As a progressive Christian, I believe there are many names for God and many ways to a loving God; this article reflects one of those ways. Take from here what works for you. Celebrate life with joy and peace!
During the stresses of life, the Apostle Paul in his letter to the Philippians reminds us, “Whatever is true, noble, good, pure, lovely, admirable – if anything is excellent or praiseworthy – think about such things … and the God of peace will be with you.”
Australian bible scholar William Loader asks, “Do we need to be told that it is a good thing to be elated, to be glad and happy?” And then he answers his own question by saying, “Some, who see Christianity as something dour and serious, need to hear it.”
Mainstream Christianity has unfortunately become associated with fear, blame, shame, name-calling and warnings of doom. Rev. Durrell Watkins said, “From denominations and sects that have predicted (again and again) the end of the world, to gay bashing right from the pulpit, to misogyny disguised as scriptural fidelity, Christianity that most people see, often seems to be focused on division, power struggles and oppressing the “other.”
He goes on to say, “… there are traditions within Christianity that teach their members they are innately depraved. How can we ever be happy if we never really believe that we are good? How is peace and joy possible until we at least consider that we are God’s miracle rather than God’s mistake?”
An old church growth axiom is, “Build up your people and your people will build up your church.” I think the Apostle Paul may have some insight into this positive way of building up a movement by building up its members.
We aren’t here to figure out who to hate, but how to love.
We aren’t here to feel inferior but to celebrate our sacred value.
We don’t need to be shamed into living good lives; we need to believe in the goodness of our lives and once we believe ourselves to be good, good is what we will demonstrate naturally.
If we focus on shame, fear, guilt, sin and sadness, those are the things we will most often experience.
If we focus on how someone else isn’t living up to our standards, we will notice and find a lot more people out there just waiting to disappoint us.
If we focus on what we don’t like about ourselves or others, then what we focus on will show up more and more for us. Psychologists say it doesn’t matter that we don’t like what we see: our focused attention sets our course and we will move in the direction of our focus. We don’t have to like it. Our subconscious minds aren’t making judgments about the quality of our choices; simply put, as we choose to focus on something that is the direction we will move in.
And Paul gives us something to focus on, “Whatever is true, noble, good, pure, lovely, admirable – if anything is excellent or praiseworthy – think about such things …” In other words, where attention goes, energy flows.
Concentration camp survivor and psychologist Victor Frankl said, “Everything can be taken from a man or a woman but one thing: the last of human freedoms, to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one’s own way.”
Peace, strength and an increased probability of surviving difficulties come from this chosen attitude of taking responsibility for how one will respond to what is, rather than getting stuck in blame, and regret and despair for what is.
Let’s remember that:
We can go to peace instead of to pieces.
Where attention goes, energy flows.
Attitude is a choice.
These simple, yet powerful truths can be the foundation for a plan for personal peace and joy.
We can’t change the past. We can’t make anyone do things our way. We can’t make people agree with us. We can’t control the weather, the lottery or the things that we hear in the news. But, when things aren’t going our way, we can go to peace instead of to pieces.
We can choose to focus on what is left more than on what is lost, more on what is still possible than on what has gone wrong, more on hope for the future than on regret about the past. Where attention goes, energy flows, and we choose where we place our attention.
As Rev. Dr. Johnnie Coleman has taught throughout her ministry, “I am the thinker that thinks the thought that makes the thing.”
And, what that means is that attitude is a choice. I can’t control everything that happens around or even to me, but I am always in control of how I respond to it, and in my choice of response lies the power of peace and joy.
