ESCAPING PEOPLE, PAIN AND PRESSURE

On August 21 I started unpacking Hebrews 12:8-18 through a series of blog posts. So far there have been four posts: LIES, LIES AND MORE LIES, August 21; GOD ISN’T PUNISHING YOU, HE’S PREPARING YOU!, August 22; WHEN EVERYTHING BLOWS UP IN OUR FACE, August 24; and YOUR STRUGGLE IS BECOMING YOUR STORY. Today I want to explore verses 14: (NLT) “Try to live in peace with everyone, and seek to live a clean and holy life, for those who are not holy will not see the Lord.” As we move to this portion of Hebrews 12, the writer, by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, begins to share very practical insights into what it means to walk a “straight path.” The first thing he mentions is “(living) in peace with everyone.” This is one of those things which is a lot easier to say, or read, than it is to live. Given all the personality quirks, intense emotions and extreme opinions, it’s no wonder there’s so much conflict and fighting going on in the world. According to the website, globalsecurity.org, there are currently 41 conflicts [wars] going on in the world today, and that doesn’t count what’s happening in your house! This tendency to engage in fighting is the reason why the Bible refers so frequently to keeping the peace and practicing forgiveness. Given the context of this section of Hebrews 12 involves the discipline of the Lord, this is a fitting encouragement. When we are struggling and experiencing pain and pressure in our lives, most of us have a tendency to take it out on others. We get snippy and snappy with people, especially those who are closest to us. It’s never helpful and often hurtful. Verse 14 serves as a great reminder to do our very best to keep the peace even when there’s pain and pressure in our lives. 

The writer goes on in V14: “…and seek to live a clean and holy life.” I am by no means an expert on the subject of pain and pleasure, but hopefully I’ve learned more than enough to be dangerous with what I am about the share. One of the ways we, as humans, are conditioned to response to pain and pressure, is to counter it with PLEASURE. This is the basic idea behind escapism. One of the ways people choose to deal with difficulty in their lives is by seeking our experiences or activities which will bring them pleasure. The pleasure [escape] may only be temporary, but it provides some relief. Many people use things like food, sex, alcohol, reading, work, drugs, shopping, recreation, sports and more, escape the pain and pressure. One of the problems with the escapes I listed is, with the exception of drugs, none of them are blatantly sin. So it’s easy to excuse ourselves when we turn to them as a means of escape. What causes these escapes to be so damaging in our lives is when they draw us away from Christ. In using pleasure to escape pain and pressure, we also escape our relationship with Christ, to the point he’s no longer our source of strength, wisdom and peace. Escapes, by their very nature, are always temporary so when the experience or activity is over we have to return to the reality of the pain and pressure. A better way to deal with life when it’s hard is to escape to “a clean and holy life.” If we choose experiences and activities which honor the Lord we don’t have to deal with regrets or a guilty conscience or unholy habits which become difficult to kick. V14 encourages us to “seek” (NAS, pursue) this kind of life. The Greek word for seek/pursue is: Dioko (dee-o’-ko) and it means, “to run swiftly in order to catch a person or thing, to run after; to press on; to pursue; to seek after eagerly, earnestly endeavour to acquire.” (Strong’s Concordance) 

We love to play hard and many of us are blessed to the point that we usually have multiple escape options we can pursue. Yet I have to wonder how much of our play is actually a means of escape from the pain and pressure of our lives. Don’t get me wrong, I am not anti-fun. I’m not against people having a great time and enjoying life. (“God… richly gives us all we need for our enjoyment.” 1 Timothy 6:17 NLT) 

Several years ago I was reading several books by John Ortberg and Dallas Willard. I don’t remember which author it was exactly, possibly both, who emphasized the need to celebrate the good things God has given us to enjoy because if we don’t sin starts to look more attractive. A problem develops when our escapes are not for our enjoyment they’re actually attempts to run from the people, pain and pressure in our lives. And in case you haven’t found out, you can’t run fast enough or far enough to escape the hard things in your life. Only Jesus, only Jesus, can help us. We cannot save ourselves, and only He can save us from ourselves! 

To be continued…