4 Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! 5 Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. 6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
8 Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. 9 Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you. Philippians 4: 4-9
Salvation means the brain being at its best; it means wholeness, learning to love, and serving forever in a Kingdom of Love, Joy and Peace, which starts now. The early Church Father, St. Ireneus said: the Glory of God is man fully alive. “Christ in you is the hope of glory” (endless beauty) says Colossians 1: 27.
Stress is the opposite of peace, and blocks the flow of love and joy, and the other fruits of the Spirit (Gal. 5: 22). Stress is deadening, and prevents good brain functioning.
In the 70’s there was a popular psychological theory called Transactional Analysis. It set forth three main “ego states”, or ways of being and experiencing the world: Child, which is mostly feelings, such as desire and hurt; Adult, which is our thinking, willing, deciding part; and Parent, which is our conscience and the judging, critical, often angry part. (Recent brain studies shows that different parts of the brain light up when we experience life in one or more of these ways.)
Recently I coached a CPA who sometimes gets so upset she gets a migraine headache which lasts for 24 hours. This happens when a colleague in their company asks her to do something unethical or illegal. Her feelings get hurt (“child”), and she gets angry (“parent”) and this turns on her migraine. During this time it’s hard for her to think clearly. Very stressful.
Thank God, I was able to help her turn off this stress, through imagining herself accepting the situation, and forgiving her colleague.
For other people, their reactions to stressful interpretations of situations—for according to Cognitive Therapy it’s our interpretations of situations more than the actual event that’s the problem—may include withdrawal or result in an escalating crazy eight situation:
This is a situation where “you language”—defensive attacks and counterattacks—spirals more and more out of control, and can even result in violence, especially if alcohol is involved.
According to Scripture, the Cross is our one and only bridge to God—and only in Christianity does God reach out to us in this way. The Cross says You are loved, unconditionally; you are O K, in spite of your not-OK ness (sin). The central message of the gospel of the Kingdom is the forgiveness of sins, says famous N. T.. scholar, N. T. Wright.
Because of Jesus’ death and resurrection, we don’t have to live out of our old, fearful, sinful, past nature, but in Christ we are becomers, free to forgive others and ourselves, and to walk in love, and be salt and light in a hurting world. In other words, live on the Plus Side, free to replace stress with acceptance and gratitude, and live beautifully. (More on this next week.)
