BURIED ALIVE
D. S. Mullis
Copyright(at)2009
It all begins in a box…not a literal box, but in the confines of life. Episodes take place that cause some to become complacent, resentful, angry, hurt.
My! The list could go on and on of adjectives that describe the feelings that infiltrate the heart.
As time goes on, some begin to become comfortably miserable, miserably settled, accepting life as the unfair person it is.
Their life goes from one plateau to another--broken hearts, broken dreams, broken vows, broken homes, and broken lives! There in the midst they find that perhaps they or those who have passed through the corridors of their life become buried alive!
Buried alive? You might ask this question and wonder the connotation it carries.
Thousands of people today are living in this realm.
Buried alive—yes, beneath the heaps of life-threatening scenarios are the corpses of those seeking answers. It seems today there are more people living, or should I say existing in the realm of the uncomfortable. Some say they are ‘biding time’, for what, perhaps only they know, or hope to know.
Others say they are looking for their ‘pot of gold at the end of the rainbow’, and still others believe that sooner or later ‘their ship will come in’ (this is where I find myself so many times--living near the ocean I’m always looking for a ship)! Then some play the lottery constantly in hopes of hitting the right numbers and ending up with the big bucks.
They are the ones who think that money would be the answer to all their problems!
But according to statistics, the majority of the ones who win the big bucks in the lottery end up where they were or even worse. As my daddy loved to quote, “Easy come, easy go.”
It’s true; life is like a maze many times. Decisions to make, numerous times in unfamiliar settings, drive those who are buried alive to grasp for a quick fix. Maybe even risk all they have to strive for more, only to find themselves in a deeper dilemma than they were before they made the risk decision.
Thousands are out of work today who never dreamed their livelihood would be snatched away, especially after they had worked at the same vocation for most of their adult lives. It seems they are buried alive in a sea of debt--credit card debt, mortgage debt, auto debt, with no way out unless they use their 401K or pension plans that supposedly had been put away for retirement. Think again!
One might speculate that hopelessness is the culprit to the rising rate of suicide, that despair might be the culprit to the crime rate increase, perhaps rising prejudices continue among the various races making for more murder.
On the other hand, the lack of money could be the blame for stealing and theft, greed and covetousness.
All of these are illustrations that countless thousands accept as the way of life that has befallen them, accepting being buried alive!
Dismal picture, isn’t it? When some look at their lives in these realms they see no way out.
These words for sure are the bad news. But there is always good news when there is bad news.
The solution to the persons who are buried alive is: PERSPECTIVE! How we view the situations in our life determines our outcome many times.
I heard a story MANY years ago, don’t know who was credited for creating it, but the analogy is befitting with my subject.
[1]A man took a little boy into a room full of toys, candy and cookies, and told him to help himself for an hour.
When the man returned, he found the little boy sitting on a stool in the corner with his head stuck down.
The man asked the little boy did he play with the toys. The little boy shook his head sadly and said no. He told the man he knew how he was, and would probably play with the most expensive toy and tear it up. Then he would have to pay for it, and he didn’t have any money.
The man asked the little boy did he eat any of the candy and cookies. The little boy sadly shook his head no again, and told the man he knew how he was, and figured if he started eating he would eat too much and make himself sick. Then he would have to go to the hospital.
The man shook his head in disbelief.
This same man took another little boy into another room full of horse manure. He told the little boy he would return for him in an hour.
When the man returned, he found the little boy shoveling manure from one side of the room to the other.
The man asked the little boy what on earth he was doing. With a grin, the little boy replied very enthusiastically that he knew with that pile of horse manure there had to be a pony in there somewhere!
This is just one example of the difference in perspective of whether a person wants to be buried alive, or whether that person wants to find meaning in the midst of the dilemmas of life and benefit from it.
The little boy who had all the good things that any child would love to have at his disposal looked at those things from a pessimistic standpoint.
The little boy who had the room full of manure, something very smelly and definitely not enticing, was heralded as an optimistic searcher!
So, if you are like me and feel as if life has you all but buried alive, take heed…there’s a pony somewhere!
Allow perspective to change your point of view. Rather than looking for something for which you can find fault, complain about or disparage the efforts of others for doing, reevaluate yourself.
An adage of old states, “Sweep around your own back door before you go sweeping around someone else’s”, would do us all good to adhere to once again.
Let’s be encouragers in this discouraged world—things are bad, things will get worse, but our perspective will give us hope if we look up instead of down or around. Our hope lies in God, the maker of heaven and earth.
[2]The Bible says, “6For God, who commanded the light to shine
out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the
knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
7But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of
the power may be of God, and not of us.
8We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are
perplexed, but not in despair;
9Persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed…”
Buried alive? Why not purpose to be an encouraged over comer? Don’t be afraid to get out of the box—realize that there is a purpose for everything in life and it comes to pass, it doesn’t come to stay!
Share
Print
Save