I feel anxious. As usual, like an eager frequenter of the back seat, I find myself attempting to take the wheel from the Lord in this journey called life. When troubles arise or when I find myself feeling powerless in the midst of problems and hopelessness, I struggle more than ever in trusting God and just sitting comfortably behind His will.
Currently my father stopped giving me monetary support, just like that. He withdrew his support just because he wanted to. I think it is too sudden and somewhat unfair, but what can I do? I can just accept this change and trust God more than ever to help me survive and grow in the process. Maybe this is a chance for me to learn money management- budgeting.
On the other hand, I sometimes think that maybe I can be more helpful to my family (and myself) by looking for a job with a much higher salary. I am looking at the call center industry for this. Of course it's a boring but practical option, but the point is, it pays a lot more than my current job. This idea must be a sign of panic in me. I have to admit that I am not used to poverty. It sounds bad, but it is true. In addition to that, I think that the most pathetic experience in the world is hunger and that one of the saddest situations is an empty fridge. I don't want to suffer these things. Maybe that's why I am finding it hard to accept this new and strange adjustment. The truth came to me in full blow just this evening. Just a few days past my 24th birthday, I have to work or else I won't have my own money to spend. I will go hungry and be a bumming adult, jobless and useless. I can almost hear my mother insisting that I should not be thinking of such complications of life yet, that as long as she's there and we're together I don't need to panic or hurry in earning my keep. She is a very caring mother, but I guess this is one thing she finds hard to understand in me. I do feel a strong obligation to be independent as fast as possible so that I would be less of a burden to her as a daughter.
I am keeping my feet planted firmly right where I currently am in this stage in my life, just because I choose to trust God to know better than me. I am perplexed with how things will unfold beautifully from this point...but yeah, I have my hands tied. I am trusting the Lord. Ang hirap! But that's it! God help me!
A Disparity Issue
Question: If you're a born-again Christian, is it (strictly) forbidden (discouraged or prohibited) to marry a Catholic?
Answer: (from the top of my head) It is very much discouraged. (To say that it is forbidden is bordering on legalism.) Now assuming that the question above is referring to Roman Catholics, I think this is an issue of disparity which should never be taken lightly, especially as Christians, since we are well aware that we are not only dealing with contracts, but more importantly we are risking our Christian faith with a worldly matter- that is, marriage. Note that I used the word risk. It is a heart matter...it exposes the answer to the questions: Where does your heart truly depend on? Who or what are your priorities?
Now I do think that the Roman Catholic Church has its own regulations when it comes to the topic of marital union, particularly in the case of disparity of worship. The RCs also discourage such relations. Its members also believe that such decisions compromise the chance for a healthy family relationship- if not at the time, perhaps as time goes by.
It is true that everyone has different circumstances, and maybe marrying a Roman Catholic might be a 'divine intervention' as with the case of Homer (Hosea and Gomer love team, haha)- but do let me say that it's an entirely different (and perhaps isolated) matter. God ordered Hosea to act. Now as for situations these days, commonly it's not that way. Remember that everything is permissible but not everything is beneficial. So yeah, maybe some minister would agree to marrying such couples (which I am skeptical of)- but at what price? The risk of divorce gets higher in such case, of course.
Let's simplify things and be more realistic. "Love" isn't enough to keep a marriage healthy- remember that like everything else, it's hugely a God issue as well! So without the relationship of a couple to the Lord, it just won't work wonderfully. I know some exceptions may exist (though I personally haven't encountered one), but for the general crowd, this is probably the case.
On a funny note, shout out ko lang: Kung yun ngang same-belief couples nagkakaluko-luko pa ang pagsasama, what more sa hindi parehong pananampalataya, hehehe.
The reason why we have the guide of the Word is to minimize the risks in life decisions like marriage. I think we ought to pay heed and use these guidelines wisely to our advantage- to faithfully grow and grow closer to God... to undrerstand Him more by following...trusting that He is wiser, His ideas are the best, and we just ought to obey Him and let Him lead us to safe waters.
So what of the couple's relationship? In the first place, the couple-ness should not have been formed, and I believe generally God would not give peace to the Christian party, even at the early stages. They ought to break it off and ideally the Christian party should initiate- with love and gentleness, nevertheless. He or she must make the reason clear: God comes first in all of life's decisions. He must be our first consideration.
Besides, if he or she really loves the other party, he or she will let the other go with the idea that God will win the non-Christian party through the best means, not by some compromised intervention which might even do damage to His perfect plan. Also, letting go enables both parties to grow without some untimely complications. If the love is indeed genuine, friendship will prevail, regardless of disparity of faith. Again, there are exceptions, but I have yet to see one, so I'll zip it.
