Today’s reflection comes from David Brand – Thank you, David!
Am I making faithful, or fearful choices?
I’m sure we’ve all seen the Tom and Jerry cartoons, where one of the characters suddenly appears with an angel on one shoulder and a devil on the other. The angel tries to persuade the cartoon character to do the right thing (often requiring courage and boldness) while the two-horned, pitch-fork wielding devil tries to get the character to do the wrong thing.
I dismissed this childish representation as just a silly cartoon idea, until the last couple of years. I started to notice – and have shared this with my home group – that the angel/devil-on-the-shoulders-picture is a picture of what’s happening in my own mind, every moment of every day.
I’m often inspired by Terry Waite’s account of his time as a captive hostage in Beirut in the early 1990’s. In his book, he talks of his coming to believe the we are ‘choosing beings’; we have the privilege and responsibility to choose our response to what’s happening around us. It’s pretty much the only thing the captors couldn’t control about Terry Waite’s life in captivity.
I read recently in a couple of books, by the eclectic mix of authors Brian Draper and Russell Brand, that we are not our thoughts. When I read that phrase I immediately thought “yeah, right” – but I’ve come to believe there is a truth in that: I am an observer to my thoughts, and have the privilege to choose my response to them.
And that brings me back to the angel and devil: When I step back and look at what’s happening in my own mind, and what’s happened in my life so far, the thoughts seem to come from God, or Satan. And I get to choose who I follow. In the Jungian branch of psychology, these conflicting sources of thought are called ‘The True Self’ (God), and the Ego (the devil). In Christian scripture, Saint Paul talks this issue when he speaks of the battle between ‘the Spirit’ and ‘the flesh’ in Romans 8. For me it speaks clearly of the challenge we all face constantly every day as human beings.
When I reflect on my life so far, there are a few things that strike me about the choices I’ve made, some of which I agonised over greatly. Where I made a choice characterised by fear, it generally turned out to be not such a great choice. But when I made a choice out of faith, it generally has turned out to be a better one. Make no mistake, the faithful choices have not been pain-free at all -far from it- at times they have been massively hard work, exhausting and have caused tension for me, and I’ve doubted the wisdom of those choices along the way. But, deep down I’ve known they were the right choices.
When I’ve made fearful choices, the outcome has often caused myself and others even more pain. And what is more, the fear itself (worry, anxiety, etc) has often sucked the joy and peace from my life as I’ve journeyed along.
When I have a painful feeling in my mind, I’ve learned a technique that helps me is to ask ‘why am I feeling that way?’ Then honestly answer that, and then repeat the ‘why’ question. After about 5 rounds of ‘why’ questions, I get to the root-fear. For me, 99% of the time it’s two things:
- I won’t be able to care for myself and family.
- I will be alone.
And when I see it like that, it shines a bright light on my faith (or lack of it). Do I believe in a caring, Father God, who will meet all my needs (Matt 6:28-34)? And do I believe he’ll never leave me nor forsake me (Hebrews 13:5)? Do I believe he’ll bring people into my life to be in community with (as relationships with God and others are the only things that really matter in life – Mark 12:30-31)?
This is a real challenge to me to reflect on, and it’s been hard work. But it’s helping, and I’m moving the right direction. I thank God for His grace in helping that happen.
I pray this unprecedented Easter will be a time of renewal in your life, and the lives of many people across the world. And I pray that we’ll respond to the angel on the shoulder, not the devil on the other.
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Rom 8:15 15 For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.”
Heb 2:14-15 14 Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might destroy him who holds the power of death — that is, the devil— 15 and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death.
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Our pastor adds: And I felt this Easter reflection from Tearfund was relevant to Dave’s reflection too
On behalf of everyone at Tearfund, I would like to wish you a peace-filled Easter.
No matter what is happening in the world, the resurrection is our constant source of hope. This short film by our creative team, featuring poetry from Gideon Heugh and artwork by Lloyd and Elijah Kinsley, is a powerful reminder for us to choose faith over fear.
Thanks to your support and prayers, hope is overcoming despair in the areas of greatest need around the world.
Christ is risen!
With every blessing,
Nigel Harris
CEO, Tearfund