Parables are metaphorical stories told by Jesus.  They are meant to convey meaning by comparing spiritual concepts with everyday life.  They were also intended to be riddles.  The effort of trying to understand was part of the value in learning their meaning.  If you were not willing to even try, then the meaning of the story would always be hidden from you.  This is a parable told by Jesus.

The Kingdom of Heaven is like a treasure that a man discovered hidden in a field.  In his excitement, he hid it again and sold everything he owned to get enough money to buy the field.  Again, the Kingdom of Heaven is like a merchant on the lookout for choice pearls.  When he discovered a pearl of great value, he sold everything he owned and bought it!

-Mathew 13:44,45

God is the man who discovered the treasure in the field.  You are the treasure.  God is the merchant.  You are the pearl.

~Sisyphus

If I gave you a gift and said, “Here, this is for you.  It is a gift”, what would you expect to pay?  Do you owe me a gift in return?  Do you owe me any money or property?  Do you owe me labor, blood, sweat, or tears?  What do you owe me for receiving a gift – for free?

The Gospel goes out of its way to express that the salvation of God is a free gift.  That means you owe nothing.  That means that if you look at what Christ has done on the Cross and you are able to say, “I can see that this means I am free”, then you owe nothing in return.  You do not need to give up a single thing.  Just accept what has been done and be done with it.

If you accept what Christ has done, you have God’s permission to change nothing.  Those are His words, not mine!

Do not make any changes to your life.  Do not start a Bible reading regimen.  Do not stop swearing.  Do not leave your friends or make new ones.  Do not force yourself to attend church every week.  Do not join a Bible study.  Do not pay tithes.  Do not give up drinking or smoking pot.  Do not change a single thing.  Not-one-thing.

If you do change anything, I want you to promise that you will only make changes that you want to make.  If you want to do something differently, or if you want to give something up, or if you want to take on a new habit, then do what you want, but only do it if you want to.  Only do what you have already been doing.  Only do that which you honestly desire and nothing more.

I am not joking, being facetious, or sarcastic.  I am absolutely serious.  DO NOT CHANGE A SINGLE THING!  Test God.  See if he means it.  Make Him prove to you that His gift is actually free, like He says it is.  If there are any details to be worried about, then let God worry about the details.

You have my permission to be bold.  Put it to Him exactly this way.  Say to God, “Is this really a gift, or do I owe you something?  If it is free, as you say it is, then it does not rely on my effort in any way.  Right?”

Right.

~Sisyphus

No God

I hate to tell you this, but you are Godless.  I understand that this is a very combative thing to say.  I am not trying to make you upset.  That is not the purpose.  I am just trying to get you to think about the bigger picture.

Normally, I would recommend to anyone in a state of anxiety that they should stop thinking about the bigger picture.  In a moment of anxiety, you should focus on only those things that exist in your moment.  Think about things like, “What am I wearing?”, or “Where am I standing?”, and focus on your breathing.  This can kill off an anxiety attack.

However, when it comes to your overall mental well-being, you need to consider that there are things much, much bigger than you in the universe.  Contemplating the existence of God is not going to kill you.  I promise.  Even if you know you are only pursuing a fantasy, it is ok.  The mental exercise that comes from considering the idea that you have a greater purpose in life will give you a sense of belonging.

Consider those who are suicidal.  They have no sense of belonging.  They do not feel as though they belong anywhere, so they remove themselves from the equation.  You must recognize that you are a valuable component to a greater good and that your goal in life is to seek out the meaning of that greater good.  Looking for God is a noble pursuit for the mentally and spiritually flexible.

The focus on seeking out such a profound truth will provide you with a greater distraction from the constant abuse that comes from the idea that you are nothing and that you are not going anywhere.

No Purpose

What are you really doing with your life?  This is not some kind of guilt trip.  If you do not work, go out with your friends, attend a club or a church, or donate your time to a charity, then what are you doing with your life?  Being idle is a massive drain on your sense of purpose.  By doing nothing, you are telling yourself that you have nothing to contribute.  You are using resources that could be going to someone else.  These are the worst things you could ever say to anyone else.  Why do you tell them to yourself?  You need to stop!

If you are out of work and you are having trouble finding work, then do something smaller that you can do.  Go and volunteer for an hour at an animal shelter, or a homeless shelter, or anywhere you can do something helpful.  You could even volunteer to help staff a convention.

Be part of the work.  You do not need to do a lot.  Even the smallest amount of effort will have a profoundly positive effect on your mind and on your soul.

While you are looking for work, go volunteer.  And while you are volunteering, look for anything that you can do to be helpful.  Take on a helpful mentality.  This means staying behind after the meet to do the dishes, or to help pick up the trash, or to help clean up the meeting space by putting away chairs and tables.

You can do smaller things too.  Pay for someone’s lunch.  Pick up their keys if they drop them.  Pitch in a few dollars to help pay for snacks.  2 or 3 dollars can be a significant investment into your emotional health.

Being a part of any effort, no matter how small, will help you to gain a sense of purpose for being alive.  You need this to survive!

Radicalized Social Media

This point is going to be easy to believe and hard to do.

Social media is the worst thing we have ever done to ourselves.  I truly believe that perhaps the greatest evil that has ever been unleashed on our planet is social media.  Social media is no better than opioids, meth, and heroine.  It was designed to be addictive.  It was designed to enslave you.

Suicide is at an all-time high, because of social media.  Social media hates you.  Social media is a platform that encourages extremism in every topic.  If you are not saying what someone else wants you to say, then you will be berated with insults and “called out” for your stupidity and worthlessness.  If you listen to social media, everybody hates you and they want you to go kill yourself.  That is the message you receive every single day.  The things that social media says to you are absolutely unacceptable and you could never get away with saying those things to someone’s face.

I hate social media and I hate the way it treats you.  I want you to hate it too!

Social media is built on lies.  No one sees the world the way social media portrays it.  The real world is actually far better than the world that is being portrayed by social media.  Social media promised you a better life.  Social media promised you a world of stronger, deeper connections with other, like-minded folks.  Instead, social media has delivered mental instability, lies, hatred, and emotion and spiritual ruin.

Social media hates you.  I hate social media.  I want you to hate it too!

You should spend a lot less time on social media.  Replace your social media with physical interaction with other people.  Go to a furmeet.  Go volunteer with a charity.  Go outside and feel the air, the sun on your face, and see the natural beauty of the world around you.

If you can abandon social media entirely, then do that.  If you can just reduce your use of social media, do that.  If you can change the way you use social media by turning off comments, or by vowing never to read them, then do it.  If you can use social media in a way that lets you “get it off your chest”, and then completely forget you ever said it, then try that too.  Just do anything that gets you away from the garbage opinions of other, horrible people who do not even know you.

Social media is a horrible institution that will destroy you if it can.  If it cannot kill you, then it will settle for just ruining your life.

Kill your social media, before it kills you.

~Sisyphus