Overwhelming

To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved. In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace; Wherein he hath abounded toward us in all wisdom and prudence;

Ephesians, 1:6-8

Most people treat others the way they are treated. Value is determined by what you are willing to pay. There are values, concepts, theorems that "Modernity" cannot destroy. You are valuable enough that God paid for you through the price of His only son. Jesus purchased on a slave's sale block, redemption through His blood was the sale price. We are a broken fallen people, living in a broken fallen world, a profane world.

The fragile human mind is so easily overwhelmed by the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches, lust for so many things (MK, 4:19). The FBI has a very accurate record of stolen cars, but cannot determine the number of missing children. In a world of brokenness, so many human beings feel they have nothing to live for. They have nothing here and expect nothing there. Overwhelmed by the depravity of life, they seek death. Is it no wonder that so many young people seek suicide? That 22 veterans commit suicide everyday? Small things like scraps of paper, bubble wrap, sawdust are important for a while and then thrown away. To many people, even children, never know love. The only thing we deserve from love is sharing, the true emotion of life. Sunsets, travel, taste are only important when you share them with another. Animals share life, even ants share a "sweet" find. Some plants have a parasitic existence, such as an orchid. Most insects have a parasitic existence, a spider can catch its pray in its web.

This world traveler was on a ferry boat crossing a large harbor in India. Somehow, the ferry began to sink. Sightless, I sat there hearing the natives screaming and deserting the ship. My fellow passengers in the ferry went out the windows to the decks and the lifeboats. I was left deserted, overwhelmed (It happens they got the problem solved and everyone returned).

I so remember the first time I thumbed through my Greys Anatomy... that great classic textbook still used by all medical schools in studying the anatomy of the body... bones-muscles-neurology. I remember the same about every science book which I was expected to master. Anyone can comprehend a book on sociology or history, but it takes a real mind to conquer the sciences. It is easy to become overwhelmed by chemistry and physics. There is a loneliness in intelligence. You are overwhelmed when you consider how much there is to know. You are somewhat overwhelmed when you realize how many people know so little... and could care less. Think of the mire of forgetfulness at the bottom of the hole. Important thoughts which occurred to a mind just one time and never reoccurred, and after centuries the dead still keep their secrets, so many would not know what to do with them anyway. 

Only those things your heart believes are usually true. The scale of injustice weighted by rumors may often become overwhelming. I still remember the rumor started about this writer by a business competitor. I know the cocktail party where the rumor was first broached... that Dr. Morris had been arrested at the Sir Walter Hotel in Raleigh with a prostitute. I felt overwhelmed by such a rumor. I went to my lawyer and told him I wanted to sue. He said, "Don't be foolish. You will just add to the fantasy. Many older men would like to have something like that told about them, it will fade as quick as it started", and it did.

Rumors like corruption, like sin of every type, sneaks upon you in small things. Get control in the beginning. Every alcoholic started with one drink, every theft started with something small. Could I even begin to tell you how many things have walked out of this blind man's house? It just so happens however, that I serve a God that can subtract as well as add, divide as well as multiply. If only politicians-pastors-parents could understand the sovereignty of God.

The secret of waterboarding is overwhelming the subject... he thinks in his mind that he is surely going to die by drowning. The secret of depression is being convinced that you have been disenfranchised, that no one cares. Many experiments have been conducted about this matter. One experiment, a pedestrian in the middle of the road attempting to get across. Those who owned expensive cars would not stop for the pedestrian, but those in "clunkers" would. We have the mistaken idea that philanthropists care.

This writer so remembers how Russia treats its own citizens. I crossed Russia on the Trans-Siberian Railway. Russians on the train, like Russians elsewhere were treated like trash. Perhaps this is the harbinger of our future treatment in Communist America... we already see the signs. There are always sign posts, if you are smart enough to read them as you head towards the bottom.

At the country club, the golf club, even the church yard, people are laughing-unconcerned about this present world and its overwhelming demand to enter a world of "make believe." The greatest sound known to man was a baby's cry in Bethlehem over 2,000 years ago. God went to a cruel cross to deliver us from the overwhelming "hype" of "make believe."

It is much like the insanity of Alfred Nobel making a fortune from explosives, munitions that have brought a death holocaust to children around the world and then naming a peace prize in his name. It is time to hear the voice of that Bethlehem baby, on this side of His cross, 2,000 years later. The overwhelming knowledge that every soul is headed for either heaven or hell. There is no neutral zone.

There will be an answer, let it be. Whisper words of wisdom, let it be.

Beatles