Is it irresponsible to trust Jesus with everything?

[ShannonMcCatholic]

Can I get y'all's input on something I posted the other day? I took a lot of flak, and continue to do so...I so admire and appreciate your beautiful commitment to the aesetic life, I wanted to ask if you would let me know what you think. God bless, and thank you!


Here 'tis:

Recently here (in OBOB) I was reprimanded and criticized, and even accused of harshness for what was deemed being 'irresponsible' with my trust in Jesus. I have spent much time since then thinking and praying on this, over the past couple of days.

My conclusion is that I would rather err in folly through trusting too much, idealizing my Beloved too much, through seeing my own inabilities when I act on my own too keenly. Love easily overlooks those kinds of mistakes, because they hold the object of love so highly--they are mistakes made out of how higly we hold our Beloved.

I choose not to err through trusting myself and my own abilities too much, through feeling as though my Beloved wants me to find my own way, through asserting my independence and skill in doing things for myself. Love is so much more easily wounded with mistakes of these sorts, because they do not put the object of our Love in primacy, but rather ourselves.

If I am going to err, I would rather have it be because I love too much, than too little. If I am going to err, I would rather have it be because I trust too much, than too little. If I am going to err, I would rather haveit be becuase I believe in my Beloved too much, rahter than too little.

I am a fool, and I love like a fool...blessedly my Beloved loves me madly...and the love I have in return is but a drop in the abyss of My Beloved's heart.

I'm going to go make a Lent out of wildly loving and making lots of mistakes. Will you join me?

[jckstraw72]

Its definitely not possible to trust Jesus too much. Of course, you can abuse that by not doing things you should and just expecting them to happen bc Jesus picks up your slack or something. But i dont think thats what youre saying anyways, so there ya go.

[MariaRegina]

We have fools for Christ in the Orthodox Church.

There was this holy man who sat on the church steps eating chicken on a Friday. People would go up to him and call him a hypocrite for eating meat on a Friday, but he could read their hearts,
So he would respond, "What is worse to sit hear eating chicken in order to live, or to judge a brother?"

[ShannonMcCatholic]

Its definitely not possible to trust Jesus too much. Of course, you can abuse that by not doing things you should and just expecting them to happen bc Jesus picks up your slack or something. But i dont think thats what youre saying anyways, so there ya go.
:) It's more a matter, from my perspective praying to seek out Jesus' will, and to do that....and if His will isn't clear- to act out of great love and devotion, trusting that He will forgive if I am acting wrongly- because I was acting out of love...and that He will not only forgive, but will make it even better than if I never erred in the first place.

Does that make sense?

[gzt]

In the mouth of some people, that is marvellous. In the mouth of others, it may be an excuse for inaction and, really, a failure of love. I mean, I know of people who didn't look for jobs or think about what they were going to do when they graduated because they thought God would take care of everything, and that's just silly. You're obviously not that sort of person, but this sort of misunderstanding should at least render some people's objections to your airing such views more understandable.

[eoe]

Chapter 2:
Way of the Ascetics
By Tito Colliander

Chapter Two: ON THE INSUFFICIENCY OF HUMAN STRENGTH

THE holy Fathers say with one voice: The first thing to keep in mind is never in any respect to rely on yourself. The warfare that now lies before you is extraordinarily hard, and your own human powers are altogether insufficient to carry it on. If you rely on them you will immediately be felled to the ground and have no desire to continue the battle. Only God can give you the victory you wish.
This decision not to rely on self is for most people a severe obstacle at the very outset. It must be overcome, otherwise we have no prospect of going further. For how can a human being receive advice, instruction and help if he believes that he knows and can do everything and needs no directions? Through such a wall of self-satisfaction no gleam of light can penetrate. Woe unto them that are wise in their own eyes, and prudent in their own sight, cries the prophet Isaiah (5:21), and the apostle St. Paul utters the warning: Be not wise in your own conceits (Romans 12:16). The kingdom of heaven has been revealed unto babes, but remains hidden from the wise and prudent (Matthew 11:25).
We must empty ourselves, therefore, of the immoderately high faith we have in ourselves. Often it is so deeply rooted in us that we do not see how it rules over our heart. It is precisely our egoism, our self-centeredness and self-love that cause all our difficulties, our lack of freedom in suffering, our disappointments and our anguish of soul and body.
Take a look at yourself, therefore, and see how bound you are by your desire to humour yourself and only yourself. Your freedom is curbed by the restraining bonds of self-love, and thus you wander, a captive corpse, from morning till eve. "Now I will drink," "now I will get up," "now I will read the paper." Thus you are led from moment to moment in your halter of preoccupation with self, and kindled instantly to displeasure, impatience or anger if an obstacle intervenes.
If you look into the depths of your consciousness you meet the same sight. You recognize it readily by the unpleasant feeling you have when someone contradicts you. Thus we live in thralldom. But where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty (11 Corinthians 3:17).
How can any good come out of such an or biting around the ego? Has not our Lord bidden us to love our neighbour as ourselves, and to love God above all? But do we? Are not our thoughts instead always occupied with our own welfare?
No, be convinced that nothing good can come from yourself. And should, by chance, an unselfish thought arise in you, you may be sure that it does not come from you, but is scooped up from the wellspring of goodness and be stowed upon you: it is a gift from the Giver o life. Similarly the power to put the good thought into practice is not your own, but is given you by the Holy Trinity.

