Are you overwrought with the responsibilities of life? Is there just too much to take care of, too much to watch-out for, too much to worry about? Are you carrying the world’s cares and concerns upon your narrow shoulders? How’s it going?
The world is a dangerous place, threats lurking at every turn. Anything may happen. So, we lock our doors, install high-tech security systems, read all warning labels, and apply all precautionary steps. Our families, our children must be protected. We can never do enough to be safe enough. We are vulnerable, helpless in the face of the unexpected. Even insurance coverage provides limited guarantees—read the fine print. You are overwhelmed with safety and security concerns in the face of life’s dangers.
Make one major mistake and the world will disown you in a minute. The world is cold and exacting in its demands of you. You are only valued for what you can do, what you can bring to the table, not for who you are. When you begin to fall short and can no longer perform well, making and producing, let’s say because of a debilitating accident or illness or just the creeping-up of old age, for example, you may be suddenly discarded, no longer valued. You have become a burden rather than an asset. The world is intolerant of weakness and neediness, frowns upon helplessness and want. You are overwhelmed with making yourself valuable and significant.
The world is impatient with faults, failures, and imperfections. Error once, it may be forgiven, error twice and you are suspect and put on notice. Error three times and you are out—forever a failure and deemed worthless. You have very little wiggle room, little time and little space to change and transform for the better. While the world loves great achievers and so-called overnight successes, it reserves contempt for late-bloomers and the average Jane or Joe steady-worker and hard laborer. You are overwhelmed by your glaring imperfections and hidden faults. You will never be perfect enough.
The world praises the shrewd and powerful, though he/she is cruel and arrogant, while it dismisses the lowly and humble, though he/she is wise and exhibits much depth of character. You want to be good, kind, generous; but too many take advantage of such kindness and see such character as weakness rather than strength. You are overwhelmed by constantly having to defend yourself against users and abusers and those who would ridicule your good intentions.
The world wants instant and immediate gratification. It is unwilling to wait, to make hard choices, to sacrifice the good thing for the better or best. There is no longer long-range thinking, with patient long-term investment of time, talent, skills, resources and money toward future rewards and delayed positive outcomes. You are overwhelmed with the constant call to satisfy the immediate and the urgent, to meet the incessant demand of the right-here and right-now.
The world wants no authority over it. It wants what it wants, however, whenever and wherever it wants, without submitting to any higher authority as to its rightness, goodness, or actual benefit. The world wants no accountability, accepts no consequences for its wrongs, refuses self-discipline or self-imposed hardships in order to make things right. You are overwhelmed by the “every man for himself” attitude that companies and corporations and individuals seem to have by the way they function—despite what they say. To speak of a higher calling and a higher standard, a higher way of living and being, is now laughable.
The world ridicules and laughs at faith in God. But compared to what the world offers humanity, God’s promises and assurances and ever present mercies of grace in our lives far outshines anything the world provides. God is our refuge in the face of danger. God truly values us—as evidenced by our redemption in Christ, a costly one in terms of the cross he endured. In Christ, God renews and transforms us in the face of our faults, failures, and weaknesses. God exalts the humble and casts down the proud. Our salvation is sure and is near. God’s goodness will prevail.
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