It can be so easy to get caught up in all the negativism that surrounds and plagues us each and every day - the news, wars, politics, unexplainable diseases, devastating earthquakes, fires and floods, and of course, the hatred that runs rampant in our country, the world, even in families. Plenty of people believe it’s getting close to the time of the apocalypse, and that only adds to the drama of it all. It’s certainly not an easy time for anyone, much less those who are trying to shield and protect their children in times like these.
Realistically speaking, things on earth aren’t much different than they’ve ever been, but they are definitely multiplied many times over, publicized, scrutinized, debated over and dwelled on to the point of idolized. Yes, idolized!
i.dol.ize: admire, revere, or love greatly or excessively.
Excessively is the key word here. The modern world seems to love, admire and even revere that which can cause a great sensation, bringing it’s drama to the forefront of our daily lives, in the news, on the net, even our conversations over coffee or at the dinner table.
When we think of an idol, we tend to think in the realm of something that is worshiped excessively, like money, jewelry, personal beauty, power, prestige, etc., but we forget that anything that takes our time and attention away from that which is good, that which is from God, that which we are supposed to have our minds on in our daily duties, can be one of the worst kind of idols because it steals our time and attention, subtly at first, but so deviously that we aren’t even aware of it until it’s too late.
The fact is we can’t stop all the negativism that is out there. We can’t change the way the world is at the present moment, with all it’s fancy networking and publicizing and dramatizing each and every event, great or small. We can’t control the world and world events, but we CAN control how we respond to it, to them.
We must not let the world’s events wreak havoc on our peace of mind, causing us fear (which is from Satan, not from God) anxiety and even depression. The antidote for negativism is a grateful mind in an unpleasant situation. And to be grateful we have to have a whole lot of optimism, on purpose. It takes will power to remember the things that we need to be grateful for, thankful for and proud of. It takes looking around us, all day long, at all that is good, kind, sweet, pleasant, beautiful, just, trustworthy, artistic, gifted and friendly.
It takes looking away from all that which is dramatized and noisy, sensational and negatively time-consuming, and instead, just looking at the writing on the wall, by the finger of God!
In the end, that’s all that really matters anyway, because “we are not of this world”.
“We are the salt of the earth.” Matthew 5:13
We need to remember that.
~ Gwen of IRISH ACRES
