Skip to main content

"Desensitization is increasing throughout our culture."

 

A thought by Daniel Fusco, from his book, Crazy Happy (p. 48). The Crown Publishing Group, Kindle Edition.  (Click on the book title to go to Amazon to buy the book.)

Yes it is!


Daniel says, "My parents told me about the days not long after the first images of the Vietnam War popped up on TV sets. The images of bodies and violence coming back home were so provocative that they created an almost instantaneous anti-war movement in America. It’s one thing to have a war at a distance; it’s another to see it in your living room."

He goes on, "Fast-forward about fifty years, and the amount of violence the average American sees in a day from news and entertainment sources is so intense that we don’t even bat an eye at it anymore. Not to mention we have smartphones in our pockets 24/7 with those images. It’s as if we’re so used to the fact that everything’s jacked up that we hardly register it anymore. It doesn’t increase our heart rate even a little bit. That’s a problem the Bible calls 'hardness of heart.' We stop being moved by what should move us.

"God hates callous hearts. Why? Because he wants us to be truly human, which means more like him, since we’re made in his image. Contrary to many ideas about God that paint him as unfeeling or unmoved by pain and evil, God is moved by the suffering of others. We deny his image and our own humanity by our lack of feeling in the face of such pain. In his kingdom, the poverty and brokenness we see in ourselves and our world is meant to actually drive us right into authentic feelings of mourning and grief."

He continues, "Take a minute to reflect. When was the last time you truly mourned the suffering in the world? When was the last time it caused you to take action beyond just clicking 'Share' on Facebook? The harsh reality is that we reveal our hardness of heart when we no longer feel others’ suffering."

He says, "It’s easy to get overwhelmed when we see patterns in society and ourselves that have no place in the kingdom of God. This is where the progression of the Beatitudes . . . becomes super important. Remember, entrance into God’s kingdom begins with awareness of our spiritual poverty, and if we forget where we’ve come from, we won’t be able to love people going forward."

He then says, "The kind of spiritual poverty that produces the fruit of love in our lives is also what keeps our hearts soft and able to mourn the brokenness in ourselves and the world. And that’s where change—and joy!—really starts."

And that is so true. Oh God, would you soften our hard heart so we will mourn the brokenness in us and in the world and then experience, really experience and express your joy?

Yes, yes!

 







Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

“There’s a big difference between building a castle and building a kingdom.”

A thought by Bob Goff from his book, Everybody, Always: Becoming Love in a World Full of Setbacks and Difficult People ( p. 41). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition. (Click on the book title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.)   Have you ever built a sand castle or maybe a Lego castle?   Have you? Bob says, “We actually build castles all the time, out of our jobs and our families and the things we’ve purchased. Sometimes we even make them out of each other. Some of these castles are impressive too. Lots of people come to admire what we’ve built over the course of our lives and tell us what great castles we have. But Jesus told His friends we weren’t supposed to spend our lives building castles. He said He wanted us to build a kingdom, and there’s a big difference between building a castle and building a kingdom.” Bob goes on, “You see, castles have moats to keep creepy people out, but kingdoms have bridges to let everyone in. Castles have dungeons for people who ha...
Post a Comment
Read more

“God does big things with small deeds.”

A thought by Max Lucado (2011-05-02) from his book, Cure for the Common Life (p. 115). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition. (Click on the title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.) I don’t know how you feel about what you are doing and how it can make a difference.   You may feel that it is so small and not even worth the effort. Max says, “Begin. Just begin! What seems small to you might be huge to someone else. Just ask Bohn Fawkes. During World War II, he piloted a B-17. On one mission he sustained flak from Nazi antiaircraft guns. Even though his gas tanks were hit, the plane did not explode, and Fawkes was able to land the plane. “On the morning following the raid, Fawkes asked his crew chief for the German shell. He wanted to keep a souvenir of his incredible good fortune. The crew chief explained that not just one but eleven shells had been found in the gas tanks, none of which had exploded. “Technicians opened the missiles and found them void of explosive cha...
Post a Comment
Read more

"Lie 2: The more you worry about it, the better your odds of avoiding it."

A thought by Louie Giglio in his book,   Winning the War on Worry    (p. 5). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition. (Click on the book title to go to Amazon to buy the book.) Here is another lie that the Enemy uses with us. And Louie says, "This is a tricky lie. Yes, we often have cause for concern and preparation. But the Enemy wants you to believe that if you worry or fret over a certain outcome long enough, you can keep something bad from happening." But this is so important to realize. He says, "The reality is worrying has never once prevented something negative from happening. Planning might. Prayer has. But worry never will." He continues, "The Enemy tells you that by worrying about a situation (or every situation) you can make your tomorrow better. Really, worry just robs you of today. Jesus implored us: 'I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body mor...
Post a Comment
Read more