I feel our spirit exists, and that it deeply desires to be at union with its source, God. Much of our religious teaching makes a contrast between fleshly desires like food, sex and the like, and the spirit. While excessive, persistent, obsessive pursuit of these things buries the spirit, they do not seem to me to be the most damaging.
What damages us is what we tell ourselves. If we believe we will succeed, we may not, but when we tell ourselves we will fail, we surely will. We have personified the voice of the spirit and the voice that discourages us as God and Satan. I don’t know where the defeatist voice comes from. Regardless of what it is called, for me it is the presence of evil within us.
It is not desire, or hunger, or a need for relaxation that are evil. These are normal needs whose expression may or may not be readily available within the construct of society. It is the voice which whispers to us, telling us we can not survive the day without a drink, that we are not able to feel good without masses of gooey cookies, that we will feel good if we can only have sex with another person, and most especially that tells us we are not capable, that we should not try, that we are a waste of time and space.
I watched today as perfectly capable people convinced themselves they failed miserably. They already believed the task was beyond their ability, and because of that made little effort to learn or practice. Not surprisingly, when it was time to do the task, they failed, completing a cycle ‘proving’ to themselves they were stupid and worthless.
Just as circular reasoning is readily used to ‘prove’ ideas people want to believe, it can be used to ‘prove’ incapacity and unworthiness. Sadly, that conviction of low worth leads to efforts to bury it in indulgence: food, sex, liquor. And so it is that the indulgence becomes the demon, when it is only the symptom of greater spiritual pain and defeat. It is like mistaking the flotsam and jetsam of a defeated army for the cause of the defeat.
Jesus said to give Caesar what is Caesar’s. Too often, we use prayer like it was a magical wish fulfillment machine. All we have to do is ask for riches and health, and we will wake up wealthy and strong. Prayer, however, is a spiritual act, and the fruits of this are spiritual. We confuse material gain for spiritual gifts.
All who seek find. I believe if we turn to God, He will reveal himself to us. If we do not seek for God, but look for spiritual relief in physical things, we can never find satisfaction, either of the flesh or of the soul. If we seek God, then the spirit is comforted, and with a calm mind and heart, we can then find out what our flesh is truly capable of.
I may feel little certainty about the nature of Jesus, but I do feel he was a powerful example of the capability of both flesh and spirit. His stories resonate for me with truth, the power of the spirit, with forgiveness, with hope and peace. Whether he was truly divine I don’t know, but these values represent for me the presence of God on earth. This is the triumph of hope over despair, of forgiveness over failing and sin, of union and acceptance over isolation and rejection.
Not a few people do not consider me a Christian. I don’t mind- I don’t think I’m a very good one either. But I do know that the values and example of Jesus as recorded in the gospels inspire and comfort me every day. I do wish people could find within his teachings an inspiration that would help them overcome their worthlessness and defeatism, and in turn their dependence on the flesh. As Thomas says, ‘if flesh is born of spirit that is a wonder, but if spirit is born of flesh that is a wonder of wonders. How can such strength be housed in such weakness?’ Indeed…..
Ted
What damages us is what we tell ourselves. If we believe we will succeed, we may not, but when we tell ourselves we will fail, we surely will. We have personified the voice of the spirit and the voice that discourages us as God and Satan. I don’t know where the defeatist voice comes from. Regardless of what it is called, for me it is the presence of evil within us.
It is not desire, or hunger, or a need for relaxation that are evil. These are normal needs whose expression may or may not be readily available within the construct of society. It is the voice which whispers to us, telling us we can not survive the day without a drink, that we are not able to feel good without masses of gooey cookies, that we will feel good if we can only have sex with another person, and most especially that tells us we are not capable, that we should not try, that we are a waste of time and space.
I watched today as perfectly capable people convinced themselves they failed miserably. They already believed the task was beyond their ability, and because of that made little effort to learn or practice. Not surprisingly, when it was time to do the task, they failed, completing a cycle ‘proving’ to themselves they were stupid and worthless.
Just as circular reasoning is readily used to ‘prove’ ideas people want to believe, it can be used to ‘prove’ incapacity and unworthiness. Sadly, that conviction of low worth leads to efforts to bury it in indulgence: food, sex, liquor. And so it is that the indulgence becomes the demon, when it is only the symptom of greater spiritual pain and defeat. It is like mistaking the flotsam and jetsam of a defeated army for the cause of the defeat.
Jesus said to give Caesar what is Caesar’s. Too often, we use prayer like it was a magical wish fulfillment machine. All we have to do is ask for riches and health, and we will wake up wealthy and strong. Prayer, however, is a spiritual act, and the fruits of this are spiritual. We confuse material gain for spiritual gifts.
All who seek find. I believe if we turn to God, He will reveal himself to us. If we do not seek for God, but look for spiritual relief in physical things, we can never find satisfaction, either of the flesh or of the soul. If we seek God, then the spirit is comforted, and with a calm mind and heart, we can then find out what our flesh is truly capable of.
I may feel little certainty about the nature of Jesus, but I do feel he was a powerful example of the capability of both flesh and spirit. His stories resonate for me with truth, the power of the spirit, with forgiveness, with hope and peace. Whether he was truly divine I don’t know, but these values represent for me the presence of God on earth. This is the triumph of hope over despair, of forgiveness over failing and sin, of union and acceptance over isolation and rejection.
Not a few people do not consider me a Christian. I don’t mind- I don’t think I’m a very good one either. But I do know that the values and example of Jesus as recorded in the gospels inspire and comfort me every day. I do wish people could find within his teachings an inspiration that would help them overcome their worthlessness and defeatism, and in turn their dependence on the flesh. As Thomas says, ‘if flesh is born of spirit that is a wonder, but if spirit is born of flesh that is a wonder of wonders. How can such strength be housed in such weakness?’ Indeed…..
Ted
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