PLATITUDES, ATTITUDES, AND TRUTH

I hate platitudes; they give me an attitude. Pat answers, pithy quotes, and a Scripture for every situation may be well-intentioned, and are not meant to harm, but I wonder…Who are these really for?

Life is hard. That is not the way we want it to be, but this is reality. Somewhere in a distant past, a notion was hatched that our time on this planet is supposed to be sunshine and roses, or lollipops and unicorns, and not struggle, heartache, pain, and disease. I’m not sure where that myth originated, but it is just that—MYTH.

I have lived six decades, and in all those years, I have had a good life. It has been marked by pain, heartache, suffering, rejection, struggle, illness and even death of many I have loved. Wait… you’re thinking, “She said she has had a good life,” right?  Yes, that is what I said. I have lived through all of those negative, difficult times, and I can still say I have a good life. I choose to see life this way.

I still have times when I am angry and depressed and am not fit to be around other people-not always because of what I am experiencing at the time, but because of their preconceived notions of the terribleness of my life. You see, when one individual can’t (or won’t) accept the truth that life is hard and instead wants to project their own idyllic fantasy of life onto another person, they are really not helping. The person in the struggle doesn’t need the added burden of feeling a certain way based on another person's need to live in the myth. I know, because I have been through this countless times. They might mean well, but it isn’t helpful.

The myth that we deserve a life of good health, prosperity, and no struggle is as old as the story of Job. The question of  “Why me?” is also not new. He struggled; he questioned God and wanted an explanation. Job was human; he had been successful and wealthy, a faithful servant of God, yet his family, wealth, and health were taken from him. Why? Did he do something wrong or sin so terribly that caused him to suffer? Job’s friends just could not (or would not) stop their verbiage, trying to find a rational explanation for the pain, suffering, and loss that Job was experiencing. They may have thought they were trying to help, but more likely, they were more concerned about their own mythical view of life. “If Job, a righteous man, can have everything taken from him, what about me? I don’t want to go through this. God blesses (prevents from struggle) those who follow Him. Right?”  They eventually left Job alone in his struggle, but it was through his struggle that Job came to these conclusions:

                    Job 1:21 "I came naked from my mother's womb, and I will be naked when I leave. The LORD gave me what I had, and the LORD has taken it away. Praise the name of the LORD!"

     Job 13:15 “Though He (God) slay me, yet will I trust Him.”

Struggle is necessary for growth. A caterpillar will never become a butterfly without the struggle of breaking out of the cocoon. We would never learn to walk if we didn’t fall down and pick ourselves up. We are made stronger by struggle. Overcoming hardship builds character, even though we don’t like the process. We all know people whose lives were sheltered and indulged, and they cannot handle even the smallest problem. They have not known struggle because someone always stepped in to solve their problems.

We do not always know why our life is hard. Sometimes we are doing everything right to the best of our ability, and we still have hard times. Even Jesus, God’s perfect son, had struggles.  These were not because of any sin or failing on His part; it was to demonstrate to us that we would also struggle, and where our hope must rest.  

John 16:33 “I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. (Jesus) Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world.” (emphasis mine)

So, there we have it. We WILL have trials and sorrows. Nobody is exempt. How we endure these hardships is up to us.

2 Cor 6:4 Instead, in every way we demonstrate that we are God's servants by tremendous endurance in the midst of difficulties, hardships, and calamities;

If you are going through a hard time of struggle as you read this, I am sorry. I could offer to take away your pain, but that would rob you of the growth God has for you.  I can say that every struggle I have faced has taught me something and made me stronger. I have had to refocus my perspective. I trust in God, and that is why I am still here. He will never leave you nor forsake you. I know that is truth, not a myth.