SUFFERING III

As I have just touched on some ideas in the last two days entries on suffering, I now want to present what I think causes suffering for many of us. This list is not including illness, unequally yoked marriages, debt, death, divorce, bad decisions and such things but is primarily concerned with ways we might suffer spiritually for our convictions.

Kinds of Suffering:
Rejection from Family over faith issues
Rejection from Friends over faith issues
Religion verses spirituality
Kingdom of God verses the church
Kingdom of God verses religion
Political and Philosophical
Cultural and Social
Educational… especially University level
Self Imposed… being a jerk
Improper identity and self-image
Sin and Guilt even after salvation
Deception from Cults and fanatic factions
Penance connected with shame and guilt
Performance based on unworthiness
This is a common and partial list…

Each of these could be broken out with explanation but it seems most are easily self-explanatory. If we live as serious followers of Jesus we could suffer from any number of these issues (and more). With the Sermon on the Mount as the template to compare these issues and ideas…we will have conflicts and suffering. Scripture appears to promise such.

“Follow me.” Jesus