4 Reasons We All Need a Spiritual Practice - Uvalde Shooting

Mass shootings seem to have become a regular occurence in our world these days. More people are buying guns to protect themselves. We have become almost numb to tragedy. People wonder why these events keep happening. Apparently the answer is not obvious to everyone but it is to me.

No, the answer isn't gun control. The answer isn't mental health treatments. These may help band-aid the problem but these solutions ignore the root cause.

1. Inability to manage negative emotions in a healthy manner.

Managing emotions is part of our spiritual growth. When we have no spiritual path, we have no resources to teach us how to control our emotions. Anger, jealousy, and resentment are all very dangerous emotions that we need to learn how to handle in a constructive - not destructive - way. None of us is immune and we must be conscious of when negative emotions are building up inside of us. This is where prayer and meditation can be very helpful. 

2. Loss of value for the sacredness of human life.

And why is that? Because they have turned their backs on God - the most sacred One of all. He is not allowed in schools anymore. They've taken the words "In God we Trust" off our money, out of the pledge of allegiance and removed the statues that serve as reminders of the principles this country was founded on.  If we don't hold God sacred, whose precepts teach us the basics of how to be a decent human being and the difference between right and wrong, what can we expect? Chaos! Which is exactly what we have and if we don't shift our focus, the situation will only get worse.

3. Denial of the existence of evil.

Evil does indeed exist - just take a look around.  To deny the existence of evil is to live in a polyanna state of oblivion. All is not well with the world and we were not born sinless, as some purport. Think about your most recent unkind comment, lie, rudeness, impatience. Think about when you thought badly about someone, yourself even. Think about when you look at things with lust or jealousy. None of these is from God. The bent of human beings is towards things that gratify the flesh and temporarily make us feel better about ourselves, make us feel loved, attractive, worthy. When was the last time you compared yourself to another? The truth is only God can make us feel loved, attractive and worthy. Why? Because he died for us, that's why. If that doesn't spell love, I don't know what does.

4. The prevalence of excess in our culture. 

Another sign we need a spiritual path is when we indulge to excess: overeat, drink too much, have too much sex, exercise or work too much. All of these are signs of unhealthy attitudes which lead to unhealthy behaviors. Just look at the opioid crisis. People are hurting emotionally and mentally and they seek to console themselves with a dangerous and deadly habit.

Case in Point 
I was talking with an acquaintance recently and he was telling me how many times he went dancing over the weekend, kind of bragging actually.

"I've been dancing every night," he stated. 

"How often have you been out?" 

"None, dancing isn't everything" I replied. 
"It's not?" he replied with a tone of sarcasm.
Now I have nothing against enjoying life, but sometimes, we keep ourselve so busy we don't have time to think about or deal with our emotional and spiritual issues. Months later, I found out this guy was convicted of killing his wife and was out on bail when I met him. 

The purpose of this post is not to judge or condemn anyone but to get us all to realize the importance of developing and working on a spiritual practice. In the same way it takes effort to exercise and eat right, it does take effort to maintain a spiritual path. But what are the alternatives? Get fat, out of shape, and live down, depressed, and hopeless or worse - take an innocent life. We are all capable of these acts if not by the grace of God.

For Reflection:
We can each make a difference in our own part of the world. Each change we make personally ripples into the great sea of humanity. What change can you make to manage your emotions better? Every step we take towards becoming a more loving, caring, forgiving, truthful, person will affect how we treat others which in turn will affect how they will treat others. Just imagine what it could be like here on earth. It is true that "the kingdom of God is at hand".

If this post made you think, consider joining our blog community by entering your email address in the box provided. You'll receive my weekly encouraging posts plus a copy of my free e-guide "7 Steps to Finding Your Spiritual Path". 

Stay tuned for more positive and practical wisdom to help you ignite the power within and discover YOUR destiny!

Until next time, keep looking up!

Ariel Paz

When Bad Things Happen to Good People

Tragedy and loss are a part of life. Sadly. We lose a loved one. We hear of another shooting or mass murder. A friend gets a diagnosis of cancer. In the wake of yet another senseless killing, it is important we each do our part to help each other grapple with death, injustice, and tragedy.

These events happen again and again. Another shooting. Another mass murder.  Attacks on theatres, schools, college campuses and entertainment venues. Innocent people - many of them African Americans - lose their lives. Families devastated. Futures that will never be realized. It is heart-breaking.

