What Defines Us? What Makes Us Who We Are?

How is a person defined? By what they are doing? By what they did? By what they could do? Does it have anything to do with their actions at all? Are we just the summation of our physical characteristics? Or is that just a shell that our true self resides in? Are we some sort of non-physical soul? Does spiritual aspect contain our essence, our personality, our conscience, our true being? In an age of science and observation such an answer is hardly acceptable as it can’t be properly taken hold of and viewed under the eye of a microscope. But does that disqualify it? Let’s take this non-physical entity idea and examine it as best we can.

If someone knew all there was to know about a certain man, could he predict with perfect accuracy how that man would act in any given situation? If he knew all of his background, everything that had ever happened to him, knew his genetic make up, his physical characteristics, psychological state, and everything that had affected those over the years, could he say what the man would do?

What I’m getting at is the idea that men are controlled by outside influences. Their actions are determined by a traceable series of events that lead back to the beginning of time. Each moment, each action by anyone or anything altering the next and leading to the determined outcome of every moment. Is this all there is? This endless cycle of cause and effect? Or is there some break in the pattern? Some free agent that upsets the rigorous logic of the system? Can a man choose to act contrary to what all outside influences say he will? If he is purely a physical entity, he cannot. If, however, he has some part of himself that exists free of his physical form, then perhaps he may. This “soul” may act independently of these physical causes because it is not directly affected by them. Thus there exists a tension between the influence of the physical on the physical portion of the man and the free will of the spiritual portion. It is certain from common observation and introspection that the man knowing all physical influences would readily predict many actions. It is a testament to both the immanence of the physical and the weakness of the will that we so often succumb to the cause and effect system of the physical. But, are there not moments when despite all negative influences, a man chooses to break from this prison and act in rebellion of the physical influences?

However, it stands to reason that if the physical is directly affected by the physical, then the spiritual may also be similarly affected by other spiritual entities. And what such entities exist? God comes to mind and, to many spiritually minded people, demons and angels would also exist here. As with physical influences, these likely vary in their strength and, with a proper understanding of God, His influence would undoubtedly be strongest. Some would say irresistible. The dichotomy that has been set up here, a division between soul and body, spiritual and physical, is quite likely more misty than expressed above. Many physical events take a spiritual toll on a man and spiritual influences are able to induce physical repercussions.

So, some questions remains. What mix of these influences actually exists? Are any of them stable across mankind? Or are they fluid from person to person? In light of the apparent reliance upon outside influences (whether physical or spiritual) how much free will actually remains? Under what circumstances does the human soul actually take up arms and fight off the outside influences that assail its every decision? Is it always able to do so? Or are some influences irresistible? Is the will a muscle which may be exercised and strengthened? Or does it simply rely on the most powerful influence (presumably God) to benevolently deal out its direction for the good of mankind? Are the answers to these questions necessary to truly be able to live? Or do the underlying principles, regardless of what they are, exist and work and people naturally work with them?

Hmmmm…

A New Pedagogical Paradigm

I am starting into Bruce Wilkinson's series, "The Seven Laws of the Learner," listening to his talks on cassette tape while I drive to school. I got through the first law yesterday, the Law of the Learner. The premise of this first talk is to introduce a new pedagogical paradigm. A lot of the teachers that I have had over the years have been primarily focused on presenting course content but have been relatively unconcerned with whether or not the students actually pick up the information. Wilkinson asserts that learning is the responsibility of the teacher. A lot of teachers seem to think that they are only responsible to present material and it is the student's responsibility to learn it; if the student doesn't pay attention or participate, such a teacher would not feel responsible. By taking responsibility for the student's learning, the teacher becomes infinitely more effective. What good, after all, is it to teach and produce no knew knowledge in your pupils?

If you do any kind of teaching or leading I would encourage you to check out this series by Bruce Wilkinson, it contains some revolutionary ideas about the role of the teacher and I can only wait with bated breath to find out what else is in store in the next six Laws of the Learner.

Habitually

It's been almost a week since my last post. I seem to be losing my motivation to do this everyday. They say if you do something regularly for 6 weeks it becomes habit, I don't know how true that is and I don't know if I have to start over again now that I've broken my routine. But how long does it take to break a habit? Does it just take6 weeks of not doing it (chemical addictions aside)? I think I'll Google it really quick.

Well it turns out that the 6 week thing is for making or breaking a habit and sources vary between 30 days to 6 weeks on average. One source, however, went a little deeper into it. This guy suggested looking beyond just the fact that you do something or don't do something habitually and try to figure out why you do or don't do it. I think this is an important point. We can't treat just the symptoms of a sickness, you've got to find what causes the symptoms and eradicate that. We need to figure out what our motivations are and what causes us to continue in our habits or what keeps us from forming new ones. I think if I had a good idea as to why I was doing something, I'd be a lot more likely to do it.

This, of course, would require some more work on my part, but I guess I've got to ask myself, "Is it worth the extra work?" Have you got any tips for making or breaking habits? have you had victories that you'd like to share? Let's be more than conquerors together.

And All These Things

"But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you."

- Matthew 6:33

First, let's get some context, what are "these things?" At this point, Jesus is talking to His disciples about worrying. Do you ever worry? I sure do. I'm even worried about how this post is gong to turn out, worried about who will even read. I tend to be quite the worrywart. Jesus is talking specifically at this point about clothing and food, telling His disciples that He will take care of it, but I think this idea extends beyond just that.

