If a tree falls…don’t worry

Someone told me that Kim Yuna [Korean Olympic gold medalist in figure skating] is getting married. As seems to be the norm for this kind of thing, the internet is abuzz with speculations and disturbances. And yet it struck me, if I knew nothing of Kim Yuna – if I had never heard of her, and if I ignored whatever the internet had to say about her (as does the overwhelming majority of the world’s population) — then I’d certainly be no worse off for it.

This kind of thing is a subject of my ponderances at times. If I’m wandering down the street and someone catches my eye, I sometimes think “If that person was not there – if they had passed by a few minutes earlier or a few minutes later – I would never have seen them. And even now that they’re gone from my sight, I will probably never see them again.” If that is the case, then why would they occupy any of my time for even that brief moment? Why would they get space in my thoughts (unless their appearance to me truly is notable). This is probably the case with a lot of things in life. “If a tree falls in the forest and no one is there to hear it” kind of stuff.

I’ve been at this blog for over two years now, and nothing in that time has happened to convince me that I should return to social media (or most other things of the internet). As a matter of fact, I think the medium is getting progressively worse. It feels like it’s all about destroying our tranquility in increments.

But this morning I got another reminder of how right things can be too (without the musings of the rabble drowning out my peace). I was reading in my Bible through Paul’s letter to the Philippians, and saw such good thoughts there – “Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.” [my emphasis]. This would be such a good companion to the passage I quoted just a few days ago (also from Paul’s letter to the Phillipians) about the fruit of the Spirit – “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.” Can you see the pattern?

And yet, we too often dwell on the negative, the hurtful, the panic-inducing. We let the anxieties of the world – that which we are told to cast upon the Lord himself – weigh us down. We constantly fall into the Fox News/CNN trap of believing that everything with which we are uncomfortable or disagree is a major crisis that is tearing our world apart. And yet the only thing really tearing our world apart is Fox News and CNN telling us what to fear and what to hate. And those memes and tweets through which we scroll every day work overtime to do the same.

I’m not saying the key to contentment is to stay ignorant. I’m saying the key to contentment in every situation is to know him in whom you rest (if you are so blessed as to rest in him). Paul says it right after he calls us to “think about these things.” He says, “I have learned in whatever situation I am [my emphasis again] to be content. I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. I can do all things through him who strengthens me.”

And of course, we must remember to “not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.  And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” The life of a Christian is by no means a cakewalk. We’re human. We fall for the grind (in some cases significantly so). But the answer is still right there, whether we remember or not, always working for the good of those who love him and are called according to his purpose.

I can think of nowhere better to be.