Don't Quench the Spirit

Do not quench the Spirit … hold fast to what is good (and) abstain from every form of evil. 1st Thessalonians 5

The other day our neighbor came knocking on the door at about 8 pm. Since good news never comes knocking at the door at that hour – not even to sell something fabulous – we were concerned. Questions of “who is it” and “what do they want” and “should we answer the door” flashed through our minds (as did matters of personal safety), but the only way we could solve the puzzle would be to answer the door.

It turned out to be a neighbor coming to ask us to watch his house over the Thanksgiving weekend. He was a bit worried because another residence in the neighborhood had just been burglarized earlier (in broad daylight), and while he and his wife were taking all the precautions they could with lights, locks, timers, and other such what-nots, they were feeling a bit exposed and at risk in leaving for the holiday.

We knew the feeling well. A few years back our family returned home to find it had been ransacked. Fortunately, the culprits were caught red-handed by an alert police officer who happened to be driving by as they were walking out of the house with our daughter’s television. He was suspicious of the activity, stopped to investigate, and ended up giving chase to the fleeing felons and apprehending one of them.

All of our things were recovered, but our feeling of personal security has never fully recovered. We aren’t obsessive about it, but we are more cautious. Even a decade later, I leave the house and wonder what I will find upon returning home.

Worry, of course, is mostly counter-productive. As Jesus reminds us in the Bible, “who can add a minute to life or an inch to their height by worrying?” Science seems to confirm that intuition; excessive worry shortens life, and no amount of worrying will increase one’s stature. In fact, it has quite the opposite effect as people bow down beneath the weight and pressure of the stresses under which they find themselves.

Worry not only “quenches the Spirit,” it is contagious, but it doesn’t have to be that way. We don’t need to allow events to dictate how we respond to the world in which we live. That is easier said than done, I’ll admit. When we’re under pressure or under stress, it is very easy to “let blow” over matters that are, in and of themselves, insignificant.

St. Paul tells us to hold on tight to that which is good, and abstain from that which is evil. Some people don’t like that word (evil); it is prone to being misapplied to people, places, or things one might not like, but I think it is a good word when it is used properly.

See, I think of “evil” as the word “live” spelled backwards. In other words, there are things we do that promote life and joy, and there are things that don’t. The list of things that are evil is, in my opinion, a list of all that is destructive or counterproductive to life.

That list would include things like stealing, lying, or hurting others in word or deed.

For example, I am told the average person tells a lie 87 times each day. What’s the most common lie people tell? “I’m fine.”

Perhaps we lie so often because we have learned that people don’t really want to know how we are; they might have to respond with empathy – a cup of water or dollop of grace – and that’s a burden too many (we find) are unwilling to bear; so we succumb to “evil” and lie to hide our shame and bury our pain.

However, Paul encourages us to hold fast to that which is good. Hold fast to that which gives life, promotes peace, and creates joy. What exactly is that “good” to which we should hold fast?

Letting go; that’s what we should hang on to.

Worries will consume us, but letting go allows one the freedom to be of service to fellow travelers. Letting go allows one to be useful, to stand tall, and to discover the good (and less worrisome) things in this, our world. Embrace the good and be at peace; that’s the word!