Monthly Archives: March 2017

Faith, Reflective Reading

No Justice, No Peace

I very recently came to understand and have a new appreciation for justice, but let’s rewind 5 years before I explain.

There was a time in my life I felt victimized by local and state laws. I sat in jail. A straight-A student in college and single mother, but also a very irresponsible driver. I could not afford to pay tickets, and so I sat there. It was terrible at the time. I learned from experience that most people in jail are mentally ill, suffering from addiction, and suffering from the sociological boundaries they allow to hold them captive. Having been in child protective services,  experienced the pain of drug addiction within my own family, and-well-even the fact that I was sitting in jail, there was enough to find common ground with the other ladies. In these moments spent separated from my son, I hated justice.

Fast forward to now, I’m glad to say I’m a much better driver. I have a husband that can hardly believe I ever sat my pretty little butt in jail. The consequences of me not sitting out my tickets would have stifled my career and life and also my sons. This is how legal or general justice is carried out in society. When someone has broken a law they are subject to consequences. Whether they agree with the law or not, they must submit to the consequences or they risk steeper punishment. This is justice. She carries out her duty to relinquish the wrongdoer of their debt to the community. A debt that is incurred from an action that is lawfully wrong. Justice is a fundamental virtue, and part of a system of virtues, that work to hold civilized societies together. Due to justice, we have peace in our communities.

Legal justice is a subset of an internal form of justice. Internally, justice is different. When we commit a wrongful act to another, a debt is incurred. This debt couriers itself as guilt, insuppressible guilt. Our heart betrays our minds ability to reason it away, and demands punishment in order to receive freedom. Justice is written on our hearts, and she serves as relief to our conscience when we have wronged another. Before justice is served the perpetrator wrestles their guilt, and zeal for life is lost. However, justice brings life. She is beautiful in the sense that when she is carried out she sets us free from our indebtedness; our debts to one another as well as our debts to society. Due to justice, we are able to have peace in our hearts.

“They show that the requirements of the law are written on their hearts, their consciences also bearing witness, and their thoughts sometimes accusing them and at other times even defending them.” -Romans 2:15

This reflects the widespread belief held by Christians that Jesus came and justice was served at the cross. Justice that no longer has to be served by us, for eternal life with God. Other religions claim that if one chooses to live a moral life they are welcome to heaven. Christianity is different in that it says, people are born sinful and must accept Jesus, as willfully having accepted the consequences of their sinful behavior for them, in order for a Holy God to re-commune with them, despite their imperfections. Jesus’s recorded life teaches us how to live, and He extended the invitation to each of us to accept Him as serving the ultimate sentence, to set our souls and hearts eternally free. All justice was served at the cross, and through Jesus one can live a life of freedom. Due to the life baring fruit of justice, our souls have peace.

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” -Matthew 11:28

The cycle of sin and redemption is: We make a mistake. In that moment the consequences are incurred. Before justice is served the wrongdoer is held captive by fear and guilt. While justice is being served we experience shame and inadequacy. Afterwards life is born, and freedom is reached. Our hearts long for the freedom born through justice, regardless of how we reason.

In every direction I look, whether backwards or forwards, I can praise God for justice.


“For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.” -Hebrews 12:11
“Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline, so be zealous and repent.”

-Revelation 3:19

Reflective Reading

Stress

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A six letter word we can all agree we don’t like, stress. This past week, I’ve been working toward wrapping up classes. I have three projects, 2 major projects, I’m juggling at work, and before any of that I am a wife and a mom. Stress is an understatement, if I don’t focus on managing it.

I believe to manage stress well we must understand the root causes of it, so for myself and my reader here is a tid-bit of information on stress that can help us manage.

Dr Karl Albrecht defined 4 common types of stress in his book “Stress and the Manager” and how to manage them. The 4 types of stress are:

Time stress is experienced when you worry about time or the lack of it.

Time stress can be significantly reduced when a person has good time management skills. Prioritizing a workload and creating to-do lists are essential to juggling any load, whether at work or at home. Another way time stress can be reduced is by using time wisely throughout the day and maximizing its potential. Being organized and maintaining a schedule  to ensure top priority work is being completed during your peak hours, which will vary based on whether you are predominately a morning or night person, will reduce the amount of stress induced by time constraints. Lastly, get enough sleep and don’t over commit yourself. Learning how to say “no” respectfully will help you reduce time stress.

When are you most productive?

Anticipatory stress is experienced when someone is concerned for the future.

Anticipatory stress can be reduced through visualizing the event positively. Anticipatory stress sometimes is a result of the fear of failure. To overcome this fear you can analyze all possible outcomes and plan for the possibility of all. This preparation will give you a greater sense of control over the situation. Another way to overcome anticipatory stress is through meditating on the here and now instead of the future. Also, accept that you are limited in what you can control.

Situational stress is when you are in a situation you have no control over.

Situational stress can be reduced by being self-aware. Being able to identify when you are in a situation that is causing tension or pressure by the signals your body, mind, and emotions are sending you, can help you understand that you need to react. How you react will depend mostly on the situation. Whether you choose to withdraw and remove yourself completely or manage a conflict, you’ll need to be quick on your feet to deal with this stress appropriately.

Encounter stress is when you worry about interacting with certain people.

Empathy is a great characteristic that can assist you in dealing with this type of stress, because it allows you to see the situation for the others persons point of view. Also , relaxation techniques that help slow down your heart rate like breathing exercises, mediation, practicing visualization, and exercising regularly can also help reduce encounter stress.

And don’t forget throughout every stressful situation always, always, keep your sense of humor.