Curses!

Recently I have been intrigued by the amount of opinion and debate over particular controversial issues. In one such comment, somebody made the point that all people continue to live under the curses that God put on us as a result of our disobedience and desire to be separate from God. These curses are known primarily as the curse of death, of pain in childbirth, of an estrangement of the relationship between men and women and a curse upon the land and its ability to produce crops for us easily.

I have been taught that it is biblical (throughout my childhood) that this is still true today, that we live under the effects and consequences of these curses. Which, to a point, I agree. It is true of every human being that they are all to die. No one lives forever. That effect of Eve and Adam's transgression is still in place. As is the possibility of eternal separation from God. And it is true that we also need to work to provide our own sustenance, as it is true that it is a painful ordeal bearing children and there certainly has been a constant strain between the genders through all history.

But how aught we to preceive our lives now under the grace of Christ? This I wrote in response to someone who argued for the inability of all human kind to escape the consequences of these curses:

"We certainly do deal with the consequences of our actions every day, including the first act of disobedience. But I would also be careful how it is we interpret that curse. And I will hazard a new way of viewing the curse of God upon us after the Fall: we view our physical death as the true result of our actions. The consequences of disobedience. I believe that our spiritual death is also a part of this consequence. But through Jesus Christ, death itself has been turned inside out and now, as Christians, our physical death is the means by which we gain immortality and partake of fellowship with God unhindered. Death is not to be feared any more by those who believe! Why then would any other resultant effect of the Fall and its curses be observed as continuing in perpetuity? So then, it would stand to reason that this curse of men in rulership over women might also be stood on its head. Turned inside out. Made to help in the formation of the Kingdom of God, as opposed to opposing it. God has used his own curse on us to give us life, can he not also 'use' any other 'curse' he makes to guide us along to life? Not many Christians would argue with male 'headship' or leadership in the home (however you want to define that). Why is this? Because, for many, it works! Why is that? Not because it's a curse, in my opinion, but because through Christ Jesus, the curses have been made into blessings."

And has God not also turned work into a blessing as well. The need to work and provide for one's family has not changed, but the means and enjoyment by which this is done is something that becomes for us one of our, if not our, prime life fulfillment factor! Now God has turned what we do out of necessity for survival into the greatest opportunity to share the truth and presence of Christ with other people!

Boredom

What is boredom, really. I have often found the whole idea of boredom somewhat ridiculous. I suppose because I have rarely found myself to be bored. This is likely due to my over active imagination and my ability to entertain myself at any given time. And also my being somewhat intraverted has helped me to be able to find solace and enjoyment whether I'm with others or not. But what causes people to be bored?

It SEEMS to me that bored people are people who are not content. Either not content with their particular activity, or not content with the circumstances they find themselves in. That said, I have certainly felt 'boredom' come on when stuck in converstation with someone I have NOTHING in common with - but then, I think that my boredom is my own fault because even then, I could actively be engaging that person to talk about things I would be interested in ... or I could simply choose to be interested in that person.

People who are bored are, not uncommonly, people who have a variety of amenities and comfort activities that could easily take up time to entertain. It almost seems that the more people seek to do to entertain themselves, the more bored or discontent they become with these activities and their own time. On the flip side, people who have relatively little seem to be able to enjoy life much more easily. Strange isn't it. This is certainly true in children who have been given a variety of toys, or not. Those who are almost forced to creat their own fun and toys seem to be able to have fun and enjoyment in any place or circumstance with whatever they have to make use of. While those who have been given the means to be entertained without having to create or think it out themselves, tend to become restless. Which is something else that is interesting with boredom: bored people are not usually slothful, they're usually restless and busy at trying to find something to entertain themselves with.