For many, these are times to question God. Where was God in all this? 

Well, the answer is we have taken God out of society, out of schools, out of the US currency. Many people have lost any sense of justice and regard for human life and they have succumbed to their animal instincts. 

Why did this happen again? Doesn't anyone care? Some answers we won't know this side of Heaven, but we do know this. God does care and He does see. Psalm 56:8 says this: "You keep track of all my sorrows. You have collected all my tears in your bottle. You have recorded each one in your book." This verse is somewhat comforting to me in times of sorrow. Yet, what to do in the aftermath? How to move on? Having been through many losses myself, I can share some insight that perhaps will help soothe the pain and lend some sort of healing balm to the hurting heart.

1. Take time to grieve and process. 
Grief is a deep and difficult emotion. I think it may be one of the most difficult to process. Get support. A counselor or a support group will understand and help you through this time. Be gentle with yourself. Don't medicate, ignore, or repress your feelings. Don't act out. We need to move through the pain so it will move through and out of us in due time. Give yourself permission to cry. Crying is healing.

2. Cherish the memories. 

We can't bring the person back, but we can keep them alive in our minds. When something tragic happens, we gain a new perspective of life. We don't take things or people for granted any more. We cherish the times together with our loved ones. No one really knows how long we have on this earth. Each day is a precious gift, but all too often we take for granted the time we have been graciously given. Slow down. Smell the roses. Reprioritize.

3. Don't waste the pain.
There is always a message or a lesson in the tragic and painful circumstances of life. Yes, events may appear random, but if we take the time to investigate, we may see a pattern. Patterns lead to the awareness of a problem. Awareness leads to solutions. As President Obama stated, these shootings have become routine. Routine! Ask the victims families about routine! But he is right. No one is taking action. No one is asking the tough questions like: Where has the respect for the sanctity of life gone? Why is there no limit to the number of guns in any one household? Why do we keep electing officials who allow these senseless killings to continue? Is the police force really keeping people safe?

4. Remember there is evil in the world. How anyone can deny the duality of good and evil in light of terror and tragedy is beyond me. People do evil things. It can't always be blamed or excused by mental illness. People are responsible for their actions and their choices. Where was the dad or the mom who allowed the purchase of these weapons into the household? What emotional wound has gone unaddressed and unhealed? What were the warning signs that were ignored? Evil is a part of life on this earth.

5. Keep your faith in God. We don't always understand why bad things happen, but as Job once said "Shall we only receive good things from the hand of God?" (Job 2:10) Trust that He will get you through this pain. You will heal in time and you will see your loved one again in Heaven someday. There will be no more pain and no more tears then. Know that God does care and He cries with you. His heart breaks when ours does. He, too, lost a child so he knows how we feel. I sometimes think He must be shaking his head, asking "When will they do something?"

The question is when will WE do something? Will we hold to our stubborn principles? Will we put God back into our culture? Will we examine our own predjudices? Will we feel the pain these families feel instead of turning our backs? Next time you go out to vote, will you make gun laws a major issue in your decision? Will you demand justice for all? 

If anything, I hope this post has made you pause and think. Your family may not have been affected, but it could have been. Will you step up to the plate and be a voice for those who have already lost?

Until next time, stay tuned for more keep the faith and keep looking up!

Ariel Paz 

Is God Trying to Get Our Attention?

Another shooting. Another tragedy. Floods. Hurricanes. Earthquakes. The list goes on and things are seem to be going from bad to worse.

Many people today don't believe in God. Others believe but don't understand the nature of God and the battle between good and evil. "How could God allow this to happen?" is a question I hear often. My answer is that there is evil in this world. And if you don't believe that, then just turn on the nightly news.

We cannot fully comprehend why God allows terrible things to happen to innocent people but it has been happening since the beginning of time.

We do know that good can come out of a bad situation. People make bad choices because we have free will and a sinful, uncontrolled nature. Now, I don't want to get too deep here, but bear with me.

Much of the bad stuff that happens in our world is a result of:
a) our poor choices or
b) someone else's poor choice. 

If we were all born inherently perfect, as some philosophies claim, then we wouldn't have these bad things happen, now would we?

Remember Noah and the ark? Due to the sin of the people, God sent the great floods to wipe out humanity. All except one faithful family - Noah's. By the way, did you know there is a flood story in every major religion? Interesting, huh? But, I digress. The point is God got disgusted with the way things were going back then and decided to wipe almost everybody out.

