八福
否认的危险
经文
诗篇五十一1-12
1(大卫与拔示巴同室以后,先知拿单来见他;他作这诗,交与伶长。)神啊,求你按你的慈爱怜恤我!按你丰盛的慈悲涂抹我的过犯!
2求你将我的罪孽洗除净尽,并洁除我的罪!
3因为,我知道我的过犯;我的罪常在我面前。
4我向你犯罪,惟独得罪了你;在你眼前行了这恶,以致你责备我的时候显为公义,判断我的时候显为清正。
5我是在罪孽里生的,在我母亲怀胎的时候就有了罪。
6你所喜爱的是内里诚实;你在我隐密处,必使我得智慧。
7求你用牛膝草洁净我,我就干净;求你洗涤我,我就比雪更白。
8求你使我得听欢喜快乐的声音,使你所压伤的骨头可以踊跃。
9求你掩面不看我的罪,涂抹我一切的罪孽。
10神啊,求你为我造清洁的心,使我里面重新有正直(或译:坚定)的灵。
11不要丢弃我,使我离开你的面;不要从我收回你的圣灵。
12求你使我仍得救恩之乐,赐我乐意的灵扶持我,
信息分享
我们研究八福,认为八福里所提及的原则,能够帮助我们达致良好的精神和灵性健康。我认为现今没有任何社会科学家的高深理论,能比耶稣的话更具安抚人心的力量。耶稣说:「哀恸的人有福了!因为他们必得安慰。」我们可以将这节经文作以下的翻译,也不会扭曲了原意:「恭喜那些愿意面对和感受哀伤的人,因为他们会在我给他们的安慰中,并透过那安慰发现新的事奉和新的喜乐。」
一个精神和灵性健康的人是愿意面对和感受哀伤的,并相信哀伤可以深化个人的生命,而不是摧毁生命。我肯定你听过「神经官能症」和「精神错乱」这两个医学名词。患上「神经官能症」的人害怕面对现实,而「精神错乱」的人却不察觉现实。
如果我们不愿意面对和感受从我们内心发出的情绪,那这种对情绪的否认会给我们带来负面的影响。有一位女士曾经对我说:「我觉得第二福很难做到,因为我不知道怎样哀恸;我太快乐了,不能哀恸。」我们倾谈时,她开始明白自己不是不懂得怎样哀恸,而是不想哀恸。她害怕面对或感受任何负面情绪如哀伤、悲痛等等,因此,虽然她宣称自己很快乐和轻松,但却拥有不健全的心灵。
「哀伤可以深化个人的生命」
进深研究
诗一三九14-24;代上二十八9;耶十七10
1. 大卫的祷告是什么?
2. 今天以这个祷告作为你的祷告。
祈祷
慈爱的天父,感谢您帮助我认识我的需要。求您也帮助我愿意感受和面对我的情绪,并让我明白,有您在我身旁,我什么都不用害怕。阿们。
The Beatitudes
The dangers of denial
Bible reading:
Psalm 51:1-12
1 Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions.
2 Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin.
3 For I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me.
4 Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight; so you are right in your verdict and justified when you judge.
5 Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me.
6 Yet you desired faithfulness even in the womb; you taught me wisdom in that secret place.
7 Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.
8 Let me hear joy and gladness; let the bones you have crushed rejoice.
9 Hide your face from my sins and blot out all my iniquity.
10 Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.
11 Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me.
12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.
Message
We are looking at as containing the principles which enable us to experience good mental and spiritual health. I cannot think of anything more psychologically in harmony with the best thinking of today's social scientists than the words of Jesus: "Happy are those who mourn, for they will be comforted." We would not be taking any undue liberty with the text of Matthew 5:4 if we translated it thus: "Congratulations to those who are willing to face and feel sorrow, for they will discover in and through the comfort that I impart to them a new ministry and a new joy."
A mentally and spiritually healthy person is someone who is willing to face and feel sorrow, and recognise that it can be made to deepen one's life - not devastate it. You are familiar, I am sure, with the terms "neurotic" and "psychotic". A "neurotic" is someone who is afraid to face reality, while a "psychotic" is someone who is unaware of reality.
If we draw back from being willing to face and feel any emotion that rises up within us, then the denial of this feeling will have negative results within our personality. A woman once said to me: "I have problems with the second Beatitude because I don't know how to mourn, I am too happy to mourn." As we talked, it became clear to her that it wasn't so much that she didn't know how to mourn, but that she didn't want to mourn. She was afraid to face or feel any negative emotions - grief, sorrow, and so on - and thus, despite her claim to happiness and lightheartedness, she was a stunted soul.
"Sorrow can be made to deepen one's life"
Prayer
Loving heavenly Father, how wonderfully You help me to put my finger on my need. Help me, I pray, to be willing to feel and face my emotions, and show me that when You are by my side I need be afraid of nothing - myself included. Amen.
Further study
Psalm 139:14-24
1 Chronicles 28:9
Jeremiah 17:10
1. What was David's prayer?
2. Make that your prayer today.
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