Most of the field of psychiatry is devoted to figuring out why on earth people do the wrong action, when they would like to do the right one. Half the population of prison is people who made the wrong choice, went down the wrong path - when they really didn’t want to.
There are theories involving trauma, tormented parts of your soul, even the involvement of demons, but we likely don’t fully understand it. Maybe it’s as simple as God giving us challenges to develop our faith and our soul. All I know is that you have to examine your heart, listen to your soul, have faith in God, and take the action that feels like kindness.
If you’ve taken actions that were just your tormented soul lashing out, and you feel deep remorse for those actions, and have asked for God’s forgiveness, well, be glad! Be at peace. God truly forgives those who seek righteousness. Christ has paid for your forgiveness, even when you continue to err. Becoming a better person really is a process that never ends, right? We don’t need to castigate ourselves for our errors, just pick yourself up and try to be better. God loves you, Peter. And you know I do.
“Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” - Hebrews 4:16
There is a fine and dangerously indistinct line between reason and rationalization. And there are few if any reliable markers to allow us to distinguish the one from the other.
Faith is external to that challenge, and thus is a pathway away from the conflict and towards resolution.
When we have faith, we are focused on God and in God's Will. The choice which is in keeping with our apprehension of God's Law and God's Will is the choice we should make, regardless of what reason/rationalization tell us
Boy, that is a profound comment, Peter. Pretty much every wrong move throughout history involves people thinking they are being rational, when really they are just rationalizing. It’s everything from Nancy Pelosi telling herself that her stock market decisions are rational (when really she’s just rationalizing her greed) to the NAZIS rationalizing their “final solution” of killing all Jews. It’s definitely in many small decisions we make about our own lives. So we must have faith in God, that His laws are better than our reasonings and rationalizing. Get in touch with your intuition, that small inner voice of your conscience, to hear God’s true guidance.
Most of the field of psychiatry is devoted to figuring out why on earth people do the wrong action, when they would like to do the right one. Half the population of prison is people who made the wrong choice, went down the wrong path - when they really didn’t want to.
There are theories involving trauma, tormented parts of your soul, even the involvement of demons, but we likely don’t fully understand it. Maybe it’s as simple as God giving us challenges to develop our faith and our soul. All I know is that you have to examine your heart, listen to your soul, have faith in God, and take the action that feels like kindness.
If you’ve taken actions that were just your tormented soul lashing out, and you feel deep remorse for those actions, and have asked for God’s forgiveness, well, be glad! Be at peace. God truly forgives those who seek righteousness. Christ has paid for your forgiveness, even when you continue to err. Becoming a better person really is a process that never ends, right? We don’t need to castigate ourselves for our errors, just pick yourself up and try to be better. God loves you, Peter. And you know I do.
“Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” - Hebrews 4:16
There is a fine and dangerously indistinct line between reason and rationalization. And there are few if any reliable markers to allow us to distinguish the one from the other.
Faith is external to that challenge, and thus is a pathway away from the conflict and towards resolution.
When we have faith, we are focused on God and in God's Will. The choice which is in keeping with our apprehension of God's Law and God's Will is the choice we should make, regardless of what reason/rationalization tell us
Boy, that is a profound comment, Peter. Pretty much every wrong move throughout history involves people thinking they are being rational, when really they are just rationalizing. It’s everything from Nancy Pelosi telling herself that her stock market decisions are rational (when really she’s just rationalizing her greed) to the NAZIS rationalizing their “final solution” of killing all Jews. It’s definitely in many small decisions we make about our own lives. So we must have faith in God, that His laws are better than our reasonings and rationalizing. Get in touch with your intuition, that small inner voice of your conscience, to hear God’s true guidance.
Bless you, dear Peter.