Posts Tagged ‘sozo’

08.Nov.2010 |

Beating the Emotional Basket Case

Written by Jill
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Emotional Reality
What we do with our emotions can be fantastic or destructive. For example, we can be rejected in love and therefore run to the first available person who will pay us attention. Relationships built on this ground rarely last.

Most people think that they cannot control their emotions and so trot off to the doctor’s office for medication in the hope of becoming a little happier. However medication, while beneficial at times, is only a band aid over a wound. Secondly, little is known about the long term effects of these medications.

Emotions And Faith
A better answer is understanding that we can control our emotions. We do not have to lead emotionally driven lives. It’s an effort and requires discipline. But it becomes easier as we make the effort.

As believers we can live our life by emotions mistaking these for faith. We pray for answers but then take anything that comes along as God’s answer. We find it tough to handle the days of loneliness, sadness and depression. However books such as Psalms show all of these emotions as totally normal. David can find no immediate emotional fix and so directs his emotions toward God. What he achieves in life, despite some mistakes is huge.

To enjoy life, it’s important that we go to faith even on the down days. Faith can contain feelings but faith is not feelings. Those who live by feeling will find that they let people down apart from themselves and may achieve little in life. This is because feelings can change in an instant and so what we feel like doing one day may differ to another day.

Solutions when Emotionally Down
Key 1. A valuable key in life is disciplining ourselves to not live by emotion alone but to look at situations, determine their longterm consequence and therefore act accordingly. This may mean immediate emotional pain but future satisfaction. For example, buying the new car may look good and feel so exciting, but knowing that we already have a lot of debt means that in three months time we can’t pay our bills.

Key 2. No thing nor person can fulfill us. The new home feels so exciting. But the novelty will wear off as it will not stay new and ultimately means expense and repairs. Therefore we experience stress and disappointment. The new clothes or furnishings eventually become old and no longer give us the great emotional highs.

Key 3. Jesus reminds us that he is our fulfillment. In John 3:17, The word “save”, the Greek “sozo”, actually has a far greater meaning than merely salvation. It actually means to complete or fulfill. Therefore it’s great to go Godward in the tough times rather than allowing ourselves to stay in a place of negative emotion.

This does not mean that we immediately feel happy but that we are plugging into the source from which we draw life. It’s a bit of hard work but as we discipline ourselves to grow this relationship, life is less of a yoyo emotionally.

I love the emotional highs of new friendship, starting new churches, going new places, new clothing, new studies and home renovations. In fact I pretty well love anything new. But I also understand that greater meaning in life comes with a decision to control my emotions rather than attempting to apply a bandaid by things and medications. I can’t find fulfillment through any relationship or anything here on this earth.

Ultimately it’s the choice to not just receive salvation from Christ but to become a stronger believer or disciple.

There will be many times in our lives where we will experience depressing emotions and decide to not pressure another for fulfillment. We will have times of frustration and sadness and yet will have to discipline ourselves to not do something that is more negative for our future than positive. Therefore enjoy the feel good emotions but never neglect our ability to know God through the Bible. In this way we gain a strength and satisfaction in life that cannot be found elsewhere.

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18.May.2010 |

Addicted Or Not

Written by Jill
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Addiction Affects Many
Some times we find it hard to know how to deal with addiction. We hear the word and visions come to mind. Perhaps these visions are of one self, a family member or friend. Addiction affects many people deeply beyond the addict.

Forms of Addiction
Some times we place addicts in a category that is far removed from our own lives. They are not so different to ourselves but the substance of choice is just more obvious or detrimental. The effects of such things as drugs, overeating or pornography are obvious and yet we can also be addicted to coffee, shopping and even physical fitness. Be slow to judge others. Perhaps our vice is just more acceptable and the effects less obvious.

What is addiction?
Addiction therefore is something that one does repeatedly in an attempt to feel good. We use a substance or an activity to fill a void, only then to find that afterwards we are again sad or ashamed and so the cycle continues. The thing that we use presents a high only then to be followed with a new low and so we do it again.

Addiction and Personality
We hear the term addictive personality and see some addicts go from one addiction to another. One may no longer drink but then they attend an addiction group for financial reasons. One may no longer be enmeshed in pornography but cigarettes become a new addiction. We may criticise this but I am grateful when one attempts to get responsible and find a vice that is less destructive than another. Remember we may be quick to judge but perhaps our vice looks more acceptable.

The addictive personality has taken on a broad meaning to include traits such as shyness, social awkwardness, introversion or self consciousness. I have talked with young people who then feel that the carrying of these traits mean that they have an addictive personality. Half of the world’s population may have these traits and yet are not all addicts. These traits are common human traits and we choose to deal with them in different ways.

Shyness and self-consciousness are often just a form of pride where we are too conscious or absorbed in self. My conquering of these things occurred because I dove into Scripture and understood that my self consciousness caused me to be self obsessed. I immersed myself in Scripture to overcome these traits in my life and discovered new meaning for my life.

Advertisements for antidepressants can lead one to believe that a prescription is necessary just because a person has sad days. Everyone has good and bad days as we each experience a huge variety of emotions according to life’s situations. Key is then how we will cope with these situations. Of course we can get so low where medication does help but to be sad does not deem medication necessary.

Addiction Programs
I admire deeply those who face their addiction and seek help. They inform good friends so that they can support the addict through this process. How great is it too to see those that overcome become key in helping others conquer their pain.

One frustration though is that many become enmeshed in the addiction program. The meetings beome a new addiction which is better than damaging substances but they then limit themselves to this network of people. Friendships and acceptance are deeply established because this network of people understands and accepts them and their problem.

Addicts cannot heal addicts. No man can heal another. Man can support, disciple, encourage and bring another to a gathering but an addict can only take another addict so far in life. We need to connect with people that are outside of our common weaknesses. If we do not we then limit our capacity.

The Higher Power In Addiction Programs
Many addicts are told to find a higher power but when told to do this they then create a higher power of their own liking. We then worship that of our own making rather than worshipping He who made us. The destructiveness of this is seen repeatedly in the Bible. While this approach of finding a higher power attracts many and is admirable, it will only take a person so far in recovery.

In John 3:17 he writes “For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.” The word “save” or “sozo” (Greek) means to be made whole. While a substance will not complete us neither will marriage, a career, having a child or anything that we would endeavor to complete this process. God only brings our completion.

In our judgement of the addict we fail to realize that we each carry our own vices. This only accentuates our need therefore to immerse in the greatest gathering place where we can surrender our strengths and weaknesses to the one and only God. His gathering place is the church. In our multitude of strengths and weaknesses we do not segregate but support one another in this quest to be made whole by the only one that can.

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