Sunday, January 9, 2011

grand rewiring

The devoted Christian life is undeniably spiritual. Yet a singular focus on the spiritual dimension of everything is also an error.

This is especially true for behavioral improvement. In my opinion, many Christians would be further along if they simplified the problem by deemphasizing the "spiritual" aspects, be it only for a moment. Of course, prayer and seeking for the divine anointing of power and truth should continue, but also reconsideration through a different mindset.

Think of the soul through an analogy more commonly employed, very loosely, for the brain: a massive tangle of wires that connect sensors and reactions. At birth, the soul-wire connected to a coveted object also connects to grasping and consuming of the object. The soul-wire connected to God is connected to rebellion. A soul-wire links the self with egocentric pride. Whenever the target is sensed, the soul-wires conduct the signals in such a way that literal depravity is the soul reaction.

After salvation, when the soul comes under the influence of God and His church, a significant proportion of the wires change. Past preconceptions and attitudes begin to shift as the same situations lead to diverging responses. Increasingly the soul-wires attach to love of God and humanity, even enemies. The soul-wires that carried out a past addiction may remain for an exceedingly long time, but operating in a flaky hit-or-miss fashion. This is the grand rewiring, a miracle in which the members of the body that were formerly oriented toward evil then become oriented toward good. Holiness is no longer alien to the soul but instead suffuses it. It's not perfected but its inclination is at least less evil. Goodness is more "natural", i.e. less of a chore. Teaching is thus important because it's part of the process to renew the mind. It introduces novel categories and assists in assignments to those categories.

Now consider a strategy of holiness that's nothing more than monthly vows to do better (or, worse, a yearly resolution). Is it surprising that this strategy is flawed? Soul-wires don't move because someone makes an idle wish. Working against the effect of the unmoved soul-wires is exhausting. All the triggers that "set one off" will simply remain. Patterns will simply recur as patterns do.

Active participation in the grand rewiring requires that someone steadfastly adjust their thoughts, emotions, and actions in accordance with God's express will. Devotees don't rely on split-second course corrections to be holy. Rather, they redirect their vision to the Lord long before the moment hits. They study and memorize the Word, not out of duty but out of an ardent passion to better know Him. They're eager to reconfirm the lessons by putting into practice. They flee temptation merely because it pollutes and dilutes their attention. It may take a lot of effort to undermine and change soul-wires, which is why rewiring is best done frequently and fervently.

Observing from the outside, some people might comment that "All the worshiping and teaching of Christianity should be secondary to just doing the right thing day by day. Singing pretty songs and debating theological points is completely peripheral to what religion should be about."

Admittedly some Christians probably need to hear that sentiment. But in light of the grand rewiring it's somewhat backwards. The closer that Christian spirits approximate the Spirit of God, the holier that their behavior is.

heaven of indulgence

Is heaven good? To ask the question may appear nonsensical. Won't the good God be setting all the rules, wiping away every tear, and sustaining everything forever? Amen!

But I wonder if people may misunderstand when they presume that heaven is a place of indulgence. I for one believe that the training in righteousness and restraint that we undergo throughout life is not wasted. We don't eat right on Earth with the understanding that our heavenly bodies will then enable us to be gluttons without consequence. We don't share with and sacrifice for others on Earth with the understanding that everyone will sit on inexhaustible stacks of precious gems in heaven's economy. (Side note: ever hear the joke about the soul who tries to carry gold into heaven, only to be confronted at the gates with the reasonable question "Why are you so concerned with hoarding pavement?") We don't work industriously at our jobs as unto God with the understanding that God's court will be populated purely by sluggards and leisure seekers. And most of all we certainly don't earnestly worship the Lord before death with the understanding that in the afterlife the universe will finally revolve around us instead.

Does heaven imply the freedom to do, have, and be whatever you wish? Heavens no. People shouldn't think, whether they say it out loud, that Christianity consists of a simple trade between putting on a saintly face in the present in order to receive the "right" to unending self-gratification in the distant future. Seek and obey God and trust that He will care for you. You cannot escape from Him in any case. So holiness matters in every time and place. The cultivation and sanctification of your deepest character may as well start now.

And why not? Christianity supposes that the Master of heaven is currently reachable! Heaven is the new creation. The Spirit working in you brings about a portion of that new creation. You're intended to be a new creature whose old foibles are replaced. You're an immediate window, however smudged, for the light of heaven to shine into time. Living as He directs won't be stopped by something so trivial as human death. Heaven will be a place to act like a saint, not like a savage.