[Matrona]

Can I get y'all's input on something I posted the other day? I took a lot of flak, and continue to do so...I so admire and appreciate your beautiful commitment to the aesetic life, I wanted to ask if you would let me know what you think. God bless, and thank you!

Here 'tis:

Recently here (in OBOB) I was reprimanded and criticized, and even accused of harshness for what was deemed being 'irresponsible' with my trust in Jesus. I have spent much time since then thinking and praying on this, over the past couple of days.

I saw that thread, and just for the record, I think that bird flu nonsense is a bunch of sensationalist hype. :)

However, I would ask you to consider that sometimes we shut ourselves off from a potential threat because it's too scary to deal with, and sometimes we can rationalize that "shutting off" as "trusting in God". I don't think this is what you're doing at all, but this might be what those OBOB members think you are doing, so I thought I would throw this out. Lord knows I have done that a few times, myself.

It's prudent and not at all "untrusting" to have an emergency box of supplies for everyone in your family for 72 hours. But some of the stuff they talked about in OBOB sounded like they wanted to set up fallout shelters, bring the younguns in, the sky is falling, etc. I think you are right to not buy into that. I think the most prudent thing to do is to stay prepared to meet the Lord at any time. We could survive a "bird flu pandemic" only to be hit by a car the following day. :)

As we Orthodox sing during Holy Week, "Behold, the bridegroom comes in the middle of the night and blessed is the servant whom he shall find watching, and unworthy the servant whom he shall find heedless. Take care then, O my soul, and be not weighed down by sleep that you will not be given over unto death and be excluded from the Kingdom. But rise up and call out: Holy, Holy, Holy art Thou O God, by the Theotokos have mercy on us."

[Xpycoctomos]

Interesting thread. I agree with the posts above... so I have nothing to add.

[Greg the byzantine]

Luke 10:38-45
38 Now it came to pass, as they went, that he entered into a certain village: and a certain woman named Martha received him into her house.
39 And she had a sister called Mary, which also sat at Jesus' feet, and heard his word.
40 But Martha was cumbered about much serving, and came to him, and said, Lord, dost thou not care that my sister hath left me to serve alone? bid her therefore that she help me.
41 And Jesus answered and said unto her, Martha, Martha, thou art careful and troubled about many things:
42 But one thing is needful: and Mary hath chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her.



A girl in sunday school used this for her speech topic, and what you posted reminded me of this story :)

[ShannonMcCatholic]

Thank you all so much for your input...this has truly mystified me...

Matrona, that bird-flu thread was about the fourth big thread where I was pounded (I agree to be on guard against shutting down - and also your assesment of prudence)...the first was a dreaded contraception thread- where I had stated that a friend had told me that she had once been really convicted that to best further the kingdom of God, that it might actually be a good for her to die in childbirth (that she oughtn't fear having another child if that was God's will)..to look how many Saints had lost their mothers when they were young. That really spoke to me about looking at things through the lense of eternity, rather than through only the present reality.

I love the story about the chickens! It also heartily convicts me...

And methinks that I need to hunt down that book, eoe! Thank you for posting it!

Thank you all for always being so open and kind to me:hug: