THE TYRANNY OF HOPELESSNESS

The old adage states, "Desperate people do desperate things". What does it mean to be desperate? Webster's Dictionary defines it as "having lost hope". So what is hope? Webster's explanation is as follows, and gives us great insight into the dilemma:

Main Entry: HOPE
Function: noun
Date: before 12th century
1 archaic : trust, reliance
2 a : desire accompanied by expectation of or belief in fulfillment ; also : expectation of fulfillment or success b : someone or something on which hopes are centered c : something hoped for

Look at the progression that even Webster acknowledges.

1. Trust and reliance are archaic and can no longer be associated with "hope".

Why is this? In a society that promotes a philosophy of "no absolutes" mandates a hopelessness that is staggering. No absolutes? This means that there is nothing and no one in whom you can trust.

2a. Desire accompanied by expectation of or belief in fulfillment

Desire that is continually unfulfilled breeds the feeling of, "What's the use".

2b.

We, as human beings, are endangered by a society that systematically excises hope from every aspect of our lives.

"Hope [lost] deferred makes the heart sick." (Proverbs 13:12)

The article below is very interesting and begins to address the "hopelessness" aspect that I'm talking about. This is coming from Huffington Post reporter, Liz Spikol. She is brave to share her story in the wake of the Connecticut horror.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mobileweb/2012/12/17/adam-lanza-mental-health_n_2305009.html?icid=hp_parents_art_related

In her very own words , Liz is describing her 'hopeless' situation. The desperation in the tone of her words is heartbreaking. Yet this is going on as a plague in or society.

Hopelessness IS an illness that permeates mind and body. . To believe that there is "NO HOPE FOR ME" is to check out of this world. This mindset, left unaddressed, will lead to tragedy in one form or another. The most obvious outcome of hopelessness is suicide. Hopelessness plus rage lead to aggression and fatal outcomes.

But if there are no absolutes then there are no answers and the world, corporately, is left to its own devices, whatever those may be. How can you define sanity without absolutes?

Webster defines "sane" this way:

Main Entry: SANE
Pronunciation: \ˈsān\
Function: adjective
Inflected Form(s): san·er; san·est
Etymology: Latin sanus healthy, sane
Date: 1628
1 : proceeding from a SOUND MIND : rational
2 : mentally sound; especially : able to anticipate and appraise the effect of one's actions
3 : healthy in body
SYNONYMS: See "wise"

Once again, the progression here is astounding. What does "sound" mind mean? Webster states:

SOUND: Adjective
"In good condition; not damaged, injured, or diseased"

How can you know that a mind is in good condition, apart from an MRI or some other imaging technique? What is the mind in contrast to the brain? Behavior is one indicator is a damaged mind, but that doesn't necessarily indicate that the brain is diseased.

Add to this the truth that minds are "damaged" in myriad ways. A critical father, a perfectionist mother, a permissive parent unable to establish healthy boundaries, a sibling bully or a inappropriate uncle or neighbor, an insensitive teacher or a manipulative friend.

So what makes a HEALTHY mind?

HOPE is "desire accompanied by expectation of or belief in fulfillment". This requires a belief system that anchors hope to something or Someone who can fulfill. Someone in whom trust can be absolute.

For some, there is comfort in hopelessness because it is the ONLY absolute they can wrap their mind around. The only person, place or thing on whom they can place their trust is themselves, and ultimately even that trust will fail. That is when there is nothing left to live for. To be hopeless is the have nothing to lose, therefore, no rationale cane alter what follows. There is no rationale in hopelessness.

Faith, HOPE and love.

(To be continued)

WHAT IS SELF?

Michael Mendizza is not a Christian writer, nor does he write for those who would dismiss his premise at the outset.  But we fail to hear the thoughts of the thoughtful if we choose to dismiss what may appear to be contradictary to concepts we think we understand.  Hear him out, chew on it then compare it to scripture and see what surfaces.

"Most of what people think is unknown to them.  It is subconscious.  They do not articulate it and often cannot."  (Harry & Christina Beckwith, YOU, INC.)



http://www.kindredcommunity.com/articles/mistaken-identity-we-are-not-what-we-think-we-are/p/2289

ABSORBED BY THE SACRED

“To a man who lives unto God nothing is secular, everything is sacred.

He puts on his workday garment and it is a vestment to him.

He sits down to his meal and it is a sacrament.

He goes forth to his labor, and therein exercises the office of the priesthood. 

His breath is incense and his life a sacrifice.

He sleeps on the bosom of God, and lives and moves in the divine presence.

To draw a hard and fast line and say, 

“This is sacred and this is secular,” is, to my mind, diametrically opposed to the teaching of Christ and the spirit of the gospel…

Peter saw a sheet let down from heaven in which were all manner of beasts and four-footed creatures, which he was bidden to kill and eat, 

and when he refused because they were unclean, he was rebuked by a voice from heaven, saying, “What God hath cleansed that call not thou common” [Acts 10:15; 11:9].

The Lord hath cleansed your houses, he has cleansed your bed chambers, your tables… He has made the common pots and pans of your kitchens to be as the bowls before the altar –

if you know what you are and live according to your high calling.

You housemaids, 

you cooks, 

you nurses, 

you ploughmen, 

you housewives, 

you traders, 

you sailors, 

your labor is holy if you serve the Lord Christ in it, 

by living unto Him as you ought to live.

The sacred has absorbed the secular.”

 ~ Charles H. Spurgeon

Sermon “All For Jesus”:

THE STORY OF GOD: by Mike Papa

The story of God in ten minutes.  This short video takes you from Alpha to Omega, the Beginning and the End