Propensity of Life
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“Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith…” Hebrews 12:2 (NIV)
My dog, Annie, always barked at other dogs and squirrels. No matter how many times I told her “No” she still barked. It is natural for a dog to bark at other animals. She also barked when anyone came to the door, or a client came for counseling. She was my doorbell. I learned to tell her, “Thank you.” She was doing her job and then she would stop. It was her propensity to alert me when someone or some animal was nearby.
Propensity is a natural inclination, a leaning, a natural tendency to behave in a certain way. Society has a natural propensity to complain, to focus on what is wrong, and to be negative. It seems natural for people to complain about the weather and that life is not fair. Why is the natural inclination to see the bad and hurt? Many of my clients focus on the negative aspect of their lives which produce anxiety and depression.
Your propensity for life begins in childhood as you develop your foundational principles to guide and direct your life. These are based on your family, your environment, your faith, human nature, influences from society, and friendships. Over time, you believe this is who you are, and you accept these tendencies as defining yourself. Sometimes these inclinations are influenced by others, especially your primary person in life. When life changes with loss, you rarely revisit these inclinations because they are integrated into who you believe you are.
I have come to realize when changes occur and people leave our physical presence, we need to look deep within ourselves to figure out who we now want to be. Propensities can change and will change because of loss and trauma. My natural inclination is to see the good and look for the positive in life which was developed because of the influence of my mom and Grandma. I believe it was because of their deep and abiding faith in Jesus that their propensity was positive and good.
As I live into the different along with you, my propensity is to lean even more into Jesus. Oh, the spiritual struggle is strong because of the brokenness of sin and evil in the world. We have the tendency to look at the world and wonder where is God. As we go through loss and struggle in our own lives, we wonder why lean closer to God when life has turned out the way it has?
Recently I visited my eighty-nine-year-old friend, Dwight, whose wife, Dawn, is in a memory care facility. He visits her twice a day and feeds her pudding in the afternoon. He loves her the same way he has always loved her. His propensity is to love no matter the circumstances. It is natural. It is not what he had hoped for, but he leans closer to Jesus to walk with Him on this journey. Dwight’s inclination in his heart is to always love. He loves his wife.
During my visit, I read to Dawn a letter she had written to me almost thirty-five years ago. It was saved in my memorabilia. When I was serving the church they attended at the beginning my ministry, they become “adopted” parents to me, and she was proud of who I was and how I had been support to her and given her words to lean on. I realized as I read her words again that my natural inclination in ministry has always been to love and to trust God. It always felt right.
Now as we live different because of change and loss, I am going to continue to lean into Jesus. I hope that you can release the negative and focus on what is in front of you. As humans we have the propensity to sin – our natural inclination is sin, but through God’s grace, He has redeemed us from sin. We do not need to live in the evil and negativity and anxiety and fear. We are redeemed. It does not take away the hurt and pain of life, it just changes the focus that God will be with us in the traumas of life if we focus on Him. God is with us in this different way of life too. My propensity is to move closer to Jesus in this different. How about you?
