Faith Venture

If you can keep your head when all about you

Are losing theirs and blaming it on you

Rudyard Kipling

Journalists constantly look for the Big Story. Employers of journalists look for stories that raise emotions, which raise readership, which raises the value of advertising, which adds profits.

This is not a US-only phenomenon. Everywhere I observe it’s the same stirring of emotions.

The opening lines of Kipling’s poem If gives us a hint. By the way, the conclusion of all the “if’s” in the poem is “then you’ll be a man” (allowing for 19th Century perspectives).

Temperance is one of the classic Stoic virtues is also a virtue practiced by Jesus. He experienced the swirling emotions of power and insurrection, stared them down, and kept to the mission of ushering in the kingdom of God build upon love and justice.

So should we, as we stare down constant attempts to stir our emotions to no good for ourselves. Maintain our practice of kingdom principles—love God with all of our being and love our neighbor as Jesus loved.

This entry was posted on March 5, 2020 at 6:24 am and is filed under Disciplines. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.