Should I harden my heart?

Question

The existence of suffering in the world is slowly eating away at me. It is always in my memory: the visions of wounded or dead innocents and those in unceasing anguish throughout the world. I often try to relax and detach from my troubles but that never works. I know they are always calling out.

It is getting to the point where I can barely do my work ,regardless of how fullfilling and worthwhile it is. When I pray to God for strength, I lose some fear but not the agony. Should I perhaps train myself to care less and try to function more like a human machine? Would this be worth it you think?

pab,

No, I am not interested in being like you.

bongernet,

Religion, yes; God, no.

Dr. Socks,

I don't think we've ever met sir.

pab,

erm...you should have wrote the big part first. That changes the whole tone of your answer 8/

pab,

Sorry, I thought you were another troll when all you wrote was "Drop religion".

Answer 1

If your question is serious and not just a hook of Nihilism for the unwary the answer is definitely no.
I was in Bombay last week (ok Mumbai for the PCs) and saw poverty of an extreme nature to the degree that no one in the west could possibly claim to be poor to such a degree.
Mother Theresa implied that to be confronted with such a degree of appalling deprivation it would make one blank off (as you suggest) so the solution is to take one person within that sadness and help them. I did VSO / Peace Corps equivalent in Africa and maybe helped a dozen families have a little more than they did when I arrived. I worked in Iraq between the wars - I have seen death and poverty close up.,
If you want to talk about it contact me on YA but please don't give up. Even if you only help one person it is worth it, and the needs they have are very great and the cost to you is minimal. I can recommend a number of charities (none famous as they have tiny advertising budgets) which provide both water (one) and cataract operations (the second) - the cost to you of a weeks groceries would give the people they serve and love so much that I really urge you (and anyone else here) to seriously think about it. As Jesus said "the poor will always be with you" but by that He did not mean do nothing. Love with all you have - and then love some more. Please.

Answer 2

Here is my 2 cents. I would suggest turning off the TV, the radio, and stop reading the news paper for a few days. Instead, go outside every chance you get and look at the little things that can bring you joy and happiness. Listen for children laughing, watch the birds take flight, study a tree and it's leaves. What is this doing? It is giving you balance.

It is very easy to get sucked into the world's problems especially with the technology of today. Sometimes we have to take a step back and break off from it a little bit.

Remember: Every morning you are handed 24 golden hours. They are one of the few things in this world that you get free of charge. If you had all the money in the world, you couldn't buy an extra hour. What will you do with your priceless treasure? Remember, you must use it, as it is given only once. Once wasted you cannot get it back.

With that said...

Do you allow your mind to keep focusing on the negative?

~OR~

Do you do what you can do to make the world a better place no matter how small and be happy that you was able to help in your own way?

Answer 3

If you do not believe in a higher power, this would not bother you, since there is no such thing as "evil" without a standard by which to determine it.

That being said, hardening your heart is not a good answer either. When you harden your heart you take away some of the goodness in yourself. You diminish what God would have you do in your life and within your means and strength to deal with the suffering of the world.

I deal with suffering all the time. I cope with the same sort of thing you do, so I understand. You feel as though the mountain of evil in the world is tryign to crush you, that it is all up to you to fix it.

Sounds kind of arrogant when we put it that way, but that is probably how you feel. I know that is how I felt.

First thing you have to remember, is that this world is not forever. That there is something better waiting for us. A time and place where there will not be pain or suffering. You need to remember that God gave you certain talents and he expects you to use them to handle suffering in this world to the best of your ability. But that is all he asks. He does not expect us to cure all the worlds ills, just to struggle against them and try.

Keep your heart soft and open to what He would want you to do. There are plenty of things you can do to ease the suffering of the world. Do them, but do not think you need to do it alone. I hope that helps.

Answer 4

That is a temporary solution. An anaesthetic does not heal. Empathy is a gift to be prized and nurtured. A young, strong and healthy heart regenerates, will heal again and again, to remain soft, supple and ardent to potential. If a wound is healing, be cautious; discern how much impact it can take and still heal. Recovering athletes withdraw from the sport to avoid permanent injury. Hardening of the heart is not proof of strength, but of scarring in the interest of limited survival.

