Thursday, February 13, 2020

Divided Mind

Thursday, February 13, 2020

Joyful are people of integrity, who follow the instructions of the Lord.  Joyful are those who obey his laws and search for him with all their hearts.  They do not compromise with evil, and they walk only in his paths.  You have charged us to keep your commandments carefully.  Oh, that my actions would consistently reflect your decrees!  Then I will not be ashamed when I compare my life with your commands.  As I learn your righteous regulations, I will thank you by living as I should!  I will obey your decrees.  Please don’t give up on me!  Psalm 119:1-8[1]

“Walking” (or living our life) by God’s law is viewed by some as a constricting set of rules that won’t let you have fun or think for yourself.  But, a little deeper investigation of the word “law” helps us understand it’s just the opposite.  The Psalmist starts off the longest chapter in the Bible, which is all about God’s Word/Law, by telling us that those who walk in it are happy or blessed.  It’s is like cooperating with the principles of our natural environment.  When you’re in an airplane at 15,000 feet, it is wise to not test gravity without a parachute. 
We all have that internal device that measures how well we’re doing with life.  It is called heart or soul; some call it conscience.  If that internal measuring stick is only accountable to self, the outcome is called sociopathic, only doing what pleases oneself.  For the garden variety sociopath[2] there is only one person’s opinion that counts – his own.  The opinions of other people must agree with the sociopath, or those people become the enemy.
There is a sense in which we have all played the sociopath, placing our own sense of the proper order of things above even God’s design.  That is a dilemma as old as the creation of God’s angels.  Lucifer was/is a psychopath of the most violent order.  He was that from the beginning; it was what got him kicked out of heaven along with one-third of the angels who followed him.  The prophet Isaiah quotes Satan’s fatal, psychopathic attitude:

I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High.    Isaiah 14:14

Echoing Isaiah, the New Testament writer James tells us about the danger of failing to keep your mind, heart, and soul focused on God’s will:

If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and he will give it to you.  He will not rebuke you for asking.  But when you ask him, be sure that your faith is in God alone.  Do not waver, for a person with divided loyalty is as unsettled as a wave of the sea that is blown and tossed by the wind.  Such people should not expect to receive anything from the Lord.  Their loyalty is divided between God and the world, and they are unstable in everything they do.  James 1:5-8

As the Psalmist and James wrote, having a divided mind creates instability.  And, when it comes to having a relationship with our Creator, the instability that having a divided mind creates also means we develop a deep sense of shame.  And our shame isn’t because God hates us; it’s because we know our loving God has given us everything, life, joy, other people to love, and be loved by…and we are responding half-heartedly.  We know that God knows what is best for our lives, and we trample underfoot his loving offer of joy and peace. 
The shame we feel sometimes is also a gift from God; it’s that internal gauge we were created with telling us we’ve slipped from the pathway and need to turn around.  It’s our safeguard against the unstable life…the sociopathy of narcissistic self-love.  It’s a reminder that loving God with all our heart, soul, mind, and body is Job #1.
For You Today
You chew on that as you hit the Rocky Road; have a blessed day!

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Title Image:  Pixabay.com   Unless noted, Scripture quoted from The New Living Translation©


[1] For another post on Psalm 119:1 see Finding a Straight Path
[2] “Sociopath” is currently used by the Mental Health community to describe a perhaps less violent form of “Psychopath”.  Although the terms are somewhat interchangeable the main difference is psychopaths are generally classified as biologically created, while the less-violent sociopath is conditioned.  See article at Psychology Today

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