{"id":3376,"date":"2015-08-11T00:00:03","date_gmt":"2015-08-11T07:00:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.hoc6.org\/global\/?p=3376"},"modified":"2015-08-12T23:17:41","modified_gmt":"2015-08-13T06:17:41","slug":"811-anxiety-and-peace","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hoc6.org\/global\/2015\/08\/11\/811-anxiety-and-peace\/","title":{"rendered":"8\/11: Anxiety and Peace (\u8bd794:12-23 \u6797\u524d7:1-16 \u4f201:1-3:22 )"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2>\u8bfb\u7ecf\uff1a\u8bd794:12-23 \u6797\u524d7:1-16 \u4f201:1-3:22<\/h2>\n<h2>Anxiety and Peace<\/h2>\n<div class=\"bioy-body\">\n<p>Anxiety can rob us of the enjoyment of life. The causes of anxiety are numerous: health, work (or lack of it), finances (debt, unpaid bills and so on) and much else besides. Some of the biggest causes of anxiety are those dealt with in today\u2019s New Testament passage: relationships, marriage (or lack of it), sex (or lack of it), singleness and divorce.<\/p>\n<p>In our Old Testament passage, the book of Ecclesiastes suggests that much of the anxiety we experience is caused by something deeper. This could be described as the anxiety of meaninglessness. In the midst of all this, we are called to live in peace.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"bioy-body\">\n<h2>1. Speak to God about your anxieties<\/h2>\n<p><a class=\"inline-reading\" href=\"http:\/\/classic.biblegateway.com\/passage\/?search=Psalm%2094:12-23&amp;version=NIV&amp;interface=print\" target=\"_blank\">Psalm 94:12-23<\/a>Do you know what it is like to experience great anxiety (v.19a)?<\/p>\n<p>The psalmist certainly did. He writes, \u2018You grant\u2026 relief from days of trouble\u2026 When I said, \u201cMy foot is slipping,\u201d your love, O Lord, supported me. <em>When anxiety was great within me<\/em>, your consolation brought joy to my soul\u2019 (vv.13a,18\u201319).<\/p>\n<p>He goes on, \u2018But the Lord has become my fortress, and my God the rock in whom I take refuge\u2019 (v.22).<\/p>\n<p>Surrounded by great anxiety, he turns to the Lord for help. \u2018When I was upset and beside myself you calmed me down and cheered me up\u2019 (v.19, MSG). In God\u2019s love he finds relief, consolation and joy. God provides \u2018a circle of quiet within the clamour of evil\u2019 (v.13, MSG).<\/p>\n<blockquote><p><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">Thank you, Lord, that you give me relief in the days of trouble. Today I come to you and bring my anxieties to you\u2026<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"bioy-body\">\n<h2>2. Live at peace with your situation<\/h2>\n<p><a class=\"inline-reading\" href=\"http:\/\/classic.biblegateway.com\/passage\/?search=1%20Corinthians%207:1-16&amp;version=NIV&amp;interface=print\" target=\"_blank\">1 Corinthians 7:1-16<\/a>Do you feel you are living a life of peace? \u2018God has called us to<em> live in peace<\/em>\u2019 (v.15c). How do we find this \u2018peace\u2019? In this chapter, Paul sets out how you find peace in relationships, marriage, singleness and separation. He begins by asking the question, \u2018Is it a good thing to have sexual relations?\u2019 (v.1, MSG). He responds, \u2018Certainly \u2013 but only within a certain context\u2019 (v.2a, MSG).<\/p>\n<p>Paul is dealing with two opposite dangers: those who say that \u2018all things are lawful\u2019 (see chapter 6) which leads to immorality, and the super spiritual ascetics, who deny the body totally. In response, Paul answers a number of questions about sex, marriage, relationships and singleness:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Is marriage God\u2019s general will for his people?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p class=\"rteindent1\">Marriage is the norm for all men and women: \u2018It\u2019s good for a man to have a wife, and for a woman to have a husband\u2019 (v.2, MSG). God\u2019s general will is for people to get married. Singleness is the exception. It is a special call.<\/p>\n<p class=\"rteindent1\">The reason Paul gives here is because there is \u2018so much immorality\u2019 (v.2). \u2018Sexual drives are strong, but marriage is strong enough to contain them and provide for a balanced and fulfilling sexual life in a world of sexual disorder\u2019 (v.2, MSG). He is dealing with his opponents on their own terms. They were reacting against immorality and arguing for no sex and no marriage.<\/p>\n<p class=\"rteindent1\">Paul replies that, on the contrary, the temptation towards immorality is a good reason to get married. It is not that Paul does not have more positive reasons. He holds, like the rest of the Bible, a high view of marriage \u2013 for partnership (Genesis 2:18), procreation (Genesis 1:28) and pleasure (1 Corinthians 7:1\u20135).