Do you find yourself wanting to get away from it all at times? Many of us do. You are not alone. We all have a tendency to become bogged down with the cares of this world to the extent that we simply want to get away from it all and instead make believe everything around us and beating us down isn't really happening. But it is, it is indeed.
What isn't happening? Not that I need to remind you, because you and I have daily reminders, but we are 19 months into an unusual season where many of our dreams have been left unfulfilled because of the pandemic. Stranded at home, unable to enjoy our freedoms as we were formerly accustomed to, and out of employment opportunities, we sometimes struggle to find ways to pass our time, eke out a living, and avoid the doldrums of boredom.
Snooze the news
No matter what newspaper, magazine, TV show, movie or website you visit these days, you're going to find yourself enmeshed in wave after wave of propaganda and the make believe. The media continues to feed you stories that are untrue, partly true or outright lies, and all of these stem from the author's make believe world.
And if a person does not have their antennae up and their alert mode set to the on position, s/he is susceptible to fall into the elaborate make believe that is spun in a manner that is deliberately meant to lead one astray and off the pathways of truth.
A persistent and willful twisting of the truth is the real new normal. No longer is your television, theater, newspaper, website or magazine providing you with information that benefits you, but rather all are rife with cleverly designed lies that a mere decade or so ago would have been rebuked by their intended audiences.
Wanna get away from it all? Snooze the news. No, really - try it. Within a matter of days or a week you will experience a new mindset of your own, as opposed to the one the world wants to cram down your insatiable throat.
Put away your blues
The madness, lawlessness and downright creepiness of the world today can be rather depressing...if you let it. Wars, rumors of wars, natural disasters, corruption, political chicanery, doublespeak, cancel culture, and a paradigm shift from democracy to Marxist ideology buffets our senses on a daily basis.
The above-mentioned leads to a dire lack of hope for the future, and this slithering foreboding settles into the soul and saps the spirit. Much like a steamy summer, one becomes weak, weary and wanting for a change. The good news is that you do have it within you to make changes, though wise counsel should always be sought. Indeed, there are many who would lead you deeper into the world of the make believe. Don't go there - put way your blues and embrace joy.
Justify your views
What do you believe and why do you believe it? What is your worldview? Oftentimes, some soul searching is needed. If we really want change in our lives, we first have to be honest with ourselves. That can be a tough road to hoe.
If you believe in the ways of the world, you are already off the beaten track of whatever is true, right, honorable, admirable, lovely, and pure.
If your worldview does not line up with the aforementioned, you might want to think about getting back on track. Far too often we are easily misled by the world and live by its destructive ways. In short, we typically live for the pursuit of self and indulge ourselves with pleasures that are in all reality damaging to us. It is true that in our present world, we are observing a radical paradigm shift.
Now, more than ever, it is necessary that we choose the path we will follow to the end of our days when we will at least receive our just rewards for the life we lived.
Spread the good news
In an ever-increasing hostile world, when is the last time you spread some good news? If you have to think about it, you may want to reconsider your priorities.
Some people are prone to gossiping and backstabbing. They prefer to wallow in their misery and bring others down to their level. This is what Paul the Apostle referred to as corrupt talk. It defiles others and one's own soul, and it intensifies when there is a lack of truth, direction and true spiritual health.
We find a lot of the make believe today in discussions about the Bible and one's faith. Many people possess a penchant for majoring on the minors. They just love to proffer an opinion and be right.
For example, though they say they love the Scriptures and abide in them, the canonical Bible is not enough for them. If they knew what the word of God says and how it was written, they would not scurry about seeking apocryphal books, such as 1 Enoch, the Maccabees, the Gospel of Thomas, and many more distortions of the truth.
The Gospel of Thomas purports to provide us with the story of Jesus' childhood up until the age of 12 when He began teaching at the Temple in Jerusalem. The childhood accounts are numerous and fanciful, some so humorous that one cannot help but laugh. Still others portray Jesus as mean-spirited and downright hateful (and thus sinful).
One example is a brief story where boisterous kids are playing on a two-story home's roof. One of the boys allegedly pushed another boy off the roof and he died. The people blamed Jesus for the death, to which he is said to have replied:
"But Jesus, seeing that, leaped down straightway from the upper story and stood at the head of him that was dead and saith to him: Zeno, did I cast thee down? Arise and tell. For so was the boy called. And with the word the boy rose up and worshipped Jesus and said: Lord, thou didst not cast me down, but when I was dead thou didst make me alive" (Thomas 8:3).
Thomas is another example of the make believe. It arose after the first century A.D. and was not accepted by the church fathers who had actually observed the childhood of Jesus. Like modern lies and propaganda, it sets one on a course of destruction and onto paths of misinformation.
The elaborate world of the make believe is all around us. The make believe consists of myriad pitfalls waiting to swallow you and I up and, per Satan's plan, deceive us.
But there is real hope for the now. When the Jews were questioning Jesus about who he was, we read what Jesus replied:
"The one who sent me is with me; he has not left me alone, for I always do what pleases him.” Even as he spoke, many believed in him.
To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free” (John 8:29-32, NIV).
You can be set free today if you call upon His name. He will chart a course for you that is a straight path that leads to the truth and the righteousness that pleases God, one not of our own making, but of rather the finished work on the cross and resurrection to life.
Get away. Get away from the world, the blues, from the lies and propaganda, from gossip and backstabbing, and come to Jesus today.
I am a believer of Jesus Christ since I am a child . In this world, I believe, there are still a lot that don't believe in Him despite the number of Gospel words they hear, despite the numerous attempts of the Messenger of God to spread his Words, to spread the news on how Jesus healed our since. Some only laugh at them and some even persecutes them.. That's one of the challenges in this world right now. Specially that there's few anti-Christ out there already spreading false news and false information to many.