Are we sowing weeds and expecting Daisies to grow?

As the years go by and I reflect on my journey as a Christian I have noticed a number of really big changes in my view of ‘when bad things happen’, or big disappointments in life and what God has to do with or not do with it.  We live in a society today that lives like there is no God, yet blame this nonexistent deity when their world comes apart.  Then on the other hand you have Christians that will speak platitudes about disappointments being God’s way of saying be patient something better is on the way.  But is that truth?  Sometimes we are going to be disappointed and there is nothing better on its way.  But isn’t that just life?

 

As children we could not help but be self consumed, it is the nature of children to think about themselves and what will bring them the most happiness.  But as we grow up our parents, teachers and community at large hopefully direct us into a much broader view of where happiness comes from.  If we are fortunate we are taught just how much joy can come from bringing happiness to another human being.  As an adult we hopefully mature into a person that sees the value in what we contribute rather than what we are taking out of life.  If we are blessed to have children of our own we are given the most precious of tasks to raise up a child to know that it is “not” all about them and what they want and why!  But rather what it is that they can contribute to the world around them and the satisfaction that is found in contribution.

 

This is not the way of things today; we have diverged from helping shape young people into healthy contributors to society to wasters of time, money and education.  Our school systems will not fail children or give them grades because that might wound their self esteem.    We have a justice system that will not seriously punish a young person, because one bad decision does not a bad person make.  Perhaps that is so, but the decision to not have serious consequences for serious crime is proving over and over again that it makes bad people out of potentially good kids.  

As the world is falling apart and disappointment is meeting us head on we would be wise to consider the choices that have led up to the moment of impact.  Saying that there is no God and then blaming him for your heartbreak is for the lack of a better word, foolish!  No less foolish is the one who grapples for comfort when they are disappointed by saying that God has something better on the way.

   

We reap what we sow in life;  the truth of that proverb is startling and it should compel us to take account of the seeds we choose to cast into the wind.