Pain is a Prolific Teacher
The Musing Series — Pain is not entirely bad. It shapes us.
Our society prioritizes rapid outcomes over effort. The hunger to over-perform is indirectly proportional to the pain we are willing to stand. The “no pain, no gain” motto seems better suited for a present-day coach who directs his trainee to get workouts done. In this present age where fast foods are all over the place, we have come to believe that easy and fast equals to better. And that the best teachers are those who make learning unchallenging.
“Learning is not child’s play; we cannot learn without pain.” — Aristotle
The truth is that “pain” is anything but evil; you benefit from being challenged. Treat your brain like a muscle. Constant exercise will strengthen your cognitive capacity and a ‘painful’ learning experience will make you smarter.
Not wanting to sound like an oldie, I have come to realize we have it all backward in some ways. Why do I say this? It is rather obvious, some parents expect teachers to make the learning experience as easy as possible. The same trend is affecting the workplace: people wish for a painless experience. But there’s a dark side to “happy cultures.” Teachers and bosses who challenge you, are doing you a favor.
Personally, I don’t believe in burning your disappointments or pain. I think you should keep them alive and utilize them. I don’t think you should bury your pain. Because all things work together for our good of them that love the Lord.
There are lessons pain will teach you that your happy moments will not.
Anything that’s buried you can’t use. You have to learn to live with it. By not allowing it to dictate how you think and live. Like a snake, there comes a time where the skin it has on it is good for it. But after a while, it sheds it off and utilizes a new one. I think you should let pain serve it’s purpose when it comes in your life.
There are several kids who grew up not having their own bedrooms who now own mansions or even real estates. The pain they got from not having their own room and privacy built up something in them and edged them to work harder. Sometimes God can not teach you until he gets you to a place others can not reach you. Destiny is developed in dark places. During times of difficulty.
“For every child of greatness, pain is inevitable but misery is optional. For every young person out there with a future; greatness is a school but trials are your school fees!”
Pain is a great motivator. It’s almost like torture. After you have endured it for a while, it changes you. Pain is a prolific teacher. Sometimes we have to allow people to endure pain. That’s the only way they can learn. The only way out is going through it.
As humans, when our safety is threatened, the majority of us default to aggression, defensiveness, grasping, numbing, or addiction to soothe ourselves. Safety, in this sense, doesn’t mean just in the physical sense. Feeling unsafe can be the result of an attack on our sense of self, our values, beliefs, and the lens through which we see ourselves and our world.
Biblical examples of people who went through pain but came out even much more greater. Affecting many generations after them.
David said, yet though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil. This tells us there are some things we need to go through to come out strong.
Jesus had to go through the wilderness experience to start his ministry. David had to go through the field to be king. Daniel had to go through the lion’s den. The three Hebrew boys had to go through the fiery furnace. Joseph had to go through the pit, Potiphar’s house, and through prison before he got to the palace to become a prime minister. The list is endless.
Every instance in the scriptures where you see a man or woman who became prominent, had to go through some difficulty or the other.
Don’t despise your pain. Grow through it.