<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>What is the Christian attitude to sex within marriage?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p class=\"rteindent1\">The route to spiritual fullness in marriage is not through abstinence. Within marriage there is sexual freedom and sexual equality: \u2018The marriage bed must be a place of mutuality \u2013 the husband seeking to satisfy his wife, the wife seeking to satisfy her husband\u2019 (v.3, MSG). The only reason to abstain is for short periods of prayer, if mutually agreed, and that is a concession not a command (vv.5\u20136).<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Is it better to be single or married?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p class=\"rteindent1\">Paul writes that both are gifts from God. They are both good (vv.7\u20139). In a way, it is best (for reasons to be given later) to be single: \u2018Sometimes I wish everyone were single like me \u2013 a simpler life in many ways! But celibacy is not for everyone any more than marriage is\u2019 (v.7, MSG). But it is also a good thing to get married (v.9).<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Should a Christian ever seek a divorce from another Christian?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p class=\"rteindent1\">The general principle of this passage, and the rest of the New Testament, seems to answer this question, \u2018No\u2019: \u2018If you are married, stay married&#8230; a husband has no right to get rid of his wife\u2019 (vv.10\u201311, MSG). Of course, this is a very complex issue. (I have tried to look at this question in more detail in <em>The Jesus Lifestyle<\/em>, Chapter 6.)<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>What about relationships with people who are not Christians?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p class=\"rteindent1\">Paul does not encourage a Christian to marry someone who is not a Christian (2 Corinthians 6:14\u20137:1; 1 Corinthians 7:39). However, if they are already married that is quite different. They should not seek to dissolve any existing marriage relationship.<\/p>\n<p class=\"rteindent1\">Paul\u2019s opponents were worried that being married to someone who was not a Christian would pollute the marriage. Paul\u2019s response is that the opposite is the case: \u2018The unbelieving husband shares to an extent in the holiness of his wife, and the unbelieving wife is likewise touched by the holiness of her husband. Otherwise, your children would be left out; as it is, they also are included in the spiritual purposes of God\u2019 (v.14, MSG). If the person who is not a Christian insists on leaving, and clinging to the marriage would lead to nothing but frustration and tension, then the Christian should let them go for the sake of \u2018peace\u2019, not purity (see v.15).<\/p>\n<blockquote><p><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">Lord, thank you that you have called us to live in peace. Help us at whatever stage we find ourselves, regardless of our marital status, to live according to your standards and to know your peace.<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"bioy-body\">\n<h2>3. Find purpose instead of meaninglessness<\/h2>\n<p><a class=\"inline-reading\" href=\"http:\/\/classic.biblegateway.com\/passage\/?search=Ecclesiastes%201:1-3:22&amp;version=NIV&amp;interface=print\" target=\"_blank\">Ecclesiastes 1:1-3:22<\/a>\u2018What do people get for all the toil and <em>anxious striving <\/em>with which they labour under the sun?\u2019 (2:22). This expression \u2018under the sun\u2019 occurs twenty-eight times in this book. It is used to describe a search for meaning that never moves beyond this life and this world.<\/p>\n<p>Ecclesiastes is a story of one person\u2019s anxious search for meaning. The writer, in the shoes of King Solomon 3,000 years ago, searches in various areas.<\/p>\n<p>We know that Solomon\u2019s life was, essentially, unfulfilled. Joyce Meyer writes, \u2018Solomon was a busy man; he tried everything that could be tried and did everything there was to do, but at the end of his experience, he was unfulfilled and bitter&#8230; exhausted, disappointed and frustrated.\u2019 Ecclesiastes expresses some of these frustrations about life.<\/p>\n<p>Eugene Peterson writes, \u2018Ecclesiastes doesn\u2019t say that much about God; the author leaves that to the other sixty-five books of the Bible. His task is to expose our total incapacity to find the meaning and completion of our lives on our own&#8230; It is an expos\u00e9 and rejection of every arrogant and ignorant expectation that we can live our lives by ourselves on our own terms.<\/p>\n<p>Solomon finds that \u2018everything\u2019s boring, utterly boring \u2013 no one can find any meaning in it\u2019 (1:8, MSG). \u2018So what do you get from a life of hard labour? Pain and grief from dawn to dusk. Never a decent night\u2019s rest. Nothing but smoke\u2019 (2:23, MSG).