A Balancing Act

Jesus’ statement to Peter has been banging around my mind this week, “You do not have in mind the things of God but the things of man.”

Ouch.

Or, touché?

What things do we have in mind? Are they God’s or Man’s? Are they God’s or THIS man’s?

Carl Trueman has written both The Rise and Triumph of the Modern Self and Strange New World, a shorter book on the same topic. In them he explores how ultimately our culture now inculcates the idea that each person is his or her own Creator. We are to look within and determine our own identity without any noise or interference from the outside: history, biology, theology. Each human is at the center of the universe.

We are to have in mind not only the things of Man since there is no God, we are to have in mind the things of THIS man. Me.

This is a pressure and a persuasion that not only impacts everyone “out there”, it also impacts Christians and our thinking. It is the air we breathe; it oxygenates even the Church.

Note well, having and keeping the things of God in our mind is harder than ever. In addition to sorting and resisting the things of the world and the ways of mankind, we also have to redouble our efforts to mortify the inner Old Adam because our culture feeds him steroids and other performance enhancing drugs to build up “the modern self”.

At the same time, we do believe that the Spirit dwells within and guides the lives of God’s people from inside. We have to balance the guidance of the Spirit within at war with the steroid charged Old Adam.

A balancing act indeed! What to do? Whose voice is that? The Spirit’s? Man’s? THIS man’s?

Read the Bible. Attend worship weekly. Pray regularly. Of course, these are both the vanguard and the rearguard in the battle for the things of God to triumph over the things of Man. Be clear on this, humanly speaking your battle is lost without these.

Keep these in mind too:

• Humility: Be open to the idea that you are wrong about what you are thinking or doing. Be open to being corrected.
• Community: Spend time with other Christians. Read any of the literature about how Christians are to live in this brave new world, and you will find encouragement to gather in small community groups.
• Honesty: Be vigilant and rigorous about your personal motivations for the opinions you hold, the actions you take and the goals you pursue.

Who knows how good or bad “these days” are compared to any other. But they are our days. Let us seek to keep in mind the things of God (grace, mercy, love, kindness, goodness, righteousness, justice) as the tsunami of “the modern self” crashes over us.

That leads me to another statement of Jesus that also has been banging around in my mind this week. “With man it is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”