In Reply to: Re: Life can be tough, can't it? posted by Lyle on April 15, 2003 at 11:47:53:
You know, I've thought the same thing as what you said: "I understand that God is taking care of me, somehow, but what I don't understand is the deep valleys in my path. Things don't have to be perfect all the time but the overal picture is sometimes missing."
My thinking along this line, or my take on it, is that in the past we've been conditioned to think that "we're God's children and the best Christians in the world and better than all the rest and nothing is too good for us." We knew that wasn't true in relation to our leaders. As you say, we were "nothing" but the leaders were God's so-called chosen. But we still had MLs like "We Are It!" to remind us that even if we were nothing in the group, we were the best thing going on the planet compared to the rest of the compromising, selfish, going-to-hell world.
We were caught up in a group that had a clear vision and mandate and mission. Sure the vision changed all the time, but for the day at least, it was always super clear, to be obeyed, and the very center of God's will on earth. We had this tremendous misguided sense of mission, we were the little cogs in the very center of God's will. Leaving the constantly-chaning "will of God" that existed in the bubble world of the group, we find that the real world outside is chaotic, with justice often not triumphing, hard work not being rewarded, and up seeming to be down.
I deal with that by reading sobering stuff like Ecclesiastes. "The race is not to the swift, the battle not to the strong, but time and chance happens to them all." Life IS chaotic and often unfair and unjust. But perseverance more often than not carries the day. Like they say (whoever "they" are), "Opportunities happen to those who have fully prepared." In other words, keep at it and at it. So that's a lot of the heart of my philosophy in not giving up.
We thought in the group, as Christians, that we were the "apple of God's eye" and that we were so blessed that all we had to do was pray and God would open up a parking space at the mall for us. The world has a different way of thinking the same thing: they say certain people are "lucky". Or born winners. Good stuff always happens to those people. Money falls out of the sky every time they hold out their hand, etc. etc. But it just isn't so. "Time and chance happeneth to them all." Even to the wicked. "His rain falls on the wicked and on the just."
You said, "Sometimes I wonder if that is how God deals with us and if there are "favorites" but I know it is not so even if things may seem that way sometimes. Is this a left over from the family?" Well, I'd say that taken to the extreme that that's residual Berg-think. But like you pointed out, there was this hypocritical double standard n the Family. Berg felt he could do anything and get away with it cause he wasthe apple of God's eye, whereas everyone else was raked over the coals for harmless mistakes of the mind.
I strongly agree with this statement: "One of the most horrible doctrines in the family had to do with turning your back on those weaker brothers and sisters. I understand where that doctrine came from but there is something evil for Christians to suggest that walking away from people in need is the way to go when they are calling from help."
That is so true. And that all comes from the same holier-than-thou philosophy the Family has that they're the best Christians in the world and that they should and must look down on and judge and despise those who are not up to their so-called high standards. It's all the striving to think they're in the center of God's will and their insecurity and fear causes them to have to disassociate from those who aren't up to the level they think they're at.
You said, "Sometimes it gets very dark and it is difficult to see a way out. There has to be an answer but I am not sure is along the letter "Dumps"."
There is some definite value to looking on the positive side of things. Not artificially trying to hypnotize ourself to deny the bad facts, but rather, forcing our discouraged downcast mind to honestly acknowledge the much good that is in a situation. When down we often can think of months of work in either a job or a relationship as worthless and not producing results, and are willing to chuck valuable work or people because of a current crisis or depression, but reminding ourselves to acknowledge the good helps prevent us from chucking it away in a down moment.
We are definitely worth something.