Misery is having to accept the absolute truth, particularly when it steps on your toes and makes you feel uncomfortable.
Or worse yet, when it directly challenges your preconceived beliefs and values...
perhaps even your way of life.
Ouch! But really...
should anyone be forced to believe something that they simply do not want to believe, even if it IS the truth? How unfair is that! Someone points out the facts, on paper, in black and white.
You resist, but they request that you at least give them a hearing.
All right, you say, but your heart is not in it, and you really don't want to listen to a word they're saying.
So you don't.
You just smile and nod semi-politely and pretend to hear them, while your mind snuggles itself against the mountain of unalterable convictions that reside in your head.
There's no law that says you have to let in new ideas and possibilities, even if they do make sense to some extent, even if they ARE spelled out in black and white.
You still have every right to reject them, and you should do just that if they make you feel uneasy in any way.
You consider yourself a spiritual person, a good person.
You read your Bible every day, even the parts that you don't understand.
It doesn't matter if you don't get it all because the Holy Ghost will let you know while you're reading if something is important.
Besides, you've figured out that at least half of what's in the Bible is for illustration purposes only.
You know, just stories to make a point or teach a lesson -- certainly not the gospel truth.
So you hunt and peck until you find the sections that apply to you, the ones that you agree with because they make you feel all warm and fuzzy inside.
And it makes perfect sense.
After all, if one of the chapters talks about the consequences of committing sin, and that's something you rarely if ever do, then there's no point in giving that chapter too much of your attention, since it really doesn't have anything to do with you.
Why waste your time? Move on to a more relevant chapter, maybe one that discusses the rewards of living a good life and doing good works, especially for the purpose of helping others.
That's right up your alley, isn't it? Besides, the rewards chapter is much more pleasant reading than that other chapter...
the one that says something about how the bad people of the world (the ones living in sin who don't read their Bibles or go to church or do good works or run around chanting that they love the Lord) will eventually get the just punishment that they rightfully deserve.
At least you think that's what it says.
Well, close enough.
The point is that it's a lucky thing that you're you and not one of them! Whew! It pays to be righteous! What's this? "Judge not, lest ye be judged.
" Clearly that verse does not apply to your situation.
You would never even think of judging someone! You're just not that way! What you do is discern...
recognize...
assess.
There's a big difference.
And on the rare occasions that you do criticize someone, well, it's for their own good, after all.
It's designed to help them straighten out and live a better life so maybe they can get to Heaven too, if they change their ways and work hard enough.
There are individuals who will obsessively search until they find absolute truth, or at least what they perceive absolute truth to be.
Too exhausting! Who has time for that? You know how busy you are with the things that really matter to you.
Besides, why search for so-called absolute truth, when there is no such thing and everybody knows it? Everything about life is relative.
And most people will tell you that it doesn't even matter exactly what you believe in, so long as you're sincere about it.
Every person has his own opinions about things.
That's why you just do the best you can and it will all work out.
No big deal.
And there's certainly no reason to waste your life searching for something that doesn't even exist, when there are better ways to spend your time.
Besides, who's to say what the absolute truth is? Like about God, for instance.
Will anybody ever really know the absolute truth about Him? He certainly isn't making any personal appearances or calling you on the phone to answer your questions.
It all amounts to your best guess, based on what you see and hear.
Everybody knows that the writings of the Bible are open to interpretation and dispute.
After all, how long ago was it written? The world has changed considerably since then.
A lot of the passages probably aren't even relevant any more.
That's why you need to concentrate on what applies to you in the here and now, and take the rest with a grain of salt.
Yesterday's lessons, though significant way back when, are not necessarily appropriate thousands of years later.
Being aware of that fact, you now have the freedom to act accordingly, based solely, of course, on what suits you.
Since you alone are the best judge of what's right for you, why allow someone else to make that determination? Is your personal truth less credible than theirs? That hardly seems fair.
Perhaps everyone should simply agree to disagree and leave it at that.
Then God can be what each one of us wants Him to be.
He can fit into our individual molds, and fulfill our individual spiritual requirements.
Dr.
Frankenstein's creation was assembled from body parts unknowingly donated by deceased collaborators.
He took the best preserved, most sought-after limbs and appendages from personally selected dead bodies, and then sewed them together to construct a being that he hoped would come alive at his command.
And it did just that.
He patched together his very own Frankenstein 'monster', a living being designed according to his predetermined specifications.
And he used the power of electricity to shock the creature into existence.
Dr.
Frankenstein's technique was timeless, which explains why so many have followed in his footsteps by adapting their own version of his brainchild and running with it.
These individuals have learned to pick and choose only those things that are, in their opinion, the best preserved, most sought-after characteristics of any given deity.
After patching the selected traits together to create their own personal 'frankengod', the result is a being that is in fact very much alive inside the individual's head, carefully designed according to his or her specifications, and stimulated into existence by religious emotionalism combined with a touch of arrogance.
A god that matches your criteria perfectly...
what more could anyone want? Perhaps you favor a god who loves everybody and never gets angry.
Or maybe a god who realizes that you're doing the best you can and doesn't expect anything more from you.
No doubt you want a god who knows you're a good person despite your minor imperfections.
Or maybe an ultra-forgiving god who would never send anyone to a place called hell...
well, with the exception of maybe murderers and fornicators and people that never go to church even on Christmas and Easter.
Or how about a god who will smite your enemies while prospering you with every materialistic blessing that you can imagine? You might even prefer a cruel, unfair, uncaring god, so you can have the perfect excuse for why your life is going down the toilet, since it's obviously no fault of your own.
The encouraging part is that, with a little hunting, you can always find a book or magazine that will reinforce your already settled on beliefs.
And with all the TV preachers and church pastors that are out there, it won't be difficult to locate one that agrees with you about everything, caters to your whims, and pretty much always tells you exactly what you want to hear.
Even the Bible itself contains passages that will back you up, if you don't mind taking them totally out of context.
So basically, the trickiest part of this whole procedure is establishing an acceptable persona for your frankengod.
Once you've determined what works for you, the rest is easy.
Just start building...
you'll be surprised how quickly your new friend takes over your life, protecting you from anyone or anything that could disrupt the newfound serenity that resides behind the uncompromising shield of your blinders.
Guaranteed, he'll be the best friend you ever had...
until he turns on you.
Unfortunately, the longer you let your frankengod hang around controlling and dictating things, the harder it will be to get rid of him, should you ever want to.
Be prepared to face a considerable amount of resistance if and when you ask him to leave.
His plan from the beginning is to stay put permanently.
You may want to make sure, before you even invite him in, that a permanent relationship is your plan too, because you're going to be in for a hell of a fight if you change your mind later on.
But honestly, don't even worry about it or give it a second thought, because chances are excellent that it won't ever come to that.
Blind arrogance is powerfully stubborn, as you know, and once it gets you locked in its grasp, well...
odds are you're not going anywhere.
And it's doubtful that you'll even be tempted.
You'll be too far gone by then, and your better judgment will have already been permanently impaired.
What you probably didn't realize, when you decided to create your own personal frankengod, is that you simultaneously created your own personal comfort zone prison.
The longer you remain incarcerated behind the bars of your finicky self-righteousness, the less likely it is that you'll even attempt to regain your freedom.
So it's a good thing you're happy with your devoted friend (or should I say 'frankenhappy'?), because life would really be a drag if you weren't.