The Love of many waxing cold

[abide]

Each time I read about a parent killing their children as a result of a domestic dispute. I ask myself, if two grown people have problems why do they have to take it out on their children.

Just read where a man in USA killed his children. He had a dispute with his wife. Sometimes this happens when there is a custody battle. It seems people are on edge, emotionally immature and are not thinking straight. This world needs Jesus. Hope his return comes soon.

 

[Wrg1405]

Each time I read about a parent killing their children as a result of a domestic dispute. I ask myself, if two grown people have problems why do they have to take it out on their children.

Just read where a man in USA killed his children. He had a dispute with his wife. Sometimes this happens when there is a custody battle. It seems people are on edge, emotionally immature and are not thinking straight. This world needs Jesus. Hope his return comes soon.

I have to be honest I would have to question the mental stability of people who carry out such atrocities.
And to a certain extent we are talking about extremes here, but alas they do exist.

I do think you raise a good point though. Taking your point out of the extremes in terms of an extreme mental health issue the true meaning of LOVE has been so extorted in modern day society.

The true Agape love of God has been lost.

Today society is teaching that love, being loved, being loving falls outside of Agape love. Further society is plaguing us with adverts that distort the very need to feel that we a loved and loving.

One example. Our household have iPhones and IPads. Every year at Christmas, Mother's Day and Father's Day my kids get an e-mail "Show your mum/dad that you love them, buy them the latest iPad" it's not just with Apple it's with lots of products and all are expensive. Where on earth are my kids going to get the money to buy this. So now the prsssure is on the parents to buy the products. So the pressure is for me to but the iPad for Mother's Day for my kids to give to my wife, or whatever product they have been plagued with.

We tell our kids if you want to give us anything for special occasions a hug is worth more. On my birthday when my kids ask me what would I like I say "ooh a lovely big cuddle"

This pressure doesn't just affect families it affects friendships as well.

Another example is how advertising promotes its products to pander to the need to be loved. Adverts about clothes, perfume, makeup.
Buy these products and you will be loved or lovable. What a load of tosh.

And I have to say it's infiltrated the Church. Show God you love him by giving him your money, or us your money.
We need to raise x amount of money and do it joyfully. I know of people who got into debt, or gave rather than pay off thier debt. In fact I know of people who gave to the church, did not pay their workers then went bust. Therefore leaving their workers of which most were not Christian unpaid and causing them to fall into financial difficulty.

You are right the world needs Jesus, the world has experienced Jesus because he came.
He came with that Agape love. "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only son"

When Jesus returned to the Father he did so in order for the Holy Spirit to come. He said that's why he had to go.

So we are meant to be and should want to be like Jesus, his represantive in this world. The personification of Jesus with everyone that he has given us.

We should walk in this Agape love he has asked us to. Ok we can't beat the world system and how it portrays love but do you know what?

Step by step, little by little when we touch others with this Agape love, when they realise they don't need perfume, makeup, fancy clothes, have to buy us gifts to be loved, that they are loved warts and all and are created in the image of God and he loves them so much then we are showing them God. If they see that then they do the same to those that they know.

We are Jesus in a sense on this world. He will come back but until he does he has asked us to be him in this world.

Hope I make sense.

 

[Not_Now.Soon]

What this brings to mind for me are abusive relationships and abusive spouses. And as much as I wish to help keep people together and families together, one piece of advice I agree with is that anyone who is hit by their spouse must consider how long it will take for their spouse to hit the kids too. Take the family and leave an abusive relationship. That said I know there are other issues too. Whenever there are kids involved, then issues of money and separating the family also get involved.

But yeah, we deffinately need Jesus to return. Until then we hopefully can make strong sommunities to be there for eachother and to hopefully ward off abuses.

 

[Wrg1405]

What this brings to mind for me are abusive relationships and abusive spouses. And as much as I wish to help keep people together and families together, one piece of advice I agree with is that anyone who is hit by their spouse must consider how long it will take for their spouse to hit the kids too. Take the family and leave an abusive relationship. That said I know there are other issues too. Whenever there are kids involved, then issues of money and separating the family also get involved.

But yeah, we deffinately need Jesus to return. Until then we hopefully can make strong sommunities to be there for eachother and to hopefully ward off abuses.

For sure when relationships get abusive whether it be physical or even emotional to the extent of controlling with no desire for the abuser to change then the abused has the right to withdraw.

I've experienced both sides as a child and beleive me, the physical abuse you can get over but the emotional abuse follows you everywhere. It eats away at you and affects every part of your life.

Being part of a strong community that is God focused and displays Jesus can start to breakdown all the emotional barriers that have been built up.

That helped me

 

[Christ_empowered]

I don't know how it is in other modern, 21st century societies, but here in America...communities have disintegrated. Even in what used to be strong, traditional communities---small towns, southern farming areas, etc.--drugs and violence and deviance are all over the place. As my older, wiser friend Verna always says "Satan is on the rampge, tearing down everybody he can, cuz he knows he's doomed."

Mental health problems are real and really can cause some terrible things. I attacked my father in part because of mental illness, but also (sadly) because of immaturity and so-called "treatment." Too much electroshock at a young age=total inability to do much of anything. I couldn't even comprehend the world around me.

So, I get where these people who are broken and on edge are coming from, but...not all of them have severe mental problems. Some (many?) do, and its sad that now some people don't get treatment for mental problems until they're in jail and/or prison. The old state mental hospitals weren't ideal, but not all of them were abusive "snake pits." Some states still have state mental hospitals. They're not used as much as back in the day, and there are still concerns about abuse and such, but...what's the alternative?

There's this book...if you're in for a long book w/ lots of intellectual (but surprisingly well-written and accessible, considering the subject matter...) stuff in it, there's this book from the late 70s...The Culture of Narcissism, by Christopher Lasch. Its not just individuals who are narcissistic; its the whole culture...and this book was published nearly 40 years ago!

In the last days, men shall be lovers of themselves...

I was diagnosed as over the top Narcissistic. Was I that bad? I dunno. The people who diagnosed me strike me as...well...dangerously narcissistic, but nobody asked me. I got saved and Jesus moved mightily in my life. I still struggle with Self (note the capital S), but I'm not trapped in Self-everything. Fun Pentecostalism: "You have an 'I' problem!" I have much less of an "I" problem now that Jesus has moved in my heart+life. Abide is right...the whole world needs Jesus, now more than ever. Thing is...here in the US, shaky (at best) doctrine and teaching is becoming more and more popular. I'm not saying all the pop Christian people are heretics or false teachers, but it does seem that --some-- are and --some-- are leading people astray for $$$.

Sorry to ramble. I agree with Abide.