Tribulation Can Be Self-inflicted

“These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.” (Joh 16:33 AV)

This verse struck me a bit differently this time around.  Usually, when I read this, I read this to mean the world will persecute the saint and cause him problems in his walk with God.  I read this to mean the world inflicts harm on us as we become a victim to its rebellion.  This time, though, I read it as if the saint purposefully abode in the world, and in doing so, he received tribulation.  No longer the victim, but rather, a participant, the saint receives tribulation which he asked for by being in the world.  What I see is a comparison between being in Christ and being in the world.  If we are in Christ, we have peace and good cheer.  If we are in the world, we have tribulation.  This makes more sense than how I was reading it before today.  We are troubled on every side because our minds are fixed on this world instead of on Christ and heavenly things.  Our affections are not on things above.  We are preoccupied with the things of this world and because we are, trouble and tribulations abound in the mind and heart.

I went on a news-fast the last few years.  I used to be an ardent Fox News viewer then when they began to report in every disgruntled immodestly dressed or immoral young person, I stopped reading their site and watching their news broadcast.  I realized news was nothing more than a manipulation of the emotions of the masses.  It wasn’t that way a generation ago.  At least it wasn’t so flagrant.  In the sixties and seventies, the news was pretty much a reporting of the facts without commentary or opinion.  Opinions had their own shows separate and apart from the local and national news.  There has always been a slant.  Major broadcasting networks whether cable, streamed, or the old-fashioned method usually lean to the side of secularism and leftist ideas.  This has always been the case.  However, with the rise of Fox News, CNN, and MSNBC, news has leaned more towards commentary and opinion sprinkled with facts rather than the other way around.  This debate is designed to keep the viewer emotionally vested in the program so they keep watching.  This causes all sorts of emotions.  Mostly negative ones.  Anger, anxiety, frustration, envy, etc. all work to manipulate the public into staying tuned to the next broadcast.  The heart is troubled because our minds are in the events of this life.  We are in the world and thus troubled by it.  Our tribulation is self-inflicted.

What is true of the mind and spirit is also true of the flesh.  If our flesh is preoccupied with things of this life, then we will have tribulation.  This sounds kind of odd because taking care of our physical selves is good stewardship.  Eating right, getting exercise, and avoiding unhealthy habits are all good things.  However, if we are so preoccupied with these things we begin to take extreme measures, those extreme measures will cause tribulation.  If we are having issues with the flesh, it is probably because we are preoccupied with the needs, demands, or desires of it.  The world is constantly attempting to keep our fleshly desires stirred to the max.  The more we are stirred, the more time we spend in the world, and the more resources we give it.  If the flesh is giving us trouble, it probably means we are catering way too much to it.