There are things in life that we have to take on faith. And once we have made that scary leap, we will discover a new sense of freedom that will not be rattled by death.
To be of peace, a person must renounce the option towards violence. Self-defense becomes a search for means to subdue violence without using force that destroys the attacker. To be in peace, a person must renounce the voices of arrogance and selfishness that destroys the tranquility of the soul. Instead, he lets the peace-giving presence of God consume his soul each moment each day for the rest of his life.
Genuine needs are those that are good to our body and soul. Anything bad to our body and soul that comes to us presenting itself as a need comes from the Enemy who wants to deceive us into misusing the good things that God has given us in this world, and harming us in the process, stealing our health, our lives, and our salvation.
We look at people, things, events, and situations in our lives with sets of lenses that color the way we interact with life. The darker these lenses are the more removed we become from the truths that can enhance the depth and breadth of our lives. Until we remove the darkness in these lenses, good things will appear foreboding and deceptive things become very convincing. And all of life becomes a lie.