The Problem With Hysteria

There is inevitably a problem with making rash decisions under pressure. The old adage "Haste makes waste" has rung true in many a circumstance. I know that, personally, I have anxiety when put under pressures - to speak in front of a group at the last minute, to make a big decision within a limited time frame, etc. I even get flustered in the grocery store when I get stuck trying to decide between two types of apples and my husband is growing anxious, saying "Hurry up, make a decision!" I guess I just lose my mind in a way. The old fight or flight instinct seems to seep in and the chemical reactive body rather than intellectual mind takes over. I grab the apple to the left without thinking because I can't stand the pressure to "hurry up". I think many would agree that under the anxiety of an unexpected deadline, a person's mind cannot fully and reasonably be at ease to make a rational and well thought-out decision. I think this life is our stretched out chance to think and pick a good apple.

I always disliked those signs "Repent! The End is Near!" It lends such an alarmist sense of hurry-do-or-die. I feel that it was in the past 30 years that I needed to mentally endure all that I did to get to the point of realization of the truth of grace. It took about 30 years. Not 20, not 10....I could never have been born and then immediately realized it - it takes time, man. All good things take time.

To make a correct and rational decision, many of us rely on time to think within a peaceful state of mind. When the mind is clear, the answer comes with ease.

Jesus would greet his friends, "Peace be with you." He did not say, "Panic be with you brothers, hurry up and repent and decide to believe in God or you will DIE - you got 5...4...3...2...1!" He did not hastily push and shove his followers into belief. He allowed them to observe and think and they eased into a relationship with Christ as easily as slipping into a warm bath.

Just as when someone forcefeeds religion to those unwilling to swallow, they usually throw it all up again. Small bites are easier to taste, to chew, to think about, to swallow.

The point of this post: Don't panic. Don't feel like you must rush to a conclusion about what or who God is. Don't feel the pressure to figure out the equation because there are only two minutes left on this test. Take your time. Be at ease. Look around. Think in peace. Grace will come to you in peace. And after all, even Corinthians reassures us that "Love is patient..." And I believe this to be so. As a parent is patient with a child learning to take its first steps, so is God patient with us as we learn a little more each day.

I would like to close with a couple of really great quotes:

As to the justice of endless punishment, minds enjoying the liberty of free inquiry could easily detect the diabolical character of such justice, as it is in exact opposite of the Divine nature, which is love. Such justice is evidently predicated on the false principle and ungodly practice of rendering evil for evil.

Hosea Ballou, 1771-1852

All will be redeemed in God's fullness of time, all, not just the small portion of the population who have been given the grace to know and accept Christ. All the strayed and stolen sheep. All the little lost ones.

Madeleine L'Engle