Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:4-7 NIV)
There are so many things that can throw us a curve and if we allow every little thing that happens to defeat us, we will never know the peace of God. Being anxious about things we do not control, keeps us from rejoicing in the Lord, changes our personalities, and results in the enemy rolling in the floor, laughing at us.
We are so consumed with being politically correct and not offending people that we have forgotten how to enjoy life, be silly, and laugh at ourselves. The Word tells us that laughter is like a medicine and if we learned to laugh more, releasing anxieties and the stress that accompanies it, we would discover a much more enjoyable life, no matter what our circumstances are.
How foolish is it for people to make a big deal over the design or color of a coffee cup? Really! Are we so needy for attention that we think we can tell a company how their cups should look? Or is it the media–so lost for real news that they waste their time and resources reporting on nonsense? What’s more important–the cup or the contents? And if it makes someone that upset–get your coffee somewhere else or learn to brew it at home!
And then we want to censor creativity with acronyms. Let’s face it–around this time of year, creative artists and marketing teams do all sorts of crazy things to garner attention and the expendable income they know could come their way. It’s their job! They cannot entice people to buy things without first getting their attention. Once again, if an item offends–don’t buy it! But just because it offends one person or one group of people, don’t interfere with others enjoying a sense of humor.
I don’t necessarily appreciate all the nonsense in commercials and advertising I see, but I’m not going to lose any sleep over it and I’m certainly not reporting it to the media. My solution–I simply don’t buy the product or patronize the business. Ta-dah! It’s just that simple. There is no need to create a lot of hoopla about something, directing more attention to it, and then buying it anyway. And that is what some will do.
I’ve known people to complain about the contents of a book–outraged by something they don’t have to buy or read. If it’s going to offend, don’t participate. It is the height of foolishness to declare something or someone offensive and yet engage in the promotion of a product through negativity, or to continually berate someone--keeping them the focus of attention.
So, in looking back at what I just wrote–I guess those who protest against God and the Bible are not as offended as they claim. If they were, their focus would be on Him and His Word and not all the other foolishness that won’t help anyone enter into to eternal life. Imagine that!
Now, as Believers–we know we have no need to sweat the small stuff for our faith is in Him and our confidence is in His ability to change the hearts of men and women and to transform lives so that our focus will be–rejoicing in Him, stress-free!
maryhallrayford 