Mental Health + Flamingoes + Good Ol' Martin Luther

Political Potpourri

(Mostly) against my better judgment, I choose to write on the topic of "politics & mental health" this morning. Judge Kavanaugh was confirmed. To many, justice was served. To other--inexplicably--we confirmed a mortal threat to our republic. Despite the outcome, I don't find myself feeling triumphant this morning. I don't ascribe biblical proportion to Kavanaugh's confirmation, even though I feel that it was the right outcome. 
          This whole affair has soured me even more re:  our political process. One side decried character assassination while practicing it. The other side resorted to the dirtiest tricks imaginable in our to further their agenda.
          Can there be any doubt that the root of this conflict is Roe v. Wade? This was a travesty which has helped promote the continued slaughter of around 1 million unborn babies each year. The pro-abortion crowd is devilishly afraid that restrictions will soon be made on the heinous "right" to kill human life.
          I can't say that this whole affair has worsened my clinical depression. I'm not sure that it's badly affected by chronic anxiety. But it has affected my mental health, & not in a good way. It's left me feeling in more cynical with politics than I already was, & it leaves me feeling gloomy that it sets the stage for the next political upheaval, which may well be the mid-term elections.
          Putting one's faith in political leaders is dangerous business, & I think the thoughts for today which follow help lend perspective to what's important for Christians to keep in mind.
          Turning to humor helps balance my state of mind. So here goes . . . 
       

Dept. of Shameless Joke-Stealing *

"My favorite one-liner is . . . 

• My wife told me to stop impersonating a flamingo. I had to put my foot down.
• Incontinence hotline. Please hold!
• I was raised as an only child, which really annoyed my sister.

* From Reader's Digest (Oct 2018)

Thought for Today #1:  BE STRONG & TAKE COURAGE 

“Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivers him out of them all.” Ps. 34:19

“Therefore when the saints see that they are afflicted, they still do not for this reason depart from the commands of God but to this minor premise they add the conclusion of faith & maintain that they, too, will be delivered from those adversities & dangers.”  Martin Luther Psalm by Psalm, Concordia Publishing House, 2017.

Thought for Today #2:  A TASK TO COMPLETE

"Luther restored the teaching of God's Word to the Church of his time, & he did so in a way that helps us see what . is important in our lives today. Faith in Christ & in His Gospel were at the heart of both Luther's message & his daily life in Christ. He found that daily life rich & fulfilling, but never easy. Even as he preached salvation by grace through faith--not by works--he spent his days laboring tirelessly for the sake of the Gospel.  SOURCE:  "In God's Time," by Gerhard Bode in Lutheran Witness, Sept. 2018