Of course above all, prayer is very important in settling certain matters. God will talk. But the crazy half of the couple must willingly HEED...:)
Also, stubbornness has its hateful consequences, so the longer aa Christian brother holds to his decisions (in this context), despite receiving word that it's not parallel to God's word, the harder it will be for both him and the non-Christian party.
Cheesy note: Loving does not always mean holding on. Sometimes it means letting go.
God let you have your free will, your parents let you play in the real-life arena, now let the 'blind' beloved go and see how blessings unfold in her life (as God reaches out to her).
A grave thought: Perhaps (knowingly) marrying a non-Christian may actually be a form of idolatry, as it involves unwittingly putting self-happiness as top consideration (over God). No matter how "noble" our intentions are ("I'll win her" kind of b.s.), it does not justify the real consequences of such a big compromise in our faith. Ultimately, everyone loses here.
Answer: (from the top of my head) It is very much discouraged. (To say that it is forbidden is bordering on legalism.) Now assuming that the question above is referring to Roman Catholics, I think this is an issue of disparity which should never be taken lightly, especially as Christians, since we are well aware that we are not only dealing with contracts, but more importantly we are risking our Christian faith with a worldly matter- that is, marriage. Note that I used the word risk. It is a heart matter...it exposes the answer to the questions: Where does your heart truly depend on? Who or what are your priorities?
Now I do think that the Roman Catholic Church has its own regulations when it comes to the topic of marital union, particularly in the case of disparity of worship. The RCs also discourage such relations. Its members also believe that such decisions compromise the chance for a healthy family relationship- if not at the time, perhaps as time goes by.
It is true that everyone has different circumstances, and maybe marrying a Roman Catholic might be a 'divine intervention' as with the case of Homer (Hosea and Gomer love team, haha)- but do let me say that it's an entirely different (and perhaps isolated) matter. God ordered Hosea to act. Now as for situations these days, commonly it's not that way. Remember that everything is permissible but not everything is beneficial. So yeah, maybe some minister would agree to marrying such couples (which I am skeptical of)- but at what price? The risk of divorce gets higher in such case, of course.
Let's simplify things and be more realistic. "Love" isn't enough to keep a marriage healthy- remember that like everything else, it's hugely a God issue as well! So without the relationship of a couple to the Lord, it just won't work wonderfully. I know some exceptions may exist (though I personally haven't encountered one), but for the general crowd, this is probably the case.
On a funny note, shout out ko lang: Kung yun ngang same-belief couples nagkakaluko-luko pa ang pagsasama, what more sa hindi parehong pananampalataya, hehehe.
The reason why we have the guide of the Word is to minimize the risks in life decisions like marriage. I think we ought to pay heed and use these guidelines wisely to our advantage- to faithfully grow and grow closer to God... to undrerstand Him more by following...trusting that He is wiser, His ideas are the best, and we just ought to obey Him and let Him lead us to safe waters.
So what of the couple's relationship? In the first place, the couple-ness should not have been formed, and I believe generally God would not give peace to the Christian party, even at the early stages. They ought to break it off and ideally the Christian party should initiate- with love and gentleness, nevertheless. He or she must make the reason clear: God comes first in all of life's decisions. He must be our first consideration.
Besides, if he or she really loves the other party, he or she will let the other go with the idea that God will win the non-Christian party through the best means, not by some compromised intervention which might even do damage to His perfect plan. Also, letting go enables both parties to grow without some untimely complications. If the love is indeed genuine, friendship will prevail, regardless of disparity of faith. Again, there are exceptions, but I have yet to see one, so I'll zip it.
Of course above all, prayer is very important in settling certain matters. God will talk. But the crazy half of the couple must willingly HEED...:)
Also, stubbornness has its hateful consequences, so the longer aa Christian brother holds to his decisions (in this context), despite receiving word that it's not parallel to God's word, the harder it will be for both him and the non-Christian party.
Cheesy note: Loving does not always mean holding on. Sometimes it means letting go.
God let you have your free will, your parents let you play in the real-life arena, now let the 'blind' beloved go and see how blessings unfold in her life (as God reaches out to her).
A grave thought: Perhaps (knowingly) marrying a non-Christian may actually be a form of idolatry, as it involves unwittingly putting self-happiness as top consideration (over God). No matter how "noble" our intentions are ("I'll win her" kind of b.s.), it does not justify the real consequences of such a big compromise in our faith. Ultimately, everyone loses here.
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