Selfishness and Sufferings

There is no exception to our selfish ambition while in sufferings.  Selfishness needs to be tamed, and that’s the hard part.

Selfishness resulted in suffering.  And it is true the other way round.  They go hand in hand yet they should not be together as selfishness would cause greater sufferings.

Here we will talk about selfish ambitions only in the context of a suffering person.  Let us put aside those selfish ambitions for riches and personal gains for the time being.

Well, infightings has been going, on and on, in a suffering mind.  It is caused by the outward physical pain and the daily happenings.  In the end, selfishness becomes an integral part of a sufferer.

Entertainment, once they are, in the form of plays, music, and the likes, could become a hindrance in living a normal life.  I have been in this situation for a while now.   I won’t talk deep about it here but there are occurrences I have to endure in my epileptic disorder.  And sometimes it’s difficult to blend in with the normal surroundings.

Pain was caused in many forms.  Not all forms can be avoided.  But there are times when I thought some the causes could be avoided.  That is when my selfishness came up.  Selfishness, in turn gave way to more pain in the mind.  And that’s my problem too.

In living a life, there are obligations that cannot be ignored.  I feel bad when I cannot conform to the demands of people around me.  I felt that I was selfish because I have to limit my activities.

In that way, the interests of people around me were neglected.  At times, I found myself to be egocentric and self-centered in approach because of my weak physical condition.

May be, that is why the Bible gave no exception to any circumstances when selfishness could be utilized in normal living.  Selfishness destroys unity and steadfastness to God.

There’s none who enjoy life for a longer period in solitary.  Just for a short time, it might be enjoyable.  I am not sure about that.  We must learn to adjust in the interest of other.  Submerging in our self-interest is being selfish.

Disturbances in life could be a blessing.  If there’s nothing to bother life would be dull.  Eventually, loneliness would ruin and kill our life.

Selfishness as a Stronghold:

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A stronghold is a fortress where one can take refuge and safely dwelled with minimum threat.  Here in this case, it is that fort inside our human heart where the evil could safely thrive in.

Selfishness could be a stronghold for the evil to dwell if it is not destroyed from time to time.  If left unattended the fortress might be difficult to get uprooted.  And that is what I wanted to do every day.

It has parasitic character which would eventually eat up its host; here our life or character.  It has to be crushed, one day at a time, with the help of the Holy Spirit.

No one can simply spin ourselves in a cocoon while we are on the march.  We are to work together as a team in a family, society, and in the church.  Yet we are tempted, in many forms, to be a little selfish, manage ourselves, and stay away from people.

Beyond Selfishness:

Now, let’s see, in the Bible, what Apostle Paul wrote to the Philippians:

“Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit.  Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.” (Philippians 2:2-3)  There’s no exception given here.

People suffer, even the righteous suffer yet they become the source of their renewed strength from the Lord.  When the Lord blessed our sufferings it can bring joy in our life.

There is a time for all – time to suffer, time to rest.  It is my hope that this phase would be used by God to strengthen my faith.

We all suffer but in different ways.  There is no great and small sufferings, the pain inflicted might cause same destruction.  But in the blood of Christ we can be whole again.

Rejoice in every situation, says the Bible.  In reality, it is really difficult but there must be a way out, I hope.  Let us present our request to God, in prayer and petition, with thanksgiving.  (Philippians 4:4-7)

In that way, the peace of God will transcend understanding while suffering.  Further, God would safeguard our heart and mind, in Christ Jesus, through our journey.

There are still many people, saints and servant-hearted, who could help others despite their sufferings.  I want to be like them!

Dear reader, if you too are still in your suffering phase I empathize with you.  It is my prayer God would guide us through this phase without causing further self-inflicting pain in the process.

May the face of God shine brighter in our daily life!

A Thankful Heart – 1

“Lord, thank you for letting me use a normal and functioning brain, for more than three decades now.”  I said silently as tears rolled down my parched cheeks.

It was a moment of great joy for me.  Never before in my life, I thank God for a particular organ functioning in my body.  It was more of a thing, which I’d always taken for granted.

With a thankful heart, I write this piece, as I have been able to start reusing my brain.  There was a time when I have been in the state facing uncertainty about my future.

Those twenty five days of my hospital stay, in which VEEG (video-electroencephalogram) was done the whole time, was the first installment of my three long series of hospitalization.

In that long period of my hospital stay, I was blessed to discover the good side of certain people.  In a way, i appreciate people more.  And I know that I will not survive in solitary.

“Come back in few days for brain surgery,” the doctor told us.  Soon re-admitting and my surgery followed.  I wouldn’t go in detail here as it was something I wanted let it go off, for a better hope.

Since I am not seeking empathy as of now, I will not go into the details of those hard times.  It was a time that was gone, which I could endure through the help of my savior.

My brain, let me tell you, was something which I considered very private organ.  When somebody told me, what to think and what not to think, I felt provoked.  I wanted nobody to engage in my private affairs.

Most of the time, I used my brain, in my own way.  Sometimes it helped me solved certain problems.  There are also time it misguided me, I would say.  Misguided mostly when I unplugged or failed to connect with my Creator.

When the heart and brain coordinate smoothly it resulted in building a sane person.  The timely use of ‘yes or no’ in the most appropriate instances defined a wise person rather than having a very high IQ level.

Ostensibly, it was one of those very useful gifts, which was taken for granted all the time.  But when some of the neurons got jammed, the real value was known.  After several treatments, and/or repairing as I jokingly referred it to, it never was the same as before.

There are many other organs in our body which worked together as one entity.  We should be thankful for that today, I am urging you now.  The creator must be praise for His deeds!  Thanksgiving for His loving-kindness, to that extent we are not even aware of, in our life.

At the same time, it would be more of an acceptable way of thanksgiving should we use our gifts for Him.  If you are suffering, like some of us, still give thanks for it could draw us closer to Him.

Here, I am listing the only one occurrence in my life.  There would be many, if you reflect on your own life.  The adversities you faced, which would draw you closer to God or even the smooth life you lived are worthy of thanksgiving.

The Psalmist wrote, “Give thanks to the Lord, for he (God) is good; his love endures forever.”  (Psalms 118:1, 107:1)  The love of God from the beginning, which transcend through our forefathers endures forever.

In His abiding love, he would take good care of generations to come.  Conform to His will, first, and He will do the rest!

How to have a thankful heart?

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A very straightforward and most accurate answer to this question would be: To let the peace of Christ rules our heart.  That is because we can have compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience, in Him.  (Colossians 3:12-17)

When we are in consistently intact, with Jesus Christ through the Holy Spirit everything work for our own good, whether good or bad.

A thankful heart always possesses positive reasons to be happy.  It does not depend on circumstances but comes from his heart.  Even in very small things he can find a reason to be thankful.  It is because he has been consistently connected with his savior.

In Him we can have contentment beyond the offerings of the world.  Although we cannot see everything in His point of view, that little comfort we have, would bring out a thankful heart in us.

Let us give thanks to the Lord for everything He did for us.  More importantly, for sending His son to die for us, this is the greatest gift of all.  Be thankful!

Again, as the Psalmist wrote, let us conform here in his very words:  “I will give thanks to you, Lord, with all my heart; I will tell of all you wonderful deeds.” (Psalms 9:1)

Should you have witnessed the wonderful deeds of God; please feel free to tell here in the comment section.