Basic HTML Version
agement and service to build up
those around them.
God's way of living and helping
is guided by God's laws.
lt
is the
way of upbuilding and construc–
tion.
lt
is the way of trust in God
and love of fellow man equal to
concern for oneself.
On the other hand, look at
the results of wrong ways of liv–
ing.
Most humans, in their practica!
daily living, rely on their own
human strength a nd wisdom.
They are limited to their own val–
ues and ideas, to their own
resources, or that of their culture,
to solve their problems or to
secure their needs, wants and
desires.
Here is why true peace of
mind , happiness and security has
eluded most of mankind! Millions
base their lives on values or ways
of thinking and living that even–
tually produce problems they
don 't have resources to solve.
They wake up and find their
thinking and resources inade–
quate; that they have based their
secur ity and sense of personal
worth on values, things or persons
(themselves or others) that are
transitory or limited in power to
help them. They then suffer feel–
ings of fear, loss and hopeless–
ness. For millions, the results are
unresolved anxieties, fear and
depression.
It
is time you analyzed your
life,
now,
to see if your values and
thinking have set you up to expe–
rience depression, fear and hope–
lessness.
Trusting Wrong Ways and
Resources?
It
matters greatly where one' s
ultimate trust and hope is.
It
mat–
ters greatly what one's values and
resources are!
Many totally look to, or totally
place their hopes and security in
various man-devised governments
or parties or ideologies. But every
one of them eventually fails,
becomes corrupt or collapses.
lndividually, humans common–
ly put their deepest trust, identity
or feelings of self-worth in them-
March 1981
selves- or other humans. But
many who trust in themselves,
deep down, know they have secret
weaknesses, areas where they lack
confidence in themselves.
And other humans in whom
they put their trus t do not always
understand or uplift them; they
may even Iie, deceive or hurt them.
Many put their total security
and hope in continuing prosperi–
ty. They live as if it will last for–
ever. But man-devised prosperity
doesn't las
t.
It
is based on the
"get" way of Iife, enriching a few
at the impoverishment of many.
This kind of prosperity booms,
then shakes, totters and col–
lapses-destroying many misdi–
rected minds, hopes and lives
with it.
Lacking any deep spiritual pur–
pose or hope in Iife, many have
placed all their hopes and sense of
personal worth in material goods
or gadgets or possessions that
wear out, rust or corrode. Or that
can be swept away in sorne sud–
den accident or mishap.
lt's no wonder so many feel
totally worthless, hopeless, pow–
erless. Life, for them, is not
worth living when any of their
transitory hopes or resources are
lost or threatened with Ioss. Of
course!- "For the creation [cut
off from God] was subjected to
futility ..." said the apostle Paul
(Romans 8:20, RSV).
Many fears in life are caused
by worshiping false status sym–
bols- material things one really
can't afford and which are mak–
ing one poor financially and spi ri–
tually. That's not true success!
False Values and Love, Too
Maybe fears or depressions are
caused by big mistakes in ljfe. A
person failed at a job or a mar–
riage or something else. What's
wrong with admitting you made a
mistake, facing the fact that
you're not perfect? No other
mortal is either. False human
pride, that's what! Satan and mis–
guided human social values,
under Satan's sway, have pumped
pride into human minds, rather
than humility and the willingness
to admit mistakes in our lives.
One can learn from mistakes and
still go on and grow in the
future.
Never have so many wrong
ideas about !ove set so many up
for the Iack of love and depres–
sion .
"1 can ' t live without you."
" There' s no one else meant for
me." "Only you can fulfill my
dreams," go modero !ove songs
by the hundreds. lt 's not true!
T here's more than one person
you can learn to !ove. And mis–
used sex does not mean !ove. 1t
may mean unwanted children, or
the horrid memory of an abor–
tion or a disastrous marriage, or
an abused or diseased body, a
scarred mind.
Most humans Iearn to live first
and foremost 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.
It
is not that respect of others'
feelings or opinions, or that of a
high human office, may not be
important to consider. But it does
matter what one's real hope and
confidence is.
Scripture warns, "The fear of
man brings a snare"-all kinds
of seemingly insoluble or ines–
capable problems-"but whoso
puts bis trust in the Lord shall
be [spiritually, and often physi–
cally, emotionally and monetari–
ly] safe" (Proverbs 29:25).
But why does nearly every
human differ in bis fears? Why
do we each respond to various
losses or setbacks in life in differ–
ent ways and for different rea–
sons? Let's understand.
Different Breaklngpolnts
Each of us, because of different
upbringing, experiences or cul–
tural learning, have acquired dif–
ferent levels of resilience or ways
of responding to different kinds
of problems, losses or setbacks in
life.
Every human has his or her
learned optimum values, hopes
and resources in life. J esus called
them "your treasure" where your
33