In the past I wrote about the connection between expectations and actuality. Discrepancies between those two things result in frustration. In this piece is I want to discuss a bit more about "reality." Bear with me through the early part of the discussion. The subject may seem technical in the beginning, but it actually is not. Actually, I just do not possess the technical expertise to puzzle most people!
Scientists put forward a rule of the universe called "entropy." Basically, entropy means that disorder always follows order. In some ways this seems just common sense: Things wear out, people get older and civilizations decline. However, if you give it some thought you will discover a puzzle with this judgment: "moving to a state of disorder" implies that at some point order existed and, probably, perfect order. If that is true, then entropy has not always been a universal rule. Science tries to rationalize this predicament by proposing that entropy can be overcome temporarily when additional order-producing energy is brought into localized situations. According to these authorities, we can have evolution for a limited time and in a limited setting (like on a planet).. This view views evolution as a temporary occurance in a local environment.
However, science limits this account by revealing to us that growing order in one place and time has to come at the sacrifice of even more disorder in some other place and time. Thus, they continue to believe that physics and mathematics need entropy to be a universal principle when used in a universal context. Actually, that is fine with me. A few individuals have stated that it is unChristian to go along with with scientists on this subject, but it appears correct to me, at least at this point in our history.
The Bible tells us that the universe was created by God and that God considered it a good job. (Genesis 1:1-31) Additional reading in the scriptures reveals that He created humans with the intention that they be in this world perpetually, without sickness or death. The Bible reveals that humankind's first natural environment was flawless. It didn't even have weeds! Humans didn't need to work to look after it because nothing was amiss with it. (Genesis 3:1-24) Human beings could concentrate on their relationships with God and with each other because they did not need to concentrate on staying alive in a hostile universe. I think of it as "no entropy." It seems to me like flawless order, with no disorder.
Sin comes in. Apparently, Godprovided just one rule in this perfect world and the first humans chose to break it. (Genesis 3:6) The Bible tells us that this distorted not only their relationship to God, but the basic nature of the universe.
In comes entropy. Everything that had earlier been perfect in the world now begins to drift toward disorder, physically and morally.(Genesis 3:17-24) To be sure, human beings are intelligent enough to introduce some local, temporary systems that appear to be orderly, but they come at the expense of the universe as a whole, and eventually they begin to deteriorate. Of course, the local rules of the natural world, including mutation, nevertheless create some isolated cases of evolution, but they are outweighed by the overall movement in the other direction.
How does this pertain to frustration? I will briefly discuss a couple of specifics that can help to put frustration into perspective for Christians:
Entropy is a normal state of this universe. Currently in history it is normal for folks to age and die and for machines to fall apart. It is completely normal for governments to fail and for innocent people to be hurt. Every organized system, from a refrigerator to a human being, occupies some point on a line between flawless and non-existent as a result of entropy. Carefully notice that there is no continuum from "perfect" to "imperfect." Everything that is not perfect is imperfect. Imperfect is a finished status, without shades.. A great deal of our frustration emerges from the concept that we should strive for perfection in everything we do. When we see ourselves, we immediately compare ourselves to some younger, healthier edition of us. We are so dejected by comparing ourselves to perfection that we can't martial the energy to optimize our authentic selves.. We can't recognize the value of our cars because our image of them is the representation we stored when we first saw them. We will be unable to escape from our frustrations until we adopt a realistic view of how things "really should be.".
Christians are currently living in an abnormal universe, but we will not be here for long. When Satan convinced mankind that their desires were more imperative than God's will, he stole both our lives and our world. Our lives have already been redeemed through God's pardon. He will soon save the physical world, as well. Until He completes this work everybody who is still living in human flesh will struggle with the impulse to take provision and gratification from this damaged world. This in itself is normal for the "flesh." (Galatians 5:16-26) For the moment we endeavor to behave like people who are prosperous and full of health and not like people who are hopelessly poor and fearful. Life in this failing universe is abnormal for Christians, but for a short time we have to tolerate it. To admit the fact of the present while at the same time living for the faultless world to come is to dump many of our frustrations in the dust.
I am on occasion asked, "Does that mean that I am supposed to be pleased that I'm growing older, feeling sick and my automobile is not working?. Is my discontent with this situation unChristian?? Quite emphatically, my response is "No." Then again, frustration doesn't occur from being displeased about your situation. Frustration results from your unmet expectations about your state of affairs. it's possible to be unhappy about a situation and still not be frustrated with it. I frequently find myself aware of my aches and pains, and I don't respond to my awareness by telling myself that it doesn't displease me. The reality is that when I was younger I figured I would be buried by now. This point of view helps me realize the pointlessness of yearning for or being apprehensive about any future minute.
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