March 31-April 1 – What's your smell?

Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him. But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. ...” James 1:2-12 ESV

It is said that the olfactory system of some animals is far more advanced than ours. I was the blessed owner of a border collie dog, and I well recall that he could sniff out a tasty titbit at a thousand paces. That I could understand as food of any sort emits an odour.

Certain illnesses also emit a smell that attracts the attention of dogs. A two-year-old girl was recently diagnosed with leukaemia thanks to her dog who noticed she had been acting strangely and would not leave her side. The parents of Philippa Wood noticed their border collie Bessie had been acting strangely around their daughter and that the dog would not leave her side. This led Paula and Philip Wood, from Brotton, North Yorkshire, to see something was wrong and a few days later she was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia.

It has also been said that animals can smell fear, but what about emotions? what would something like, say, self pity smell like? Not that I could see them being interested in something they can't eat or have fun with.

Actually, what does self pity smell like? and what is the effect it has on US? It begins by presenting itself as something sweet - nauseatingly sweet. Self pity seems pretty harmless but it is insidious and cruel and should be cut out without mercy like a cancer. We feel justified in our feelings – badly done to, so consequently we nurture it, basking in it's smelly emotion. Once we realise what it is doing to us, and to our relationships we attempt to break away, but it lurks around like a stalker, hoping to make some tiny inroad back in. But our answer must be NO.

Self-pity tends to strike when things are going poorly in our lives, or when disappointments come. The last thing we want at those times is a superficial cheering up – platitudes, and to be told that as Christians we should display a smiling face and repeat “Praise the Lord!” after every other sentence. Come on, get real, can they honestly say they have never been there?

What does the Bible have to say about this? Ecclesiates has a lot to say - a little cynical and pessimistic you might say? But that's what I like about it. No platitudes or sweet syrupy clichés.

Ecclesiastes has a different tone or feel than other books in the Bible. Listen to the first words in chapter 1: "'Meaningless! Meaningless!'" says the Teacher. "'Utterly meaningless! Everything is meaningless.'" Verse 8 says; "All things are wearisome, more than one can say." Here's verse 16; "For the wise man, like the fool, will not be long remembered; in days to come both will be forgotten." And listen to this; "When times are good, be happy; but when times are bad, consider: God has made the one as well as the other." (6:14)

When life is hard Ecclesiastes comes along and tells it like it is. He doesn't pretend that everything is sweetness and light. He doesn't pretend that good always triumphs over evil or that there is always a happy ending.

This doesn't discourage me, Rather, I feel encouraged when I read this book. I like the fact that God put it in there. It means He understands how we feel and He doesn't expect us to pretend in either our feelings or thoughts. To me it means that God is real. Because He is real, I can be honest with Him and pour out all that I am going through and all that I feel. Yes, I like that very much. Preach it, brother!

We must stand firm at the first whiff of self pity. Refuse to cultivate all the little scenarios about how unfair life has been or "what if…" or how justified we are to feel sorry for ourselves. Reject it from our lives, and seek God's help and grace to remove it completely.

When you are filled with self pity, who is at the centre of your world? You are! Not God who should be. What is the fruit of self pity? Lack of trust in God, despondency, discouragement, the victim syndrome, anger, resentment, wasting of time, and on and on. I can't think of one good thing that comes out of self pity.

Today's music choice is Bryn's - “Help is on the way”sung by Doyle Lawson and Quicksilver. Click on the picture to listen.