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自从亚当和夏娃躲进伊甸园的树丛那一刻起，我们心里就从此萌生了想躲起来的冲动。每当责任和后果一逼近，我们就本能地想要逃开这个世界。不管是追剧刷Netflix、无止境地滑手机、把自己裹进被窝里、旷工，还是沉溺在罪中放纵——说到底，我们都是在逃避不适。这些我都亲身经历过。

其实，有一条更好的出路。

逃避其实是在敬拜偶像

首先，我们得看清楚：逃避不只是一个坏习惯，而是心的问题。说到底，这是在敬拜”舒适”这个偶像。逃避的本质，就是心里对自己说：”安逸比顺服重要”，把休息当作理所当然的权利，而不是需要好好管理的恩典。

如果任由逃避发展下去,它会悄悄重塑我们的属灵生命,让我们在不知不觉中习惯拖延顺服。它剥夺了我们操练信心的机会，还会让我们错误地把试炼当成是打扰我们安逸生活的麻烦。久而久之，我们就会觉得”舒适是应得的”，一旦这份舒适受到威胁，就会心生厌烦。

用圣经的眼光看压力和困难

我们需要纠正一个关于困难的常见误解。试炼和困难其实不是我们该躲避的东西，而是神用来塑造我们生命的工具。神正是在这些地方以祂的恩典与我们相遇。

雅各书1:2-4说：”我的弟兄们，你们遭遇各种试炼的时候，都要看为喜乐； 3 因为知道你们的信心经过考验，就产生忍耐。 4 但忍耐要坚持到底，使你们可以完全，毫无缺乏。”

希伯来书12:11也说：”但是一切管教，在当时似乎不觉得快乐，反觉得痛苦；后来却为那些经过这种操练的人，结出平安的果子来，就是义。”

可是，当我们一味逃避不适，其实是在抗拒神的修剪，也是在中止自己的成长——最终导致自己灵命停滞不前，错过圣灵在我们心里做更新变化的工作。

选择面对，而不是逃避

神呼召我们用一条更好的方式来面对难处：不是逃避，而是主动去面对它。关键是——不管有没有动力，都要先开始行动。因为凭着信心去做对的事，就算一开始没什么动力，也会带来正面的感受，而这些正面感受又会推动我们继续做对的事。这样就形成了一个良性循环。

反过来也是一样的道理。逃避责任虽然能带来一时的轻松，但其实会制造出更多的压力和愧疚感，而这些压力和愧疚，又会让我们更想躲起来。这是一个恶性循环，会把人越困越深。

但是，事情那么难，到底该怎么开始呢？我自己觉得很实用的一个方法，就是当工作让人望而生畏的时候，只专注去想”下一步”。这是我从大卫·艾伦（David Allen）的《搞定》（Getting Things Done）一书里学到的一个很有力量的概念。

你想想看，像”筹办公司周年晚宴”这样的大项目，它就是一座大山,光想就会把人压垮。但如果换成”在网上找三个可能的场地”，这就是一个小到你可以处理的任务了。当你只专注思考眼前能推动这件事往前走的“下一步”，然后就去做那一件事，你会发现，自己正一步一步地把那座大山清空。

在下一篇文章里，我会继续和大家分享，如何把想要逃避的冲动，转化为信心的敬拜契机。

A Better Way Out Than Escape

Ever since Adam and Eve hid in the bushes of Eden, we’ve known the urge to hide. We feel the instinct to run away from the world of responsibilities and consequences. Whether it’s binge-watching Netflix, doomscrolling social media, tunnelling into our blankets, skipping work, or turning to sinful indulgence, we’re trying to escape from discomfort. I speak from firsthand experience.

There is a better way out.

Escapism is Idolatry

It starts from rightly seeing escapism as more than just a bad habit. It’s a heart issue. At its core, it’s worshipping the idol of comfort. Escapism is when the heart tells itself that “ease is better than obedience” and that rest is a right rather than a gift to be stewarded.

Left unchecked, escapism reshapes our spiritual lives as we unknowingly train our hearts to delay obedience. It denies ourselves of the opportunity to exercise faith, and falsely interprets trials as interruptions to our ease. This breeds a sense of entitlement to comfort and frustration at any threat to that comfort.

Embrace a Biblical View of Stress and Difficulties

We need to correct a common misinterpretation of difficulty. Rather than things to avoid, trials and difficulties are the very tools God uses to grow us. They are the places where God intends to meet us with His grace.

James 1:2-4 teach, “Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds,  for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.”

Similarly, Hebrews 12:11 says, “For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness.”

But when we run from discomfort, we resist God’s pruning and halt our own growth, causing our own spiritual stagnation and missing the Spirit’s transforming work in our hearts.

Engage Rather Than Escape

God calls us to a better way out of our difficulty: by engaging with it rather than evading it. The key is to get started whether you feel like it or not. Because right actions, taken in faith even when motivation is lacking, produces positive feelings that empowers more right actions. This forms a virtuous cycle.

The opposite is true too. Running from responsibilities gives fleeting relief, but actually produces more stress and guilt, which in turn makes us want to hide even more. This is a vicious trap.

But how to get started when the thing is so difficult? One practical thing that I have found helpful when work gets intimidating is to think only in terms of “the next action”. This is a powerful concept I picked up from David Allen’s Getting Things Done.

You see, a big project like “organize the company anniversary dinner” is a mountain that will crush you. But “find three potential venues online” is a small enough chunk that you can handle. When you think only in terms of the immediate next action to move the project forward, and do just that, you will find yourself clearing out that mountain, one action at a time.

In the next article, I will continue to discuss how to turn the impulse to escape into promptings for faith-filled worship.