Answer 5

It is extremely difficult to live on this earth. There are heartless people, diseases that can attack all ages and types, industrialism, poverty, and more. My mother once told me that to think of all the evil in the world would overwhelm me and cause me not to be productive. What I should do is focus on what I can do. Get pro-active. Use my gifts. Hardening your heart will make you more like the problems. :( You don't want to be less caring. You want to focus your care on what you can. Please continue to love and care and have sincere compassion. It's the most hurtful thing in the world but it's what the world needs the most. There aren't enough caring people left. :( Also, in a world full of negative information, you should read stories of miracles, see people who have made a positive impact on the world, changes they've made on their own. The more positive you see, the more positive you'll feel.

Answer 6

Drop religion.

I once went through the same thing. I prayed, went to church, and went through the whole range from strict christian to liberal christian. Throughout the whole religion phase of my life (which I was born into), I constantly had doubt that i prayed to god to remove, I was severely depressed, and I almost did the unthinkable.

I didn't harden my heart, i still care deeply for my fellow man and feel terrible about the problems in the world. But I have taken a more realistic approach. God may exist, or he may not exist. Choose to believe in him or not, but drop religion. Most religions (esp. catholisism) instill fear and guilt.

There are many wonderful things about life and about our world. Remember, even though there is war, there is still meaning in people's lives. That deceased person that you see in the media is only a snap shot of their life. Before their end, they may have had a wonderful life, but you only got to glimpse the end of it.

There are terrible things in the world, but focus on the wonderful. Focus on the beauty of God's (if you choose to keep believing in him) or mother nature's creation. Celebrate the compassionate things that people do for each other, for they far outnumber the bad things we do to each other.
Man is not evil. Man does evil things, but mankind is a wonderfully gifted race and we are slowly, yet surely working to undo the injustices in the world.

EDIT: Ouch, I was only trying to help. That was pretty uncalled for. Hopefully you're just in a bad state of mind right now, and I hope on a better day you would be much kinder.

EDIT 2: Ohh, okay, I got you...i hope my bigger better answer helped at least a little. :) The whole dropping religion thing is what helped me, and we're all different so what helps me might not work so well with others. Religion isn't necessarily bad.......but, I think it is a common belief that man kind corrupts things, and religions are manmade institutions, so therefore...they can be corrupted. Thats what I was taught as a catholic, and so I thought it kind of ironic.

Answer 7

many situations interior the e book of Exodus Pharaoh had hardened his own heart. while God began to assert that God hardened Pharaoh's heart, He replaced into merely permitting his heart to be hardened. After awhile God we could them go there own way. examine the 1st financial disaster of Romans, for a large clarification. God does hand us over to our wicked hearts and minds while He sees that we are going to by no skill come to have faith.

Answer 8

No never. You have the mind of Christ. Pray with and talk to other people who are as touched by the plight of others as you are. Those of us who really care, do suffer with them. God bless you.

When you pray, present your troubled heart to God. Allow Him the responsibility of working out these problems.

The wounded and dead innocents are released from this world to be with Him for His eternal care.

Answer 9

becoming detached or ignorant of the suffering around u is never an option if u want peace.instead why dont u try to meditate on the real meaning of life and death.why do we need suffering?we do need the negative and the positive u know.u have to have the courage to face pain and fear if u are to overcome it.denouncing different facets of the world wont work,u have to try and understand them.see why we have it and how it connects to everything else.

Answer 10

I'd say that was a sign you are growing closer to God. I found myself once recently crying, weeping...like my heart would break...for people who dont know God. It was almost paralyzing...the pain. I just kept asking God why..why do I feel like this? Why do I care Lord? Why cant I just be selfish and think of my own salvation? Why do I care if they go to hell? And I heard the HS speak to my spirit and say "because He wants you to know how much you hurt Him when you were separated from Him and how much His Heart breaks for all mankind who reject Him."

The Word says " it is the Spirit himself bearing witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we SUFFER with him in order that we may also be glorified with him. (Romans 8:16-17)

So rejoice in the suffering beloved...for you are a child of the Most High.