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about love set so many up for depres-
sion.
" 1 can't live wi t hou t you."
"There's no one else meant for
me." "Only you can fulfill my
dreams," go modern love songs by
the hundreds. It's not t rue!
There's more than one person
you can learn to love. And misused
sex does not mean !ove.
It
may
mean unwanted children, or the
horrid memory of an abort ion or a
disastrous marriage, or an abused
or diseased body, a scarred mind.
Most humans learn to live first
and foremos t in the fear of the values
and opinions of other men and
women- most of which are wrong–
rather than in any fear of God.
lt
is not that respect of others'
feelings or opinions, or that of a
high human office, may not be
impor tant to consider. But it does
matter what and where one's real
hope and confidence is.
Scriptu re warns, "Tbe fear of man
bringeth a snare"-all kinds of
seemingly insoluble or inescapable
problems- "but whoso putteth his
t rust in the Lord shall be [spiri–
tually, and often physicall y, emo–
t ionall y and monetari ly] safe" (Prov.
29:25, Authorized Version) .
But wh y does nearl y every
human differ in his fears? Why do
we each respond to various losses or
setbacks in life in d ifferent ways
and for different reasons? Let's
understand.
Different Breaking Points
Each of us, because of d ifferen t
upbringing, experiences or cultural
learning, has acqu ired d iffere nt
levels of resi lience or ways of
responding to d ifferent kinds of
problems, losses or setbacks in
life.
Every human has bis or her
learned optimum values, hopes and
resources in life. J esus caBed them
"your t reasure," where your heart
will be, and also " the light of the
body" (Mat t. 6:21, 22, AV) . They
are the th ings one focuses and
depends upon to give purpose, iden–
tity, self-worth and security in
life.
You need to be aware what your
real treasure, hopes and values are!
Many of them may be
wrong
val–
ues, desires or feelings planted in
your mind by Satan or learned
34
from your culture, which has been
cut off from God and his ways.
Humans cut off from God estab–
lish d ifferent and usually false val–
ues, ideals and hopes, and possess
varyi ng physical, emotional and
spiritual resources to achieve them.
They consequently establ ish d iffer–
ent breaking points if their hopes or
resources fail.
A person may or may not be
aware of his or her breaking point
or points. People are not always
aware of the limitations of their
resources. T hese limitations are
pushed into the subconscious mind
or denied. For many, of course, the
breaking point or resources have
never been tested .
The breaking point, or failure of
resources, that triggers fear, hope-
Millions base
their lives on values or
ways of thinking
and living that eventually
produce problems
they don' t
have resources to solve.
lessness or depression may be one
thing for one person, sometbing
else for another.
One person's breaking point may
be fail ing to achieve or maintain a
cer tain financia! status in life. For
another it is the loss of, or not
being able to have, a cer tain friend
or mate.
Another 's breaking point is not
receiving or keeping a certain job or
position in life. Another's is loss of
health, or the prospect of death.
Another's is loss of physical
attractiveness or beauty. Another's
is loss of certain material posses–
sions; another 's is loss of children or
something that happens to children.
It is not wrong to want to be loved.
1t
is not wrong to enjoy a respectable
status or possessions or to gain rea–
sonable security for ourselves and
our children. They are right and
good if gained in accordance with
God's laws, if one is able to afford
them and use them properly.
But J esus taugbt, " l s not life"-
that is, the ultimate purpose of life–
"more than food, and the body more
tban clothing?" (Matt. 6:25).
Jesus taught there is a purpose to
your life that transcends pbysical
life. All good gifts or opportunities
in this physical life-human, materi–
al or other gifts-are temporary.
They are but tools to be used to
achieve something higher and eter–
na], the real purpose of one's exis–
tence- developing godly character!
This true purpose of life is so
enormous that J esus taught us not
to fear what men may do to us for
our obedience to his ways, for the
most they can do is dest roy physi–
cal life, not the opportunity to
receive eterna! life.
Good physical possessions or
opportunities should be appreciated
and cared for while they last. But
they are not forever. They are not
the end-all , the be-al l purpose of
life in themselves.
But all of us misguided human
beings have, at sorne time or anotb–
er, made them so!
When we allow wrong, selfish or
negative ways of thinking to take
root in our mind- j ealousy, envy,
covetousness, lust or bate, for
instance-we violate the spiritual
laws of peace of mind revealed in
the Ten Commandments. We com–
mit idolatry and other sins that
automatically prod uce problems
a nd fea r s we may not have
resources to solve.
Sin, the transgression of God's
law
(1
J ohn 3:4), focuses our minds
on false desires, false values, wrong
wants, hopes and ways of tbinking.
We lose focus on God's values and
ways to secure our needs. We lose
focus on God's spiritual resources
and power to help us. We trust in our
way and resources. And wben we
realize our thinki ng, hopes and
resources are insufficient, or bave
failed, we fall prey to fear and
depression.
Why Near-hopelessness Ahead?
Never have so many mill ions totally
set their hear ts, affect ions and sense
of personal worth on other persons,
on sensual pleasures or on material
possessions that can be suddenly
swept away in an accident, in eco–
nomic turmoil or natural d isasters.
At the same t ime, never bave the
results of Satan's ways, so evident in
The
PLAIN TRUTH