Escapism

https://odb.org/MY/2022/01/11/escape-or-peace

When I was young, I used fantasy as a form of escapism. Not that I was trying to escape the hardship of life as the only stress then for me was to study hard and do well in public examinations. With the quota system in place and not having the means for an overseas education, the only way to get into the top courses in local public universities then was to score straight As at the pre-University STPM level. It was stressful for a teenager but not the kind of stress that a working adult faces coping with demands of life.

I guess different people have different coping mechanisms for stress and some of these are our personal escape mechanisms. But fantasy I guess should be one of the better ones as our limit is only our imagination. We can dream whatever we want and create our own personal worlds. Some people are able to turn their fantasies into creative works, using their imagination to write and create their own make believe universe of things. Like Alice the Wonderland, Avatar, Star Wars, the Marvel Universe, the DC World etc. One may create one’s own universe of things or write fictional stories within the world as we know it. For example, most TV sitcoms are based on the latter although the stories they carry are fictional. Of course, fantasies can be as dangerous as substance abuse (alcoholism, drugs), another form of escapism – if we ended up living in our fantasy world, out of touch with reality or worse, actually living out our fantasies to disastrous consequences.

The question today – is it escapism or peace in Christ? Do we want temporary relief from the pressures of life and demands of the world through escapism or do we want everlasting peace that can only come from knowing Jesus Christ? Jesus didn’t promise life will be a bed of roses for us (sorry, a too oft used phrase that has become somewhat a cliche). In fact, He warned that there will be trouble. The world will persecute us because although we are in the world, we are not of the world. We do not conform to the pattern of this world and neither is our Master the Prince of the World as greater is He who is in us than he who is in the world.

As Christians, it is undeniable that we are faced with both the challenges that the reality of living life itself presents as well as living within the rules and liberty of the Kingdom of Heaven. Except that as citizens of heaven, we have an inheritance in the saints, a hope of glory with all authority and power of the heavenly realm accessible to and by us. Jesus warned us of trouble but He also promised He will be with us, that His peace that surpasses all understanding will be upon us. He promised us a Helper, and the Holy Spirit is with now living in us; guiding us, convicting us and affording us supernatural powers from above.

Do we escape or do we face reality with Jesus at our side?