Emotionally Broke
This is a question a friend wrote this morning and I wanted to take a moment and share some thoughts. This is a lifelong friend.
Do any of you think it is possible to become emotionally broken ??? to the point that you seem to lose your true self ???
Self is the most powerful and powerless entity we will ever own. Life is a convoluted cornucopia of decisions, relationships, actions, and thoughts. During that life we will elevate people to a stature that is tough for anyone to maintain and we will create expectations of others that have no choice but to set us up for disappointment. We suffer in silence from that which breaks our spirit. That could be work, church, family, friend, or something we wish we had never done. All of this together makes the dirt pile up and become a mountain to steep to climb alone or a valley too deep to see out of.
When we start to spiral out of control emotionally our inner demons surface and often times magnify to the point our true self hides in the shadows as a defense against life itself. You see as much as we get harmed emotionally and spiritually we too have harmed others in the same manner. We may not know it because seldom will others reveal it. I assure though we have been the source of someone else's disappointment over the years. The revelation that is hidden whether from self or others compounds the speed to which we descend.
Regardless what caused us to become broke the real and most important question is how to regain control of a shattered life. Is it possible? No question it is highly possible and probable. Not to make this theological but I would like to use a parable from John's Gospel regarding Lazarus. In the closing verses of Lazarus we hear Jesus command the dead man to come out. That dead person is us, we have become desensitized to the world around and emotionally spent to the point of being broke. We are the walking dead.
As scripture tells us the dead man comes out of the tomb bound head to toe in burial cloth. Once again consider our own lives, when we finally muster the courage to face life again the people around us are not as willing to allow us back because it may set your life on a higher plain than theirs. Think about that for just a moment and consider your own interactions with others. We beg internally for forgiveness yet we are slow to give it out.
Once the dead man was given life back and he walked out of the tomb still bound to the life that killed him Jesus turns to the crowd and says "UNBIND THAT MAN". Friends that is the answer to many of life's problems. We have to unbind people so they can have their life back. Our true self is literally dying to come out. Never underestimate the power of forgiveness nor the power of grace. You can't sit back and hope for anything to happen, it is up to us to walk out of the tomb even if we are bound to the life we are trying to escape. That is a two way street as well if we want our emotional balance back we too have to unbind others.
I will close this with a poem I posted last week called The Man in the Glass
When you get what you want in your struggle for self
And the world makes you king for a day
Just go to the mirror and look at yourself
And see what that man has to say.
For it isn’t your father, or mother, or wife
Whose judgment upon you must pass
The fellow whose verdict counts most in your life
Is the one staring back from the glass.
He’s the fellow to please – never mind all the rest
For he’s with you, clear to the end
And you’ve passed your most difficult, dangerous test
If the man in the glass is your friend.
You may fool the whole world down the pathway of years
And get pats on the back as you pass
But your final reward will be heartache and tears
If you’ve cheated the man in the glass.
peace to you
Dale
Do any of you think it is possible to become emotionally broken ??? to the point that you seem to lose your true self ???
Self is the most powerful and powerless entity we will ever own. Life is a convoluted cornucopia of decisions, relationships, actions, and thoughts. During that life we will elevate people to a stature that is tough for anyone to maintain and we will create expectations of others that have no choice but to set us up for disappointment. We suffer in silence from that which breaks our spirit. That could be work, church, family, friend, or something we wish we had never done. All of this together makes the dirt pile up and become a mountain to steep to climb alone or a valley too deep to see out of.
When we start to spiral out of control emotionally our inner demons surface and often times magnify to the point our true self hides in the shadows as a defense against life itself. You see as much as we get harmed emotionally and spiritually we too have harmed others in the same manner. We may not know it because seldom will others reveal it. I assure though we have been the source of someone else's disappointment over the years. The revelation that is hidden whether from self or others compounds the speed to which we descend.
Regardless what caused us to become broke the real and most important question is how to regain control of a shattered life. Is it possible? No question it is highly possible and probable. Not to make this theological but I would like to use a parable from John's Gospel regarding Lazarus. In the closing verses of Lazarus we hear Jesus command the dead man to come out. That dead person is us, we have become desensitized to the world around and emotionally spent to the point of being broke. We are the walking dead.
As scripture tells us the dead man comes out of the tomb bound head to toe in burial cloth. Once again consider our own lives, when we finally muster the courage to face life again the people around us are not as willing to allow us back because it may set your life on a higher plain than theirs. Think about that for just a moment and consider your own interactions with others. We beg internally for forgiveness yet we are slow to give it out.
Once the dead man was given life back and he walked out of the tomb still bound to the life that killed him Jesus turns to the crowd and says "UNBIND THAT MAN". Friends that is the answer to many of life's problems. We have to unbind people so they can have their life back. Our true self is literally dying to come out. Never underestimate the power of forgiveness nor the power of grace. You can't sit back and hope for anything to happen, it is up to us to walk out of the tomb even if we are bound to the life we are trying to escape. That is a two way street as well if we want our emotional balance back we too have to unbind others.
I will close this with a poem I posted last week called The Man in the Glass
When you get what you want in your struggle for self
And the world makes you king for a day
Just go to the mirror and look at yourself
And see what that man has to say.
For it isn’t your father, or mother, or wife
Whose judgment upon you must pass
The fellow whose verdict counts most in your life
Is the one staring back from the glass.
He’s the fellow to please – never mind all the rest
For he’s with you, clear to the end
And you’ve passed your most difficult, dangerous test
If the man in the glass is your friend.
You may fool the whole world down the pathway of years
And get pats on the back as you pass
But your final reward will be heartache and tears
If you’ve cheated the man in the glass.
peace to you
Dale
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