, a colleague commented that the three most terrible people on the floor are all Christians. I quite agreed with him. No sense of commitment in their work, no compassion and respect for other people and no sign of professionalism. But when I look at them, they are all very happy.
On the other hand, some Christians that I know who may have a good attitude for work and yet they seem to be very unhappy. Maybe they are at a very low point of their lives. But I am not quite convinced that this is the root cause of their unhappiness. They are very devoted and faithful Christians. Are faith and trust in God not enough for them to be reassured and stop being angry or fearful of the situations that they are in?
This is quite disturbing for me. I do want my friends to be happy, but I know there is nothing that I can do. They are smart and matured people. They understand completely the situation they are in and what they should do. They also know turning to God for guidance and support. But why are they still unhappy? I remember receiving a powerpoint presentation called "A Present" ( A Present from God). I think this is the key to this. Smart and matured Christians sometimes hink too much. They think about the Past, the Future, but have forgotten about the Present. Knowing that you are living in the Present is innate to us. But when people start to think too much, this knowledge is forgotten. Babies are happy because they don't know much and they don't think much. This innate knowledge is obvious to them.
C.S. Lewis has said that God wants us to concern with eternity or with the Present only.
“either meditating on the eternal union with, or separation from, Him, or else obeying the present voice of conscience, bearing the present cross, receiving the present grace, giving thanks for the present pleasure.”
When people are unhappy, they have probably forgotten that they should treasure whatever they have in the Present. It’s only at Present, are all the “duty, all grace, all knowledge, and all pleasure dwell”. The Past is unchangeable, we can only learn from it; the future is unrealistic, we can only labor faithfully in the present and commend the cause to God. Our lives may be taken away the next day or even the next minute. If you are told that you only have ten more minutes to live, I am sure that all the things that you cannot let go can be let go. All you want to do is to use this ten minutes to tell the people that you love you love them, or you may even love those around you whom you may not quite like if not at this last moment.
The present from God may not be a nice and happy one everyday. But it's still a present from God. We should enjoy each day given by God. If we are being reminded of this, maybe we can be happier.
On the other hand, some Christians that I know who may have a good attitude for work and yet they seem to be very unhappy. Maybe they are at a very low point of their lives. But I am not quite convinced that this is the root cause of their unhappiness. They are very devoted and faithful Christians. Are faith and trust in God not enough for them to be reassured and stop being angry or fearful of the situations that they are in?
This is quite disturbing for me. I do want my friends to be happy, but I know there is nothing that I can do. They are smart and matured people. They understand completely the situation they are in and what they should do. They also know turning to God for guidance and support. But why are they still unhappy? I remember receiving a powerpoint presentation called "A Present" ( A Present from God). I think this is the key to this. Smart and matured Christians sometimes hink too much. They think about the Past, the Future, but have forgotten about the Present. Knowing that you are living in the Present is innate to us. But when people start to think too much, this knowledge is forgotten. Babies are happy because they don't know much and they don't think much. This innate knowledge is obvious to them.
C.S. Lewis has said that God wants us to concern with eternity or with the Present only.
“either meditating on the eternal union with, or separation from, Him, or else obeying the present voice of conscience, bearing the present cross, receiving the present grace, giving thanks for the present pleasure.”
When people are unhappy, they have probably forgotten that they should treasure whatever they have in the Present. It’s only at Present, are all the “duty, all grace, all knowledge, and all pleasure dwell”. The Past is unchangeable, we can only learn from it; the future is unrealistic, we can only labor faithfully in the present and commend the cause to God. Our lives may be taken away the next day or even the next minute. If you are told that you only have ten more minutes to live, I am sure that all the things that you cannot let go can be let go. All you want to do is to use this ten minutes to tell the people that you love you love them, or you may even love those around you whom you may not quite like if not at this last moment.
The present from God may not be a nice and happy one everyday. But it's still a present from God. We should enjoy each day given by God. If we are being reminded of this, maybe we can be happier.
Yan
2 comments:
Well, Christians are really a weird race (to a certain extent). We have the most amazing gift. Yet, somehow, the devil can cloud this clarity of gift that we have.
This is a really good reminder to be happy yet responsible. Many thoughts in my mind. will blog on them if i have time (or i feel happy and responsible.just kidding)
ed
I decided not to blog but comment.
I think many people live too much in the past. As a result, we become habitual people. My mum is one classic example. She always let her past dictate/predict her present and future. It is very hard for her to move on, since she carries so much emotional baggage in her. This has made her less happy.
Nevertheless, the past has many useful function i.e. good learning lesson,a rough proxy of what is to come. But, ultimately, the past is dead and it only works for the context at that time.
So, i say we should live in hope. Let's look to a future that God has installed for us. God works for the good of those who love him. Let's be prepared to imagine the impossible and being sure of what we do not see and hear.
ed
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