Dangers of the Rat Race

It’s not always good to be nice.

Everyone wants us to show love.

That often gets translates as…
Don’t upset people.

We should show love, but that will OFTEN upset people.
It’s not loving to not let people continue in sin.
It’s not loving to be passive when people are being treated poorly.
It’s not loving to be silent and withhold wisdom that could positively change a life.

But doing those things will cause disruption.
It could make them angry, uncomfortable, defensive, or hurt.

Seeking good for our life and others will stir the pot.

Our “love” can really just be apathetic cowardice.

I heard someone once say,
“Comfort the afflicted
Afflict the comfortable”

That’s where love lives.

How do Christians have freedom if we have to follow a bunch of rules?

It’s not a freedom to do whatever we want.
It’s a freedom to say no to whatever we want.

Then, we get to live with the joy and peace that comes from all the no’s.

The rat race can’t be won.

It’s exhausting,
But we keep going.

The energy boosts always seem to keep coming.
We see the truck, the house, and the boat.
Life would be so much better with it, right?

Every step on the race is fueled by comparison and discontentment.

The outcome: anxiety, debt, broken relationships.

The anxiety we feel on the race is driven by “the conflict between who we are created to be and who we are tempted to be.”

Contentment can be calculated by your haves divided by your wants.
But wants tend to go up when we get more stuff,
So, the only lever is to decrease your wants.

Media drives our wants.

Psychologists worked with media agencies to program ads, shows, movies, etc. to implant the thought that

1. We have a problem

2. Buying more stuff will solve the problem

We intake 1,000’s of ads, then pray for contentment….

As we enter into a season of thankfulness,
Consider this simple solution for discontentment:

Take a break from media.

I hope you have a great week!!

God Bless,
Matt Virgin