WHAT IT MEANS TO HAVE INNER PEACE

Occasionally there is something in the flood of materials that cross my desk that especially impresses me, so much so that I want to pass it along to others. It usually states some gem of truth better than I could say it myself. Or it is something that I had never thought about in my own limited panning for gold.

Such an item comes from the Houston Center for Attitudinal Healing and was submitted to Life Line, a publication of the Churches of Christ Medical Center Chaplaincy, by Hede Marker, and entitled "Symptoms of Inner Peace."

Eleven signs or symptoms of inner peace are listed. I list them here for your consideration:

  1. A tendency to think and act spontaneously rather than on fears based on past experiences.

  2. An unmistakable ability to enjoy each moment.

  3. A loss of interest in judging other people.

  4. A loss of interest in interpreting the actions of others.

  5. A loss of interest in conflict.

  6. A loss of the ability to worry. (This is a very serious symptom.)

  7. Frequent overwhelming episodes of appreciation.

  8. Frequent attacks of smiling.

  9. An increased tendency to let things happen rather than to make them happen.

  10. Contented feelings of connectedness with others and with nature.

  11. An increased susceptibility to the love extended by others as well as an uncontrollable urge to extend it.

My reaction to these is that they are so appropriate to our time and condition that they could be given other descriptions, such as principles of emotional maturity or even rules for living. And would they not serve as ways to make peace among churches and avenues to Christian unity? And what would these ideals do for a family that took them seriously? Would they not put our divorce courts out of business along with dope pushers and child abusers?

I am impressed that the one who wrought out these ideals must have done so on the anvil of long years of experience in being human, and he delved into the inmost sanctum of human needs, desires, and impulses. He or she understands for instance, as numbers 3 and 4 suggest, that our carnal nature inclines us to be busy cutting others down to our size. We are inclined to control others in one way or another, perhaps because we know, without admitting it, that we ourselves are out of control.

Even more important perhaps is the insight that is as old as the Greek philosophers, that the unexamined life is not worth living. When we are busy reforming ourselves we do not have to be in conflict with others, as number 5 is telling us, and this is the only way we will ever freely relate to others and to nature, which number 10 calls for.

Also significant is the understanding that if life is real for us we must be inner-directed rather than other-directed. It is not the real self that is motivated by fear of disapproval or rejection by the party. We are never so unauthentic as when we fear what man might do to us. So number 1 is essential for self-authenticity. Ps. 118:6 gives a liberating truth that finds its way into the New Testament as well (Heb. 13:6): "The Lord is on my side: I will not fear. What can man do to me?" And rule 6 is showing us that such a trust in the Lord frees us from worry. Worry is wrong because it is a sign of distrust.

Last of all, these principles reflect the true nature of joy, which is evident in old-fashioned appreciation of the simple things in life, which makes smiling not only real but contagious. Joy and love are twins born of the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit. - the Editor