Sick Person in Need of Help!

Too many people look in all the wrong places, trying to find something that will satisfy their needs and longings.  Some things we don’t need to bother with can give us good feelings, and we may get deeply connected with some very harmful habits.

But the good feelings don’t last, and that’s because only closeness to God gives that rich, satisfied feeling.

Overindulging in alcohol or drugs or even food, for example, is not a sickness itself, but addiction is--and also a symptom of affliction of the spirit. The real malady is isolation from God, a deeper-than-the-bones soul sickness. He satisfies “more than the richest feast.”

Psalm 63 says it well—David was in the wilderness, thirsty, lonely and needy:

O God, you are my God;
I earnestly search for you.
My soul thirsts for you;
my whole body longs for you
in this parched and weary land
where there is no water.

I have seen you in your sanctuary
and gazed upon your power and glory.
Your unfailing love is better than life itself;
how I praise you!

I will praise you as long as I live,
lifting up my hands to you in prayer.
You satisfy me more than the richest feast.
I will praise you with songs of joy.

I lie awake thinking of you,
meditating on you through the night.
Because you are my helper,
I sing for joy in the shadow of your wings.
I cling to you;
your strong right hand holds me securely.

Sick Person in Need of Help!

https://connectionsgodandtheworld.blogspot.com/2010/04/sick-person-in-need-of-help.html

Desmond Tutu, on Goodness

Archbishop Desmond Tutu is a highly respected man, a winner of the Nobel Peace Prize for his work against apartheid in Africa, a worker for the helpless, the hungry, the hopeless. He has written a new book called Made for Goodness.

The April 2 issue of The United Methodist Reporter features an interview with Tutu’s daughter, Mpho Tutu, who is herself an Episcopal priest, a woman of distinction who helps the needy; she is the chair emeritus of the board of the Global AIDS Alliance.

In the interview, Mary Jacobs asked Ms. Tutu this question:

In (his) book, your father says: “We are tuned to the key of goodness. That is not to deny evil; it is to face evil squarely. We can face evil squarely because we know that evil will not have the last word.” Aren’t some people evil? How can we believe that we are all good when we see the horror that humans inflict upon one another?

Ms. Tutu answered:

He would say that no one is inherently evil . . . . that we are not born as sinners in need of saving; instead we are saints in need of seeing. We need to see who we really are and live into the truth of who we are.

Jacobs asked:

Not born sinners? Aren’t you contradicting a key statement of Christian faith?

Tutu answered:

I would say that we are not so much contradicting it as seeing it differently.

I have to respectfully agree with Ms. Jacobs’ assessment. The Bible clearly says we are all sinners from birth. We all need saving from ourselves. I think Archbishop Tutu is a wonderful man who has known and lived in the righteousness of God for such a long time that perhaps he has forgotten. That is one of the dangers we have to guard against.

We can’t forget that we need help to get out of the pit of self. Otherwise, why did Jesus Christ have to die on the cross?

The picture comes from this Nobel site: http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/peace/laureates/1984/tutu-bio.html 

Desmond Tutu, on Goodness

https://connectionsgodandtheworld.blogspot.com/2010/04/desmond-tutu-on-goodness.html