Trending
Matthew 11
Have you ever felt overwhelmed with stress or know someone who has? Just about everyone has felt overwhelmed from time to time. How has stress affected you?
Responding to a poll on the effects of stress run by a mental health foundation in the United Kingdom, many said overwhelming feelings of stress led them to overeat, drink and smoke. Stress made them feel depressed, anxious, alone, even suicidal.
Unrelieved stress is a serious condition, so we all need healthy ways to deal with it.
Some find temporary relief by watching videos on YouTube. That's not surprising. What is surprising is what they're watching.... videos of people cleaning their house. There's a whole industry on the internet built around people who create videos on how to organize and clean your house. And these videos are hugely popular, with millions of fans.
Why do people like to watch videos of people cleaning their house? Many fans say watching someone else organize and clean their house makes them feel less anxious, more in control of their own surroundings. Hosts for the most popular cleaning shows regularly get emails telling them how their show helped a fan through anxiety, depression and various life crises.
One young woman said she falls asleep each night to cleaning videos because they clear her head of anxiety and fear. Another young woman says watching the videos "makes my head stop rushing around for a bit." Another fan says, "I think there's a lot of aspects to our daily life that seem chaotic, so watching something in a state of order is relaxing."
Consider an organization in South Korea that discovered a novel way to help people deal with stress. They stage "living funerals." Participants at living funerals write out a short testament of their last thoughts and wishes. Then they put on a funeral shroud and lie down in a closed coffin for about ten minutes.
The purpose of living funerals, which is a free service offered by the Hyowon Healing Center, is to help people gain a new perspective on life. About 25,000 South Koreans have undergone a living funeral so far. The director of the Healing Center says some people have reconciled with family or friends after their living funeral. Others have changed careers. Some who were contemplating suicide credit their living funeral with changing their minds. The purpose of the living funeral, according to the director, is to realize "Happiness is in the present."
In Matthew 11 Jesus challenges the people around him with these words, "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light."
Jesus wants us to know weariness is not meant to be our natural way of living. That's not what God created us for. In fact, no matter how productive our out-of-control schedule makes us feel, it's living in opposition to the rhythms of life that contribute to peace, clarity, and purposeful living.
Weariness and burdens blind us to the true purpose of our lives and bind us with a sense of powerlessness. They isolate us. When we're weary and burdened, our focus narrows to what's right in front of us, to what's urgent instead of what's important. This is the norm in our culture, so we don't question it. That's just the way life is. Except Jesus says it isn't the way things are meant to be.
Rather, rest for our souls is a re-orientation of our values and perceptions of life to match up with the values and perceptions of God, the One who created us--the Source of our soul.
This life can take so much away from us. But there's a part of us that cannot be taken away. It's not affected by outward circumstances or inward doubts. It's the eternal stamp on us that says we're made in the image of God. That's our soul. And God loves us so much He came in the form of Jesus to share our life and to die for us. That's our Savior. If you and I will come to Him and submit our lives to His guidance and His priorities, we'll find rest for our soul. We'll live from the perspective and priorities of a soul created in the image of God.
"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light."
•••
Rev. Charles Eldredge is a member of Maitland Church of the Brethren. He has a Facebook page and can be contacted by email: ce1133 @verizon.net.