The Eighteenth Sunday after Pentecost
October 2, 2005
St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church
The Rev. M. Anthony Seel, Jr.
Philippians 4:8-13
“The Feel of Balance: Coping with Stress”
A while back, a Tahoma, Washington newspaper carried a story about Tattoo, a basset hound. Tattoo didn’t intend to go for an evening run, but when his owner shut the dog’s leash in the car door and took off for a drive – with Tattoo still outside the vehicle, he had no choice. Motorcycle officer Terry Filbert notice a passing vehicle with something dragging behind it. He commented that the poor basset hound was, “picking them up and putting them down as fast as he could.” He chased the car to a stop, and Tattoo was rescued. But not before the dog had reached a top speed of 25 miles per hour, falling down and rolling over several times.
Many of us live our lives like Tattoo, picking them up and putting them down as fast as we can – feeling that we are being dragged and rolled around by life. Dr. Richard Ecker, the founder and director of the Life Management Institute wrote a book twenty years ago called The Stress Myth: Why the Pressures of Life Don’t Have to Get You Down. Ecker says, “Unquestionably, stress is the most significant negative health influence at work in American society today, and the problem grows more serious every day.” [The Stress Myth, p. 10]
Unfortunately, stress is not a problem that we solved twenty years ago. The American Institute of Stress notes that stress has been described today as “America’s #1 health problem.” Today, we complete our three-part series on “Finding Balance in an Unbalanced World.” [www.stress.org] This morning’s sermon is on “The Feel of Balance: Coping with Stress.”
“Why is our society so devastated by stress? asks Richard Ecker. He suggests that
We like to believe that stress in inevitable – that life is so much
more complex these days, that we’re being dragged along by a
run-away world which offers us less and less we can depend on.
But Ecker disagrees with this view. He believes that we can manage unwanted stress. The reason that he believes this is that stress is not something that happens to us from the outside; it is a biological response inside us that helps our bodies deal with what our nervous system takes to be a threat. It is a physical reaction to perceived danger, and it is based on our perceptions. Some of our interpretations of what is happening to us trigger a stress response.
The truth is that we can decide how we are going to respond to life. With God’s help we can retrain ourselves to respond appropriately to what we perceive to be stressful situations. To that end, let’s look at our New Testament lesson this morning where the Apostle Paul gives us some godly advice on handling stress. We know that good rest, good exercise and a good diet contribute to our mental health. Our epistle reading starts with an exhortation about our thought life. Paul writes,
vv. 8-9 Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me – practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.
In his book, You & your thoughts: The power of right thinking, Dr. Earl Radmacher, a former seminary president and professor says in a chapter titled, “What you think is what you are,” compares people to pressure cookers. What we allow into us through our eyes and ears increases the pressure on our hearts and minds.
Some Christians try to control the pressure by strong will and personal disciplines. These restraints might be personal moral values, as in “I won’t do this or I won’t do that.” But through our eyes and ears our values are pummeled daily. Through advertising, media, computers, books, all kinds of means, the values of the world are presented to our eyes and ears. In sometimes subtle, imperceptible ways, our values are challenged, influenced and modified by what we allow into our hearts and minds. Our personal values get mixed up with the values of this world and the mixture makes a mess of our souls.
However, there is an approach to life that can release the pressure that can build up in us.
In today’s second lesson, the apostle Paul exhorts us to reprogram our mind, and he provides us with a list of virtues to do so. These virtues can be thought of as a grid to determine what we should be putting into our minds. Reprogramming our minds, as Paul suggests, can lower the amount of undue stress that we experience in life.
Truth First place in our grid goes to truth. We want to program our minds to think about “Whatever is true.” As the late English educator and author Harry Blamires says, “For the Christian, truth is supernaturally grounded” (The Christian Mind, p. 100). All truth for the Christian is rooted in God, the Creator of all things. This means that truth is objective and not subjective. It means that truth is given to us by God and so, it is authoritative for our lives. Genuine truth is not open to change by popular vote or personal sentiments. We create stress in our lives when we live according to the dictates of our culture or our personal opinions when they are at variance with what God teaches us through His Scriptures. If you want to build truth into your life, start by spending time in Scripture.
Honor The second virtue that Paul is honor.” In the Good News Bible, the word translated here as honorable is translated “noble.” It has to do with that which is worthy of respect. The thesaurus tells us that the opposite of honorable is disreputable, and the opposite of noble is, of course, ignoble or inferior or base. Like some other things in life, you know what is honorable when you see it. We want to fill our hearts and minds with that which is honorable.
Just The third virtue is just. This pertains to that which we are responsible to do for God and other persons. In American society, we picture justice as a blindfolded woman holding a set of scales. Parents teach their children about justice with simple lessons like how to determine who gets what piece of cake. One child gets to cut two pieces of cake and the other child gets to pick their piece. This simple process teaches justice. Justice has to do with fulfilling obligations to others, and thinking about justice has a positive effect on our minds.
