Friday, February 27, 2015

The Mind, The Heart, The Soul

These things are at the center of who we are as humans. I know there are some that would say that the mind is located in the frontal lobe of the brain. Some would also say that our hearts are in our chest, functioning as a multipurpose pump and valve that keeps the physical body alive with oxygenated blood. And many, especially those that rely on science, will tell you there is no soul.

For people that actually believe these things, I often wonder how they arrive at any moral approach for living. I think the answer is that they have to steal their morality and life philosophy. Normally, they purloin the Judeo-Christian morality if they live in the West. Even then it gets bent and warped, since they do not believe anything beyond the physical exists.

The truth is that the mind, the heart and the soul are part and parcel of the same thing. The mind tends to be less emotional and more intellectual. The heart (not the pump in you chest) tends to be the seat of emotional responses like empathy, sympathy, lust and anger. They both combine in the soul which is the non-physical part of a human.  The ancients knew of these things, even the ancient pagans. I too am certain of this. I have experienced both the oneness of body and soul and also the separation of the two. I will not elaborate on this except to say that I know there is life outside the bodies we have here. It is a spiritual existence that is different than what we live here.

In the metaphysical sense, it is best if our hearts and minds work in unison. It makes for a more peaceful existence here in the three dimensional realm. Many times however, the heart wants things that the mind knows are not good - not good for the health of the physical body and or not good for the spiritual health of the whole human.  This is why it's best for the mind to control the desires of the heart. It is less emotional, more logical and is more knowing than feeling. Jesus spoke of the deceit of the human heart when he was discussing what it is that makes a man unclean. He said,

Matthew 15:16-20

16 “Are you still so dull?” Jesus asked them. 17 “Don’t you see that whatever enters the mouth goes into the stomach and then out of the body? 18 But the things that come out of a person’s mouth come from the heart, and these defile them. 19 For out of the heart come evil thoughts—murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander. 20 These are what defile a person; but eating with unwashed hands does not defile them.”

For the Christian, this is why both the mind and heart need to be controlled by the Spirit of God. If this does not happen, there can be conflict between the two or worse, the two will be in disagreement with God's Spirit. Not a good situation.

This is why Paul calls for the renewing of the mind.

Romans 12:1,2

12 Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.

The notion of presenting oneself as a living sacrifice is scary. But if we offer ourselves in submission to God; if we submit our minds and hearts to His will, we will be transformed. We will lose that self destructive edge that every human seems to carry and then we will be able to live lives of peace in union with our Creator.

How do we offer ourselves, submit ourselves to God to achieve this transformation?

Obedience. Yup. Sounds easy, but we humans tend to learn obedience by being disobedient. This is unfortunate, but it is true for many of us even among believers.

Use your mind to control the waywardness of your heart and submit to God in obedience and peace and internal conflict will not be such an issue. Some of us are more submissive than others and so the process will be easier for some than others, but sacrificing yourself may involve some pain just so you know.

For me it has been a life long struggle for many reasons. Maybe some day I will have the testicular fortitude to explain it in words or on a screen or publicly out loud, but that time is not now. Suffice it to say, God's Spirit  is moving in me as I seek to submit. It's when I seek to please myself or concern myself with what others (besides God) think, that I get into trouble.

I think most of us know what we have to do. We just fail to do it full time. Living sacrifices tend to crawl off the altar to escape. The thing that will stop that is the death of the sacrifice. We have to choose to die to ourselves and submit to God. Simple and tough, but true.

So is it possible to live a sinless life in perfect harmony with God's will? Can we live our lives and not sin? At least occasionally?

My heart tells me no, but my mind says yes...lets do it and see what happens (:^)))