When I was the caretaker of an apartment complex, I got a work order to change locks on a tenant’s door. Apparently someone had a key that was fitting the lock on her apartment. No problem. I changed the lock.
A couple of days later I was asked to put a second dead bolt on that door because the intruder was still getting in. I had questions in my mind but did as I was directed.
The third time I was called to double-secure the patio door, as someone was getting in that way. I checked it out, and the lock was in order.
The fourth time I was called because the next-door tenant was crawling over his balcony and looking in her window. Now I really had questions. I knew the tenant in question very well and knew that he was not able to jump like a kangaroo.
So I talked with the woman. She was from an abusive background and was scared of her shadow. I don’t know whether she was schizophrenic or whether she was seeing apparitions. It doesn’t matter, for she was afraid. In fact she was terrified.
I said, “Lady, fear has a passkey to every apartment in this city. You can’t keep him out, regardless of how tightly you bar the windows or how many locks I put on that door.”
And so often we are afraid — afraid of debt, afraid of accident. But most of all, each of us is afraid of rejection. Do some of us live under a cloud of fear that our friends would reject us if they knew of the monkey on our back or the albatross around our neck?
So often an angel or Jesus himself said, “Fear not….” or “Be not afraid.”
Isn’t it nice to come to Him and tell Him what is hurting us, knowing that He will not reject us?
That sounds like a textbook case of paranoia … one of the most pitiful forms of psychosis. How can you help someone who sees any attempt to help as a threat? Some cases are mild and the victims can get better but most don’t. There are newsletters and organizations run by paranoid people who confirm each others fears. It becomes a contagious disease.
It could easily have been. The person moved out, but set a fire under the stairs before leaving. Fortunately someome spotted it very soon. There was smoke damage in the stair well, but that is all.
We weren’t in the busness of giving psychatric help. We were in the business of keeping the place safe for all tenants.
I think of the bumper sticker,”I’d be OK if there weren’t all these paranoids following me.”
Hello Ralph
Nice to see your pic! Wondered how you are!