Dear God
Letters to the Lord
2-1-24
Dear God:
What is the point of it all?
This is the catch phrase of my life, sad as it is.
Yes, we all must live our lives as best we can, have faith, hope and charity, and believe in Jesus as our Savior to obtain eternal life after death. But why must we endure everything else? The world is irritating me. People and institutions are bringing me down (and You know exactly what I am talking about at this moment).
I hateth my earthly life now. Is that a sin?
Jesus said no. † "He that loveth his life shall lose it and he that hateth his life in this world keepeth it unto life eternal." †
Still, I don't want to hateth my life here on earth. I really don't. I want joy, love and happiness in the world SOMETIMES. I don't want to walk through life wishing it would end soon so I can go to Heaven and not have to deal with money, bills, politics, jobs, people, weirdness, church, etc. But I guess we have to. Jesus said so, and Jesus lived the same life here on earth, so He knows.
Saint Augustine once wrote "Now listen to me, you holy grains of wheat who are here, I have no doubt… or rather, listen to the first grain of wheat through me saying to you: do not love your life in this world; do not love it if you really love it, for it is in not loving it that you will be saved…"
OK. I'm certainly not enamored with this life in this world, which gets me on the track to being saved. But many, many people are so disillusioned and depressed with this world that they can't take it anymore and check out early. Is that wrong? Are people with depression and no love for the world on the right track or simply ingrates for the life you have given them?
How do we live in this world, but not be of it? How do we hateth our earthly life but be thankful and have love and joy for it?
I don't understand. What is the point of living this earthly life if we need to hate it? How does one find joy in a life one must hate? Maybe Jesus means "hate" differently?
There are many things on earth that I love and feel joy for - nature, animals, and even some people. The colors of a spring garden, humor, artwork, solving problems, etc. I feel joy with those earthly things and don't particularly hate them. But everything else I can do without. The earthly processes we have set up for ourselves are quite oppressive. Maybe that's what Jesus means by "hateth your life." What we have set up for ourselves is not really a life. A real life is in Heaven, with real love and joy, and the only way to get there is via the earthly life route.
However, we must not put all our hopes on this earthly life. Maybe Jesus was saying "if you feel weighted down by this world and how humans have set it up, that is normal. Don't feel like there is something wrong with you. Instead there is something right with you, as you know everything humans do is opposite to the way life should be and will be after you die, if you just stick with Me kiddo!"
Is that what Jesus means by "hateth this life?" I hope so.
Please Lord help all those people who feel weighted down by this earthly life. Let them experience some joy and love to get through the day as we all journey to the end of our earthly lives. Give us hope that is OK to feel depressed about the human processes of this earthly life, but not so depressed that we can't reach You and Jesus to help us on our way to our real eternal life.
Thank you Lord for allowing me to write these letters to You. This is one of the things that I have joy and love for in this earthly life that I hateth.
Sincerely,
Napoleon
I was reading some online forums about the three men who died this past January in Kansas City, MO of an apparent drug overdose. Many of the comments are from people who say "make sure to get your recreational drugs tested for Fentanyl before you use them or have Narcan on hand in case you overdose."
Huh?
This is where we are at now?
No more "just say NO to drugs" now we are are "just say YES to drugs, as long as you get them tested for so-called safety."
The three men who died in Kansas City were in their late 30's. They were old enough to know better. Taking large amounts of recreational and prescription drugs is NOT partying and having fun. Most drugs, always cause chaos, violence, depressive thoughts. Taking large amount of drugs is NOT fun and not living. Drug taking is an example of "hateth" one's life. The life God gave to each of us.
It is hard not to hate one's life when bad things happen, or you don't get what you want, or you are in physical/mental pain, I truly understand that. It is even harder to consciously not "hateth" one's life while going through decades of pain. The only answer I can think of is to lean on God. Have faith in God. Faith is the answer, it always has been. Jesus continually spoke of faith. Unfortunately faith is almost impossible to understand for humans. This is what makes life hard. That and living amongst humans and the constant daily evil oppressions sent our way.
Thank you for sharing your prayerful thoughts and insites about earth life. I too have been struggling with the whys and what the heck am I doing here and what is the purpose of all this evilness we have to navigate through. I am prone to depression so I know wallowing in it is futile. Usually going outdoors helps but this time of year is full of ice and snow. I am greatful for my blessings and so I will try to concentrate on them and eliminate the negative feelings with prayer and supplication for an attitude of gratitude.