Could it be that God is trying to get our attention once again?

Who turns to God when everything is going smoothly? It's usually only when the tough times hit that we run to God in tears. God sees what is going on in the world and I bet he's not too happy. What is it going to take for us to turn to God? How many more acts of violence and disasters have to happen before we cry out and say enough?

God sees the future and knows just what we need to go through in our lives to build our characters and make us stronger. God knows what it takes to get us out of our complacency. Setting things right takes action and effort. It also requires a changed mindset.

Look at World War 2 for example. The United States didn't want to get involved with what was going on in the rest of the world. Meanwhile, Hitler's aggressive and violent policies were murdering thousands of Jews. It was a wake-up call then and perhaps this streak of violence and natural disasters is another one to perhaps not only America but to the world in general. We cannot tolerate violence of any sort and action must be taken.

We may not understand at the time, but eventually we can look back and see good that has come from bad. I know this is true in my life, how about yours?

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Stay tuned for more practical and spiritual wisdom.Your thoughts are always welcome.

Until next time, keep looking up!

Ariel 

Charleston Shootings - Is Forgiveness the Way?

Another horrific massacre took place last week in Charleston, SC. A twenty-one year old young man opened fire in a bible study group and killed nine victims including an 87 year old woman as well as the pastor of the church. The young man was eventually apprehended and his license plate bore the emblem of the confederate flag. In a video, the tearful pained voices of the victims' relatives expressed their hurt and forgiveness to the unemotional lad who stood between prison guards. How does one respond to such an injustice as the loss of a loved one. Is it wise to offer forgiveness to an unrepentant soul?

Now I am all for forgiving others, but I wonder if perhaps this process has been misunderstood by some so I began to do some research. When we are hurt or offended by another person, we usually experience a wide variety of emotions, so let's explore these for a moment to see how they are to be handled.

When someone hurts us, there are many reactions we may feel; some of these are healthy and some are not. We may feel hurt, grieved, saddened, and sometimes devastated. These are all normal emotions and especially in the case of the death of a loved one. We need to allow ourselves to feel these emotions fully. To deny or forgive the other too quickly is both unhealthy and unwise. We need to take the time to feel and to grieve. Another response is the desire to want to get back at the other person. This is known as the desire for vengeance. So what about when we feel the need to "pay them back" for the hurt they've caused us?

The sense of injustice is reasonable. However, when we harbor thoughts of vengeance, these negative thoughts poison our mind and steal our peace. It would do us well to remember that we, too, have hurt others. When we let go of this need, and give it to God, we rid ourselves of that poison. It may be difficult, even painful, to forgive, but unforgiveness hurts us even more in the long run.

I was surprised at how quickly the relatives were to offer forgiveness to the perpetrator who showed absolutely no sign of remorse or regret. Does such a person deserve to be let off the hook, so to speak, so quickly? Is this even biblical?

There are many verses in Scripture that tell us to forgive and how many times to forgive. There is one verse however that may shed some light as to when to actually forgive someone. It is found in Luke 17:3 and reads "Take heed to yourselves: If thy brother trespass against thee, rebuke him; and if he repent, forgive him.". This is from the King James Bible, perhaps the oldest and most accurate version. Notice the caveat - if he repents. In other words, we are not commanded to forgive unrepentant people. Let's use another scenario.

Say your child tells you a lie or steals money from you and you find out about it. As a parent, you don't stop loving your child, but would you insist the child apologize? Or would you say "I forgive you" and then let the whole issue drop? If you do, the chances of having a repeat performance is likely to occur, would you agree? The role of a parent is to develop character in their children and teach them right from wrong. When we insist on moral behavior it does not mean we do not love our child. In fact, good discipline is a necessary component of raising healthy adults. There is one more consequence of forgiving too quickly.

When we forgive someone who is unrepentant, we take away the opportunity for real change and growth. Most human beings have some sort of conscience, and without the chance to repent, the person will wallow in guilt and shame. The purpose of true guilt and shame are to bring someone to accept responsibility for what they have done and to change. Then and only then, are we to forgive them for they have shown a change of heart and a true sorrowfulness for their actions.

Now this post might be controversial. I would like to hear your thoughts on this topic. We must stem the tide of these killings and hold the perpetrators responsible. Let me know your thoughts in the comments below.

Until next time, keep looking up!

Ariel