What things do you worry about? I worry about what people think about me, I worry about where I am going to college, I worry about what my job is going to be, I worry about who my wife will be. I spend a lot of time worrying about these things. This presents a major problem. It has been said that all that Satan needs to succeed is for good men to do nothing. Let me tell you, when you spend a lot of time worrying, it's unlikely that you'll be doing anything worthwhile. Worrying takes up precious time that we could (should) be spending with our Saviour. It denies us indispensable opportunities to share Christ's love with other people, it disallows us to carry out the Great Commission (Matthew 28:16-20).

When things are uncertain, when life crops up unanswered questions, our first instinct is to worry about it and try to figure out how to fix it ourselves. Jesus says this approach is flawed. Seek first the His kingdom then these things will be added to you. Jesus wants us to trust in Him, to do His work and to focus on Him. He can take care of the little things (though they might seem big to us) in our lives. He wants to use us for greater things than figuring out how to fix ourselves. Fixing is His specialty and He could probably do a better job of it if we stopped ripping apart His work and patching it with our own roll of duct tape.

Are there worries in your life that have taken your focus off of your Saviour? Write them down, ask God to take them, give them up. Pray about as often as you worry about it, ask a friend to pray for you too. Step into the fullness of what God can do with you when you aren't wasting time worrying.

Are You A Man?

"A man chooses, a slave obeys." - Andrew Ryan

So much can be said for these few words, but I'll keep it short. We were born into sin and begin life as slaves to our sinful nature, obeying our selfish lusts and fleshly desires. It's as if we have no choice when presented with the option to gratify ourselves. But God says differently. He says we are men. He says we have a choice. Christ's death and resurrection defeated sin and death and by the name of our Saviour we have freedom from sin. We can make the choice to say no to the sinful nature and yes to the Spirit. Paul even goes so far as to call himself a slave to Christ, leaving him no room to disobey. Imagine living understanding that you have no right to disobey Christ, he paid our debt and for that we are bond-servants, and yet somehow we still wander off and do our own thing. Next time you're thinking about betraying Christ, remind yourself of your position, your freedom, and your choice. Let's honor the one who bought us from slavery.

Dentally

Today I went to the dentist and, as usual, the hygienist said I had great brushing skills but needed to do better with my flossing. She then proceeded to provide some really good evidence supporting the importance of flossing and told me that the only dental issue I need to worry about as I get older is gum disease, which is preventable by flossing. Every time I go to the dentist the conversation is the same, and every time I go home, convinced that I'm going t floss every day. Then I do it regularly for a week or two, then I start doing it every few days when I think about it, and eventually it becomes a rare occurrence.

I think going to the dentist is a lot like going to church. I go there on Sunday and I hear something that I know I should do and I decide that I'm going to start doing it. Whether it's praying more, or witnessing, or whatever, it usually plays out dentally. Monday morning rolls around and I'm tired, back to life, and then I remember that I was gong to make some change, so I do whatever it was, and then as the days go by it sort of trails off until I'm back to doing things the same old way.

So, how do we make ourselves actually do it? I think part of it is on us, but I also think that there may be a lack of application in the teaching. I know I need to floss, but shouldn't the dentist give me some tips about how I can make it happen? The same goes for church, perhaps I do need to read my Bible more, but if that's all you tell me, it's unlikely that I'll do it. The next time you find yourself in a teachable position, be sure to send your pupils off with a clear knowledge of what they, personally, can do to implement their new found knowledge in their own lives.

Disagree Agreeably

How do you disagree with another Christian? That's what I asked myself yesterday after thinking back on some church brainstorming groups I've been a part of. There is always a bad idea that comes up that the person who came up with it really believes in and really thinks is awesome. How do you tell them it's not without causing dissension, factions and all those other obvious acts of the sinful nature (Galatians 5:20ish)? I honestly don't know. This might seem like a light hearted example to some, but this idea extends beyond this instance. Have you ever found another Christian doing something that rubs you the wrong way? Whether it's intentional or a character flaw, it's a problem that's hard to approach. How do you tell someone that they're wrong? We need to keep in mind that we should speak the truth in grace (Ephesians 4:15), but we do need to speak the truth. One of my earliest posts on here was about flattery and I noted that not telling someone the truth about how you feel can have devastating effects, for them and others. The same goes here. If we aren't willing to step up to the plate and let people in on how we feel we can't make any progress towards helping them stop. Now that's assuming that there's actually a problem.

Often times we simply need to work it out in our own life first. Perhaps the fact that you're annoyed by someone is testament to your own selfishness. Certainly each situation is going to have different causes and different symptoms, but we need to be sure to search our own eyes for logs before we try telling other people that they have wood in their eye.

Do you know someone who doesn't know what you really think about them? Maybe it's time to let them know, to get the situation out in the light where it can be worked on together. If you keep your feelings inside it can easily turn into jealousy, anger, and other unhealthy emotions. The idea isn't that you get to vent and yell and finally tell someone off, but rather that you approach them as a concerned friend, seeking to help them. I am still trying to figure out how to do that, but one idea is using "I phrases" like, "When you say things like that, I feel like you are saying you're better than I am." Instead of, "You think you're better than I am!"

Let me know what you think about the way we hide our true feelings about others, do you think it should be made known? In what instances? Let's help build unity together!