Celebration of Misery??

Most of my readers know what doomscrolling is. There is no end to contemplating negative, bad, even devastating horrorS going on whether locally, nationally or in the big world. And these are at base "nothing new under the sun" since Adam and Eve listened to a snake more than to God. So much for Eden.

Meanwhile there are not only a myriad of experienced-based realities but scientific studies that deal with depression, anxiety and the increase of these among humans throughout the world.

So we should and can, as I often write about, take breaks, move away from overindulging in tech, choose uplift in our reading, listening, watching -but wait, there's more!

From Genesis to Revelation there is an endless story of sin, decay, violence, war, deceit, rotten leaders and self-seeking blasphemers. By the time you get to the Book of Jude and then Revelation... well, the opening in Genesis and the closing in Revelation are positive to the max... but like the longest book in scripture (Psalms) woe and lament are a big part of the read, no? What to do? Hang on, I'm getting to it :)

Taking a break from what I sometimes think is a celebration of misery is ESSENTIAL but getting there takes time and effort. It takes admitting to yourself you're out of balance. It doesn't mean sticking your head in the sand to "make the [real] world go away" but if one's life becomes nothing but clouds one may even miss the sunny days, the chirping of birds and the soft, blooming flowers.

To be sure, one can become addicted to rose-colored glasses just as to panning for misery, both are fool's gold.

Consider that even as Christ-followers we may focus so much on commands we neglect promises, so intent on God's commands we miss the rainbow spectrum of His daily graces cover-to -cover in our Bibles.

Some folk's natural personality is, well, gloom. I thank God this is not something I fight but plenty do. There is -good reason- and more than one why younger people can fall into listening to nothing but artists and songs of complaint, lament and heartbreak, flock to movies of the same and are drawn to the sea of algorithms feeding the emotional morass of drowning as it were. Individual disappointments, partner and marriage breakups, family divorces, a near-constant stream verbal abuse and worse. Add to this lying politicians and fallout from wars, spam, phishing... well you get the picture and it's not a healthy one.

I'm saying what I've said for most of my life: a relationship with God in Jesus Christ, consistently reaching out to Him, continual thoughts laced with the Lord's Own Words and example of life, daily Bible study (even, gasp, multiple times per day), on-going prayer, considering what happens for and to His people when we leave this earth regardless of when or how, all of this as well as nurturing relationships with one and more people who ARE balanced and live like this as prayer-partners/soul friends, attending regular fellowship with people of God, and indeed forgiving (and not surprised at) professing Christian's flaws all go a long way to cause and keep me to be sane.

As these have been my habits for decades I still daily plow through a wide range of news sites, have convos with people who don't think as I do and many than do. In other words, I don't sit and swill in the sins and brokenness of the world -nor did Jesus Himself, our best Example of how to make it through the pains of this life and even be victorious.

I don't celebrate misery, even for my "foes". I honestly pray for God's grace to those who wish to see others harmed. Why would I want nothing but vengeance upon others when Jesus calls me to love my enemies?

Keeping one's head above the insanity of the world takes what I've already mentioned here and this isn't merely my "narrative"- it's my learned response for balance in dealing with the sky-high issues by which the very devil would love to sideline me and others in Christ's service by our dance with despair and sometimes chosen lethargy, throwing our hands up and just bailing out to find peace in the midst of a broken, sinful world and at times, church.

By the way, I recently read of a musician releasing yet another record in their career that focuses on a laundry list of the seemingly endless negatives of life. I'm sure it'll sell well because "misery loves company" and because the issues are common to people who resonate with the words and feelings in the artist's project/s. And yet, celebrating misery is no answer to the ongoing mess of a world neglecting or outright rejecting Jesus, His Word and relationship with Him, His message of love and freedom.

May God give us grace to celebrate Him along the broken roads of this present world.

And as always, thanks for stopping by! -Glenn