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Monday, September 04, 2006
The Crisis & Cure of Comfortlessness Recently I was thinking about a problem in our culture that is clearly evident, but yet rarely discussed. This problem manifests itself at some point in all of our lives, and we do everything to avoid the problem because we don't directly want to address the problem. The problem I'm speaking of is comfortlessness. Comfortlessness is simply the state of not being comforted, or to be in want or distressed. Americans are in a sad state of comfortlessness and we are in a crisis in this country because of the fear of addressing the issue, by feeling the pain and going through the process of healing. Some evidences of the way we try to comfort ourselves, and yet have failed to do so are manifest through the moral decay in this country, the rampant sexual immorality, obesity, divorce and remarriage, a feign way of dealing with sadness in the media, anonymity online and even the failure of the church to truly love and accept one another as Jesus has called us to do. People, who feel loved by others, love others. People, who have been comforted during a time of distress, comfort others. Those who have never felt loved or comforted use other ways to temporarily comfort themselves. Obesity and sexual immorality are two outward manifestations of deeply wounded and uncomforted people. People turn to food and sex to satiate themselves, and when the false feeling of comfort leaves, they turn right back to the same source, not realizing there is a real cure for comfortlessness. The cure for this epidemic in our culture is found in relationships with one another and a relationship with God. Most people do not know their neighbors, or even have people over to their home on a regular basis, and as a result we are a disconnected and unengaged community of people with hurts and needs never being met because we are isolated. Yet, the irony is that we have technology like the Internet, instant messaging, text messaging and cell phones that give the illusion that we are more connected than ever. It's a lie that we are more connected and it's even true in our faith communities. Churches these days seem to offer a plate of feel good food but rarely want to address the culture of the uncomforted because ironically, it would require us to get out of our comfort zones. Jesus asked the question of one man, "Do you want to be healed?" and God is asking us this same question today. The problem is that we don't like the cure and our falsely comforted communities rather than serve the cure for our hurt – Jesus – instead they serve us a theology based on self and status. It's a tragedy. Grammy nominated singer Kim Hill has a new CD titled Broken Things in which she offers hope through her music because much like King David did in the Psalms, she offers the problem in the song, but then also offers the cure – comfort in God. Her CD addresses controversial issues like divorce, homosexuality, shame, abuse and abandonment all the while offering the listener the cure of comfort in Christ and His words. God's forgiveness is Wide, as Kim sings in a beautiful song of the same name. God's love and grace are unfailing. God doesn't run away from our problems because He is the only One who can cure them. He is love and He is comfort, and He sent the Holy Spirit to indwell His people because He knew they would need a Comforter. The cure for a nation of comfortlessness is found in the person of God, the Holy Spirit and those people who have that Spirit within them. As it was written, the harvest is plentiful but the laborers are few. In this case the harvest of people who need real comfort is plentiful, but the laborers who have been comforted and healed are few. I think it's time we change that. About: Stacy L. Harp is the President of Active Christian Media an online publicity company that uses the blogosphere to promote authors, musicians and others in the media. She also hosts her podcast The Right View ( http://sharp.libsyn.com/) that discusses some of the top cultural issues of the day, as well as offers entertaining interviews with authors, musicians and those making a difference. Stacy has appeared on Fox News, and numerous radio shows throughout the country offering commentary on the problem of online sexual predators, and encouragement to be an active Christian in the marketplace of ideas. She has received a Masters of Science degree in Clinical Psychology from Vanguard University of Southern California, and lives in Southern California with her husband of 14 years. Blogger News Network is advertiser-supported, and your visits to our advertisers help BNN to meet its expenses. Help keep us afloat! posted by Stacy L. Harp at 2:38 PM |
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