Fooled by oneself!

 

No one enjoys being fooled and cheated by others, yet we are fooled by someone or the other in our lifetime. Technically we shouldn’t be easily fooled because we are the most informed generation today. We have the access to verify almost all information, yet we fall prey to being fooled and cheated in our day-to-day life. Being fooled is always complimented by lies. When someone tells a lie for his/her own benefit and when we tend to believe the same, we are fooled and cheated.

I have written about lies in one my blog, titled “Why Lie?” (Click HERE to check). Liespotting by Pamela Meyer is one of the top 20 most popular TED Talks on YouTube. She claims that on any given day we are lied to from 10 to 200 times depending on our encounter with various people based on our context and need. The proverb from the Bible puts the nature of such people so beautifully, and it says, ‘Like a madman who throws flaming darts and deadly arrows, so is the person who deceives his neighbour and says, “I was only joking.”’.

What if I say, most of the time we fool ourselves. In fact, we know this to be true. Professor Feynman states, “We must be careful not to believe things simply because we want them to be true. No one can fool you as easily as you can fool yourself.”. We choose to believe in things that look profitable. Scammers prey on the trust of the people, abuse their helplessness and vulnerability. People in their pursuit of independence hurry to build their security at all costs, in the process exposing themselves to risk. People don't mind cheating and being cheated, sporadically, if they make a profit. God-factor is totally absent in their lives. 

Let us not forget that our lives are not independent of God. All those who thrive by fooling and cheating people are not only guilty before people but also before God.   We all must face judgement and inherit our share as the Bible says, “…it is appointed for people to die once- and after this judgement.”.  

Possession, wealth, commodities, and luxuries are not always the blessings you truly need, but to find the true Saviour in your life. Only then can you become a person God intended you to be. Jesus offers total forgiveness and assurance of eternity. You can ask Him to transform you and follow Him as the Lord of your life. He will direct your path to godliness and security. Stop being fooled and fooling yourselves by your version of truth and morality!

  

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Packed Schedule-No time!

 

Do you know we are all packed with default life activities that drain our quality time? The life expectancy for an average Indian is 70 years. Every country’s life expectancy is around the same number. Here is the little math's calculation on how it is spent. Life has 600,000 hours is usually spent this way:

 ~ 230,000 spent sleeping,

~ 140,000 spent entertained,

~ 120,000 spent working,

~ 40,000 spent eating,

~ 20,000 spent getting educated,

~ 10,000 spent exercising,

Leaves with ~ 40,000 hours.

Most of the scheduled activities are fixed and nothing much can be done about it. So, what are we actually living for? Do we even have a purpose? Mark Twain states, “The two most important days in your life are the day you are born and the day you find out why.”. We seldom try to find our purpose for our existence. At the end of the day, we make arrangements to ensure our basic needs are taken care of today, tomorrow, day-after and for years, and then there is no end to chasing luxury throughout our lifetime. Sometimes our religious activities come under the bracket of entertainment, enjoyment, merry making and it is gone.  Do you see those 40,000 hours? What are you going to spend them on?

As Richard Bach states, “we design our lives through the power of choices.”. And those choices will only make sense when aligned with the true purpose of our lives.  To bring clarity and meaning you need to find your creator and savior of your souls. Today, we are busy creating gods out of our imaginations, with our hands and design our own rituals to satisfy a god we have made. But the reality of God is entirely different. Most of the time we don’t want to know the truth about Him, because we are scared, we will be convinced.

God is not a strange, weird character expecting weird things from you, but He was incarnated in the human form born of a virgin and made a provision to liberate man from the sinful nature. That is Jesus who died on the cross and remembered in history because of His resurrection from death.  The question is not a comparison of who the big God is but who is the God who conquered death. And if He made it, then we have a hope to make it too, to live in eternity with Him. He made a strong statement about eternity by these words, “Don’t let your heart be troubled. Believe in God: Believe also in me. I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you. If I go away and prepare a place for you, I will come again and take you to myself, so that where I am you may be also.”. Try to know Him and have fellowship with Him. Your purpose in life will give you hope and enlighten others too. The question is not about religion but about knowing and establishing a relationship with your creator and savior. 

 

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Popular Cliché- “it’s okay to not be okay”!

There’s a popular cliché constantly shared with young people: “it’s okay to not be okay”. It is usually referred to the state of mind. Some of the examples are a bad mood, fluctuating emotions, wanting to be alone, taking the anger on someone and being grumpy due to personal reasons. But then such clichés (expressions), like “it’s okay to not be okay”, try to normalize the state of mind. Normalizing such emotions can hurt more and turn out to be harmful.

We all face challenges and crises in some form, and that can constantly affect our state of mind. To manage our emotions, we use alternative approaches hoping it would make things better only to find that it further messed up the situation or hurt someone in the process. Emotions are the result of one’s state of heart. When the heart is calm and at peace our behavior shows it because we are usually at peace with everyone. 

