Posts Tagged: masochism

“Welcoming Pain”

On August 26, 2018 by Dteb With 0 Comments - down to earth believer

Sunday, August 26, 2018

“5               And have you forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons?

“My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord,

nor be weary when reproved by him.

6           For the Lord disciplines the one he loves,

and chastises every son whom he receives.” (Hebrews 11:5-6)

The pain is still present.  What would happen if I simply welcomed it?

All problems are made worse by resisting them.  So, perhaps the opposite approach might be helpful.

I am not talking about passivity.  Few things are more active and dynamic than genuine acceptance.

I suppose that I am like every other person/animal in the world.  I don’t desire pain.  Yet pain is necessary.  Without it, how would I ever change?  Without pain I would have died years ago.

My father-in-law had diabetes.  As is usually the case, late in his life he was plagued with neuropathy—a fancy, medical term that means his nerves couldn’t feel pain.  Once, when he was standing at the edge of a big brush pile that had been burned, he didn’t realize that, under the ashes there were still live coals.  Only when his shoes were burned through and his feet had begun to smolder did he realize this.  His feet never fully recovered from this.  I can’t remember for sure, but I think that his feet had to be amputated eventually.  No, it is not a good thing to be unable to feel pain.

Pain is like certain people I’ve known.  I can think of people over my lifetime who have been very prickly.  I sometimes call them “dill pickles with bumps.”  (It’s not an original expression, but it’s very expressive, isn’t it?)  They were, at least initially, not fun to be around.  In fact, sometimes, I called them a pain to be around.  And yet, I learned a lot from them.  In some cases, I even came to think of them as friends.

Perhaps I could do the same with pain.  People who exercise often cite the cliché, “No pain, no gain!”  Perhaps this is not a cliché or truism after all.  Perhaps, it is simply true.

Now, I’m not saying that we should like pain.  Liking the sensation of pain is usually recognized as a psychological aberration called “masochism.”  Pain was not designed to be pleasurable, just as a warning siren was not designed to be musical.  Welcoming pain doesn’t mean pretending that it isn’t pain.  Pain is pain.

There is a Hebrew noun, mûsar, that is often translated “discipline” in English.  It is formed off the same root as the verb yäsar.  The verb  means “to chastise or punish, physically or verbally.”

I don’t like being chastised or punished.  However, I do want some discipline in my life.  In other words, I want the product without the process.  I need to choose.

Welcome, pain!  Come in and sit a spell!  Can I get you a cup of coffee?

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