I am a lay person when it comes to the details of health issues, notwithstanding, based on personal experience, I am fully aware of the devastating effects ailments can cause on individuals. I am also aware that when it comes to the causes of diseases, there is a difference between diseases resulting from “superficial and heredity camps” on the one hand, and, on the other, diseases caused by our own “personal actions and inactions”. Both situations converge at the point of “suffering”. The first can only be curbed by supernatural forces. But the second category can be avoided by the change of our attitudes, habits, behaviors and certain thought patterns.
However, I find it particularly strange, if not mysteriously pathetic, when i hear that certain thought patterns by individuals’ results in diseases, some of which eventually leads to premature deaths. I really wonder. I wonder the kind of mistakes, secrets or disappointments that could be so exclusive to an individual to the point of thinking his/her way into mental ailment that could even take his/her life.
I also wonder if they forget the fact that “There is nothing new under the sun” or that “There is time for everything” ; among which I believe is a time to fail and a time to win and, a time to get it right and a time to get it wrong. But I guess I shouldn’t wonder, because it only goes to confirm the scripture that “people perish for the lack of knowledge” Hos 4:6. So I have to assume that has always been the case.
But the fact of the matter is that, as humans as we are, we are not beyond the realms of fallibility. We all have our own fair share of human foibles. That is why we are all admonished to seek God first to make our lives more complete. But even with the art of following, we still fall short. That is why our righteousness is not “self-righteousness” but through the grace of God.
In other words, everyone has his own set of challenges. No one is exempted from the issues of life. That is why the pass mark for every exam is not 100%. Indeed even the few people who occasionally make 4.0 GPA after school doesn’t score 100% marks in each subject, even if any, from beginning to end. Meaning, absolutely no human being can be perfect by doing anything in particular.
So dwelling on your past mistakes, harboring some secrets and crying over your disappointments consistently is a no no! That is why the bible cautions us in such situations that “if you falter in the days of adversity, you are weak indeed!” (Proverbs 24:10). So that is not the time to curse yourself, neither is it the time to think your way into sickness nor kill yourself before your time. Rather, that is the solemn time for self-introspection and reconciliation to embrace the glory days ahead. At worse, you should only remember your past mistakes to be able to do things better going forward, because to heir is human! And that very situation is not different.
So yes, you might be reaping the proverbial fruit of the wrong seed you might have sown, but staying composed with the belief that “there is time for everything” so though you might be in your dark moment now, the other side of the bargain- lighter days- will certainly smile at you one day.
Ultimately, if contrary to the bottom line for celebrating Christmas; which is the commemoration of the birth of Jesus Christ, has now been normalized to mean partying in general, then I can certainly say one can celebrate the same all year round, because it is a great joy every day when your mind is full of positivity and hope. A good conscience eliminates jealousy, hatred, fear and increases your lifespan. Scripture says “as a man thinketh, so is he” But if you profess you have a good conscience but your heart says a different thing, for whatever it may be worth, you will also suffer negative consequences.
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