What makes you nervous?
“Be anxious about nothing. But in all things, with prayer and supplication, with acts of thanksgiving, let your petitions be made known to God.”
– Philippians 4:6
I am a blessed man.
Here I sit, in the comfort of my home, enjoying the benefits of a degree of prosperity, with very little fear of danger. I am well fed, I have access to clean water, I have plumbing and electricity. At my beck and call are Emergency Medical Services should I need them, as well as Fire and Police departments should the need arise. I am protected by one of the world’s foremost militaries.
I am free to practice my religious beliefs.
And as one should be, when blessed with such gifts, I am nervous about losing it all.
I’ve found that there are two kinds of nervousness, one relating to one’s own performance, and one relating to the behaviors of others.
And from what I have seen, others are definitely the ones that should scare me.
I’m not a paragon by any means. A man low, and of no particular skill, I can do very little damage. But others, I have been brought to awareness of, have great skill, and they’re using it for their own benefit, and they don’t seem to care who they burn down in the process.
Indeed, in politics, and in religion, and in business, people seem to be more and more willing to sacrifice their morals.
I worry that things are becoming very unstable, and that the people profiting off that instability are going to keep pushing the limit, until we reach the point of no return.
So what do I do then? Well, I pray. I pray for obedience, and I pray for my nation. I pray for my community, and my family and friends. I pray for my workplace. I’ve found myself walking about my workplace praying as I move patients from one place to another or sending labs off.
And then, I go out to treat others with as much kindness as I can possibly treat them. I offer up love to my neighbors. I put out what hope I am capable of giving.
Because I am not a paragon. I’m just a small man, trying to do his part.
Modern Survival Arkansas 