One person's suffering may be another's delight. When I go with my husband to a farm supply store that he delights in, I feel as though I am suffering while I walk aimlessly around. A trite example maybe, but true.
In the realm of pain, how do we know what pain feels like to someone else? I went to the doctor and filled out a form asking about pain level on a scale from 1-10. Would the same amount of pain for two people be a 5 for one person and a 9 for someone else?
My son lifts weights and exercises. To him, pain is good. No pain, no gain, as the expression goes. So is excercise supposed to hurt? Does it hurt everyone to excercise or do others feel good while excercising? There are chemicals in the brain that inhibit the sensory perception of pain. If your body is low in these chemicals, you will feel more pain.
Pain is one kind of suffering. Living in poverty is another. The rich often suffer from boredom and guilt. Being lonely, misunderstood, abused, sick, and old all fall under the category of human suffering.
Our perspective about what is happening to us is what determines how we answer the question of, "On a scale of 1-10, where would you rate your suffering at the present time." If I have the world view that this is all there is, then I want to get all the gusto I can right now. If I find myself suffering instead of enjoying life, what wiil I do? It would make the most sense to just put an end to it.
On the other hand, if I believe that this life is tempory and flawed, that I have another life that is now hidden with Christ, I will struggle on, fight through my suffering as Jesus did, in order to obtain that which He has prepared for me . Indeed, even the present suffering is what He has prepared for me. I will remind myself that my present suffering is temporary light affliction in comparison to the weight of glory that He will reveal to those who believe.
No comments:
Post a Comment