Snap Out of It

Sometimes changing behavior is like interior decorating: there are only so many ways to move furniture around the room.  Instead of just changing behavior we need to be changing our nature. And changing nature is not about placing artwork, adjusting loveseats and fluffing pillows.   You can spend a lifetime pursuing self-improvement without improving anything. You can even buy new end tables without really changing anything in the end. 

Surface changes are deceiving because, at first glance, things appear to look different and feel different.  Surface changes are superficial and rarely ever last.  New coats of paint only cover, they don’t clean or restore, real character flaws and weaknesses.  Suntans fade, false lashes need replacing, nails need filing and fixing, along with a whole host of nips and tucks and Botox injections.  Spare tires around our wastes expand, muscles diminish, beards turn grey.  Leather jackets and designer clothes with sports logos can only cover up so much for so long. And even boats, golf bags, and motor bikes won’t makes us better people.

Certainly, certain cosmetic improvements are desirable and sometimes necessary, but a misplaced emphasis on the outward appearance leaves the inward character neglected.

In reality, the spirit, mind, and body, are all part of the temple of the soul.   And the temple of our soul is the temple of our God. What we do with our body and brains, time and talents, we will be accountable for to God.  There will be an accounting, in the end, and we must account for every minute, and every trivial pursuit.

We are raw materials. We are carnal, natural, and devilish. While changing behavior is a necessary step in the right direction, changing nature requires help from the Lord.  It is in the grand design of a loving Heavenly Father to bring to pass our immortality and eternal life. This work and glory requires the remodeling and restoring of fallen man to the straight and narrow path of progression and perfection. This spiritual remodeling can only be done by God, He is the way, the truth, and the life.

One way we fail to confess the hand of the Lord in our own lives is when we constantly try to take matters into our own hands.

Emotionally we can become like airplanes flying over an airport stuck in a holding pattern trying to land. Repeating the same holding pattern is like a process of hypnosis and we are often in a trance, under its spell, until the holding pattern is broken. Miraculously, we can break the spell or holding pattern thru true repentance. This requires that we recognize and admit, no matter how minor, the part we play in the problem. Maybe we jump to conclusions, take things too personal, get too easily offended, try to do things our own way, make assumptions like assuming we are right or being too critical of others and not allowing for their mistakes. These are storm clouds over our lives and they block out the sunshine, which sunshine, as a matter of fact, is always shinning, we just can see it thru the overcast and inversion that has set in.

But we weren't born that way. We were born with clear skies, full of light and truth. Over time the weather patterns changed as the result of conditioning, upbringing, and other influences. All of these equate to what the scriptures describe as the "traditions of the fathers".

Fortunately we aren't left to remain under clouds of darkness.

There is a certain order in the Universe. This order is certain, unchanging, stable, and governing. This order is certain, unchanging, stable, and governing, because it is not of men, but of God, who is also unchanging. While we are free to alter our behavior, our very agency cannot change this order. For example, Winter is followed by Spring which is followed by Summer and then Fall. The pattern repeats itself systematically and automatically without any participation on our part. While we are free to dress for winter during the summer and dress for summer during the winter, our fashion protest does nothing more than frustrate and irritate us. We are uncomfortable, but our discomfort is not the fault of the season which we are rebelling against. We are uncomfortable because of our decisions and choices.

Less dramatic than wardrobe statement is a more subtle form of emotional rebellion. We simply complain in the summer that it is too hot and wish it was winter, then in the winter, we complain that it is too cold and wish it were summer. Like the newborn that has his or her days and nights mixed up, it is possible to never be content because we have screwed up our perspective. We call good evil and evil good.

Two examples of calling good evil and evil good are not immediately recognized as such. The first example is that of blame. When we blame other people for our own unhappiness, we are really in effect doing just that. The blame disease is so prevalent yet such a subtle killer that people don’t realize they are infected by it and, over time, blame becomes resistant to eradication because we resiliently resist ever accepting the fact that, more often than not, accountability begins and ends with us.

Murmuring is a close virus to blame. The infectious nature is the same. Murmuring can not only poison our souls it also can become a chronic habit. This chronic form of complaining can constantly cloud our perspective. Believe it or not it is possible to complain about everything.

It is possible to become addicted to murmuring and blaming, and after a while, we think both behaviors are normal behaviors. Our plane, in the holding pattern, becomes inverted and not only can’t the plane land, the plane is flying upside down, so even when the landing strip becomes clear, the plane is inverted and not currently capable of touching down. The worst part is that rarely do we recognize our plane is inverted in the first place.

Feeling stuck in the inversion, isn't it time to snap out of it?