Pure The fourth virtue is purity. This has to do not only with bodily purity, but also purity in our thoughts, motives and actions. The idea here is that permitting our hearts and minds to be subjected to the sewers of life will insure that our hearts and minds will be full of what one writer has called “stinkin thinkin.” Stinkin thinkin is another source of stress for our lives. Purity is another stress-reliever.
Lovely The dictionary tells us that lovely means beautiful or attractive. It is to be attractive in the sense of winning admiration and affection from others. Its opposite would be that which brings hostility or bitterness.
Commendable The sixth virtue is “whatever is commendable.” Paul is exhorting us to think on those things that deservedly have a good reputation, and avoid that which gives offense.
Excellent Excellence is the seventh virtue, and in it sums up all the other virtues, as does the last one, whatever is worthy of praise. That which is excellent and worthy of praise is that which meets the highest standards. The standard that excellence often competes with is mediocrity. When I think of excellence, I think of the arts. Despite the folks that you see in some parts of the country selling portraits of Elvis on black velvet, art is about excellence. Art at its best is about what is true, honorable, just, pure, lovely and commendable. At its best, art is a celebration of all that is good in God’s creation.
Worthy of Praise This brings us to that which is worthy of praise. About praise, Old Testament scholar Walter Bruggemann says,
Praise is the duty and delight, the ultimate vocation of the
human community; indeed of all creation. Yes, all of life is
aimed toward God and finally exists for the sake of God.
Praise articulates our capacity to yield, submit and abandon
ourselves in trust and gratitude to the One whose we are.
Praise is not only a human requirement and a human need,
it is also a human delight. [Israel’s Praise, p. 1]
Why do we have stress in our lives? Because our lives are not properly ordered according to the way that God has made us. Paul’s point with this list of virtues is that when we are thinking about what is excellent and worthy of praise, it affects how we live.
we will live like Christians. Two chapters earlier in his letter to the Christians in Philippi, Paul has instructed them to grow into the mind of Christ. In this verse of chapter four, Paul is giving them a practical teaching on how this can be done.
We may think that stress is the result of a difficult boss or demanding work environment. We may believe that stress comes from an unhappy home or hard school situation. In reality, stress is something that we manufacture within ourselves. Stress is a survival mechanism, but excessive stress is a killer. Stress is the body’s natural response to physical threat, but when we allow ourselves to get all amped up about non-physical threats, we damage ourselves. It is our bad responses based on our faulty perceptions that threaten our emotional stability and overall health.
Hans Selye (the pioneer in stress research who coined the term as it is currently used) noted, "Without stress, there would be no life.” As the American Institute of Stress informs us,
Winning a race or election can be just stressful as losing, or more so,
but may trigger very different biological responses. Increased stress
results in increased productivity -- up to a point. However, this level
differs for each of us. It’s very much like the stress on a violin string.
Not enough produces a dull, raspy sound. Too much tension makes a
shrill, annoying noise or snaps the string. However, just the right
degree can create a magnificent tone. Similarly, we all need to find
the proper level of stress that allows us to perform optimally and
make melodious music as we go through life. [stress.org]
The Apostle Paul gives us the sheet music of the most melodious music that any of us can make with our lives. Internalizing the virtues that he highlights is a good start for stress reduction. Memorize verses 8 and 9 from our second reading this morning, and meditate on them. Allow them to become for you a grid to retrain your mind. And while you’re at it, commit verse 13 to memory as well: “I can do all things through him who strengthens me.” You and Jesus Christ can conquer any problem in your life.
As a minister was addressing a group of men, he took a large piece of paper and made a black spot in the center of it with a marking pen. Then he held the paper up before the group and asked them what they saw. One person quickly replied, "I see a black mark."
"Right," the preacher replied. "What else do you see?" Complete silence prevailed. "Don’t you see anything other than the black spot?" he asked. A chorus of "No" came from the audience. "I’m surprised," the speaker commented. "You have overlooked the most important thing of all - the sheet of paper."
Then he made the application.
a) In life we are often distracted by small disappointments, and we forget the innumerable blessings we receive from the Lord.
b) But, like the sheet of paper, the good things in life are overwhelmed by the adversities that monopolize our attention. [Mark Roper]
Stress in our lives operates like that black spot in the center of the paper. When we are under stress, we can’t see anything else except that which is stressing us. The good news today is that we don’t have to live our lives like Tatoo the Bassett Hound, running for our lives. The problems of life don’t have to overwhelm us.
Repeat after me: “I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.” Remember also the words of the Apostle Peter about Jesus our Lord: “cast all your anxiety upon Him, because he cares for you” (1 Pet. 5:7). God does love you. He does care for you. Remember the eight virtues that God has given us through the Apostle Paul. Allow them to assist you in building a grid for your mind and you will lower the amount of stress in your life.
Let us pray.
Almighty and eternal God, so draw our hearts to thee, so guide our minds, so fill our imaginations, so control our wills, that we may be wholly thine, utterly dedicated to thee; and among all the changes and chances of this life; may we rest in thy care, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
