For those of you who don’t know, “fml” is a vulgar euphemism that stands for “F*** my life.” Basically, www.fmylife.com is a site where you can anonymously post your misfortunes for the world to see. It’s the misery loves company theory put into action.
I don’t know about you, but “fml” is a very relatable thing to me. From dropping my new iPod off of a roof to accidentally pouring stale milk on my cereal, fml seems to pop up in my life every once in awhile. It made me stop and think if there were any “fml” moments in the Bible. There are PLENTY!
In fact, if parts of the Bible were put into fml format, it would look something like this:
Today, I ate some fruit that my wife wanted me to taste. Now we’re homeless. FML.
Today, my brothers threw me in a pit and then sold me. FML.
Today, God told me that after 40 years of leading these stiff-necked people around the desert that I wouldn’t be able to enter the Promised Land. FML.
Today, after working seven years for my wife, I found out I married the wrong woman. Now I have to work seven more years for the woman I love. FML.
Get the point?
Now when I suffer a misfortune, I usually don’t broadcast it to the world. I just mutter, “fml,” laugh, and move on. I know my life isn’t really that bad, but I realize that some people are being dead serious. I’m flabbergasted when I hear about people who are so depressed that they actually hate their lives. Didn’t everyone learn that we never truly know the impact we have on others from George Bailey?
Even in the Bible, there were those who just outright wanted to die. Remember Elijah? After God brought down a pillar of flame from Heaven, it’s only a couple of verses later that we find Elijah begging God to take his life because he was too stressed to carry on. Then we all know how troubled Job was. During his trials and tribulations he starts saying things like, “Why wasn’t killed at birth?” “Why was I not hidden in the ground like a stillborn child?” “I prefer strangling and death than this body of mine.” “I despise my life…let me alone, my days have no meaning.”
Goodness. Talk about a great depression.
However, there is a light at the end of the tunnel. As Christians we know that God will never let us go through anything that we can’t handle. We also know that whenever we cry out to God, He is always listening. I know I’ve never been in any situation that truly makes me wonder why I was born, but maybe you or someone you know feels like that. (Wow…that really just sounded like a line from some sappy after school special.)
My point is that there is verse after verse that describes how Christians should persevere during hard times, but who’s trying to hear all that? I don’t want to read promises when I’m depressed. I want happiness now! Some may retreat to food, some to melodramas, and some to Facebook. Though try as you might, those things will never make you joyful. Hanging on to His promises may not be something you want to hear, but it’s the best remedy. If reading the Bible during hard times is too Ellen G. White for you, just remember to keep Romans 5:1-5 close to your heart. Contrary to what the Beatles think, all we need is Hope. So if this Valentine’s Day is the straw that breaks your back on how depressed you feel, keep holding on. #shoutouttomarvinsapp
Happy Valentine's Day
The Fence 