Your heart and its state matters. People can be deceived by thinking they are righteous and in the right state of mind when they are not. The problem of the human heart is tricky and needs supernatural intervention to be at peace permanently. Even an evil man can convince himself of his own righteousness, and from there reject God’s call to repent. When we sin we disturb the rhythm of the heart. We hurt God and hurt ourselves too. Temporary solutions can further trigger disharmony.

It is said, if you have inner peace, external events can’t disturb you. If you don’t, nothing in this world can soothe you. The Bible says, “A joyful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up a bone.”  It's okay not to be okay, but it’s definitely not okay to stay that way. God has provided another way - Jesus is the way! He has provided a solution and promised us perfect peace. The solution is total unconditional forgiveness from our sin and guilt which will allow our heart to operate in peace and harmony. And He promised perfect peace when He said, “Peace I leave with you. My peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Don’t let your heart be troubled or fearful.”. If you are not okay, address it in the light of God’s call to restore you. He will help you.

 

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Beyond human standards!

 

As a society, we are governed by systems. We use systems to accomplish our objectives every day. There’s a system to prepare ourselves for the day making mobility faster and easier. We have a system for the way we organize our calendar. In addition to systems is discipline that we all learn to keep moving past barriers in life.

Have you noticed that being so used to the systems and discipline, we take the help of the same to connect with God? One thing human race fails to understand is that God's survival is not dependent on our visit to holy places nor because of us worshiping Him. He exists forever. The fact is we need Him all the time but not by connecting using laws and systems.

Systems and laws show us where we stand in terms of our right and wrong. It is glaring when we default. Law has the capacity to convict or acquit a person but systems and laws cannot change the behavior of a person. It also cannot free a man from any addiction or moral failures. Unlike love and forgiveness, it can only pronounce judgement. Just because the system and laws are in place it doesn’t guarantee that there will be no defaulters. In fact, we see more crime and people finding more ways to manipulate the law.

One of the staggering verses in the Bible that describes the greatest sacrifice of Jesus on the cross of Calvary where it says, “For God so loved the world in this way: He gave his one and only son so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.”. He did not die as a victim to the system and corruption, He predicted the nature of His own death and resurrection while He was alive. Mark the verse that says when we believe in Him, we have hope and our life is transformed too. We are set free from all moral failure and punishment that a law would deem us. Love is the emotion through which God connects with us and vice versa because of the demonstration of His love.

When we merely do things as part of rites and rituals laid by religious system it doesn’t impact our heart or life, but when we understand who God is and His sacrifice for us, that moves our heart. We draw closer to God with love and sincerity. It’s our understanding of who God is and our relationship with Him will transform us and draw us closer to God more than the systems and religious laws.

 

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A year of Hope-2023!

 

Are you contemplating on how the new year is going to be? Probably for some 2022 was a great year with all dreams fulfilled, finding a new job, promotions, great perks, new heights in business, revived relationships, new connections and so on. But on the other side there would also be many who are moving forward with disappointments, regrets, job loss or death of a family member. If you are feeling hopeless and struggling with loneliness or probably confused, not sure what to expect, don't lose heart. Let me remind you that you are still breathing when millions have ceased to exist.

Victor Kiam puts it so beautifully, "even if you fall flat on your face, you're still moving forward.". Crisis, heartbreak and pain would continue to accompany us irrespective of our position and possession. As long as you have breath, keep moving! You are not alone, nor you are far from the sight of the almighty God; the maker. He will watch over you if you submit your life in His hand. He has a definite purpose in your life, i.e., to transform you and nourish your soul so that it connects with the saviour always. Don't just exist to survive, but be in the process of becoming a better person who adds value to others and able to influence love, peace and harmony.

Do you know that it is possible to be rich, big and successful but not that easy to be good, godly, kind and to add value in the lives of the people and fulfilling God's purpose in your life? Since spirituality is just a matter of rites and rituals today, it has not added much value to our character nor has it transformed us as a person. Don't get lost in making money, finding career, reaching unimaginable heights but failing to live for the maker who made you. Spurgeon states, "to make a man healthy in body and wealthy in estate, to educate his mind, and train his faculties, all these are good, but in comparison with the salvation of the soul, they sink into insignificance.". To know the true living God and establish a meaningful relationship with Christ Jesus is your greatest accomplishment in life. He has promised a fulfilled life. Jesus stated, “I came that they may have life and life in abundance.”. When you trust Him and accept Him as your saviour, the blueprint of your life will unfold and be visible to you. There’s no coincidence with God. All things happen because He allows them to happen. He honors our free will, even if our will goes against His plan for us. The Bible says, “We know that in everything God works for good with those who love Him, who are called according to His purpose.”

Trust Him and make your heart His dwelling place in this year 2023. You will not be disappointed at all. A small tip from Rich Villados is worth pondering, "Whenever anxiety surfaces, you may find this acronym helpful (REST) to be helpful to move you beyond reactivity:

REFLECT: on the source of your anxiety

EXPLORE: your own values on the matter

SEEK: out others you can process with

TRUST: that God can give you grace for hard moments

And I would want to conclude with the thought from Amy Carmichael who stated, "It is a safe thing to trust Him to fulfil the desires which He creates.". May God bless you and wishing you a Happy new year 2023.

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