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He went on to offer that it made him feel bad and that I probably should
stop teaching it.
My response was simple: hold on to both ideas, and let them balance each
other out. This is just what we are taught in the Heavenly Doctrines:
Despair causes those who feel it to acknowledge in an effectual and feeling manner
that there is nothing of truth and good from themselves, and that from themselves
they are condemned; but that they are delivered from condemnation by the Lord;
and that salvation flows in by means of truth and good . . .
Despair also causes them to feel the happiness of life which is from the Lord; for
when they come out of that state, they are like those who have been condemned to
death, and are set free from prison. (Arcana Coelestia 6144)
The message is clear; it hurts to learn that all life comes from the Lord and
that nothing good comes from ourselves. But the result of learning this – of
seeing the contrast between what is and what isn’t – is freeing. It lends us more
clarity than we ever had before. It feels tense, yes, and it might leave us feeling
anxious. But the overall message is that it is good for us.
There is no avoiding this tension. We’re predisposed to experience it from
birth. So how can we make use of it?
The key to turning this tension into a tool for growth rests in the contrast.
Being creatures of contrast means that we can examine the world around us and
the world within us – those ideas that we accept, believe, teach and exemplify
through how we live. We can label things as being “better” and “worse.” We
can say whether a plan is effective or a waste of time. We can decide if a way of
life is helpful or hurtful. We can distinguish between good ideas and bad ideas.
The Lord uses contrasts in His Word all the time: life and death, light
and dark, black and white, good and evil, heaven and hell, selfish and selfless,
spring and autumn, summer and winter, night and day, fertile and infertile,
accomplished and unsuccessful, rich and poor, humility and vanity, obedience
and disobedience, and so many more. The reason is simple: We gain clarity by
means of contrast.
Just as heat feels warmer when we have been out in the cold; just as light
seems brighter when we have been in the darkness; just as the colors of spring
seem more vibrant after the dormancy of winter, truth seems truer after falsity
is considered. Goodness feels better after evil has been encountered.
And the Lord’s promises to us about what could be, what He wants to be,
and what ought to be seem that much more glorious and wonderful when we
look at where we are.
Moreover by means of desolations and temptations, states contrary to heavenly
life are felt, the result of which is the implantation of a sense and perception of the
satisfaction and happiness of heavenly life; for a sense and perception of what is
satisfying and happy is impossible without comparison with the opposites. (Arcana
Coelestia 6144)
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