<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Intellectualism<br \/>\nHe begins by chasing after \u2018wisdom\u2019 and \u2018knowledge\u2019 (1:18a), but this only leads to \u2018much sorrow\u2019 and \u2018more grief\u2019 (v.18b). \u2018The more you know, the more you hurt\u2019 (v.18b, MSG). Accumulating wisdom and knowledge does not deal with the ultimate cause of anxiety \u2013 meaninglessness.<\/li>\n<li>Hedonism<br \/>\nThe next thing he tries is hedonism \u2013 the doctrine that pleasure is the chief good or proper aim. \u2018I said to myself, \u201cLet\u2019s go for it \u2013 experiment with pleasure, have a good time!\u201d\u2019 (2:1, MSG). He tries escapism through \u2018laughter\u2019 (v.2). He tries stimulants \u2013 \u2018cheering myself with wine\u2019 (v.3). He then turns to music, \u2018men and women singers\u2019 (v.8). He tries sexual pleasure, \u2018and a harem as well\u2019 (v.8b). Solomon in fact had 700 wives and 300 mistresses. All this still did not satisfy.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p class=\"rteindent1\">He concludes, \u2018Yet when I surveyed all that my hands had done and what I had toiled to achieve, everything was meaningless, a chasing after the wind\u2019 (v.11). He experiences the paradox of pleasure \u2013 the law of diminishing returns. The more people seek pleasure, the less they find it.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Materialism<br \/>\nHe tries materialism \u2013 \u2018The tendency to prefer material possessions to spiritual values\u2019. He tries various \u2018<em>projects<\/em>\u2019 (v.4). He obtains <em>property <\/em>(vv.4\u20136). He has people working for him, \u2018male and female slaves\u2019 (v.7). He has many <em>possessions<\/em>, \u2018herds and flocks\u2019 (v.7b). He acquires money: \u2018I amassed silver and gold for myself, and the treasure of kings and provinces\u2019 (v.8). He achieves greatness, success and fame (v.9). He has a successful job and career (v.10b). Yet death makes this entire search \u2018meaningless\u2019 (vv.16\u201318).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Ecclesiastes raises the questions that the New Testament answers. Meaning is found not \u2018under the sun\u2019, but in the Son.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p><span style=\"color: #ff0000;\">Lord, thank you that in Jesus, I find the answer to the anxiety of meaninglessness. Thank you that in him I find true peace and purpose to my life.<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<h2 class=\"bioy-body\">Pippa Adds<\/h2>\n<div class=\"bioy-body\">\n<p><strong>Ecclesiastes 3:1<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>\u2018There is a time for everything\u2026\u2019<\/p>\n<p>But there doesn&#8217;t seem to be much time for the Bible in One Year (even though I&#8217;m on holiday!).<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<div class=\"mh-excerpt\"><p>\u8bfb\u7ecf\uff1a\u8bd794:12-23 \u6797\u524d7:1-16 \u4f201:1-3:22 Anx <a class=\"mh-excerpt-more\" href=\"https:\/\/www.hoc6.org\/global\/2015\/08\/11\/811-anxiety-and-peace\/\" title=\"8\/11: Anxiety and Peace (\u8bd794:12-23 \u6797\u524d7:1-16 \u4f201:1-3:22 )\">[&#8230;]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":148,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3376","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-bibleinoneyear"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hoc6.org\/global\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3376","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hoc6.org\/global\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hoc6.org\/global\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hoc6.org\/global\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hoc6.org\/global\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3376"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.hoc6.org\/global\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3376\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3383,"href":"https:\/\/www.hoc6.org\/global\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3376\/revisions\/3383"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hoc6.org\/global\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/148"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hoc6.org\/global\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3376"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hoc6.org\/global\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3376"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hoc6.org\/global\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3376"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}