Love vs. Truth

S

(1 Peter 1:22) Now that you have purified your souls by your obedience to the truth through the Spirit so that you have a genuine mutual love, love one another deeply [constantly] from a pure heart (NRSV).

O

Our souls [psuche] are that immaterial, psychological part of our being that we have in common with animals--the seat of our sensations, appetites, and passions. It's corrupted (impure), but God can progressively heal it through His Spirit's communion with ours. (Only people, however, have a spirit [pneuma] which can come alive to commune with God.) Peter defines purification as becoming holy--fully devoted to God. Peter explains that we purify our souls by obeying truth (which He defines as God's Word).

A (Personal)

So how do we know we walk in the reality of truth? What test may I apply so I know that I am purified in body, soul, and spirit (1 Thessalonians 5:23)? I'm glad Peter was so wonderfully clear. If I have a genuine, reciprocal, and continuous love for people, I know I have been shaped by the realities of God's Word and have been fully dedicated to Him (1 John 3:18,19).

A (Psychological)

The congruency or authenticity of a person's life is a key component of psychological assessments. In communication assessments, Virginia Satir believed one's looks, feelings, tone of voice, and body language should congruently (purely) reflect the same message. As a person-centered therapist, Carl Roger asserts, "the core of psychological maladjustment is the incongruity between the organism's total experience and what is accurately symbolized as part of the self-concept. The incongruence between self and experience is the basic estrangement in human beings. [Like] a house divided against itself [Matthew 12:25] ... psychopathology reflects a divided personality, with the tensions, defenses, and inadequate functioning that accompany a lack of wholeness" (Prochaska and Norcross. 2003. p. 144).

I disagree, however, with Rogerian unconditional positive regard toward clients. Prochaska and Norcross explain that, according to Existentialist and Gestalt therapists (pp. 124, 192), in order to be authentic (pure, congruent), the therapist can respond with positive regard only toward honesty and authenticity but never toward lying and pathology. Psychology struggles, therefore, in this double bind of recognizing the struggle and necessity of living in congruently with reality (truth) while also recognizing the struggle and necessity of sharing life and values congruently with others (love). Once again, Scripture (through this letter of Peter's) provides a realistic and beneficial means of doing that. God's Word is that objective Truth to the extent that we understand it from God's perspective rather than our individualistic human interpretations. The more consistently we align with it, then the more we will also be able to consistently experience a shared unconditional positive regard (love) for others. Our congruent, realistic integration of God's Truth with God's Love, therefore, answers this psychological dilemma.

P

Lord, nothing could be more fun! I've discovered that I'm healthiest and happiest when I'm truly and deeply loving people--especially those hard-to-love people in my life. And it is certainly fun to be loved by people, tool Thank You for bringing us into Your life so we can know and enjoy Your love!

Avoiding Getting Lost

S

(2 Chronicles 32:25) But Hezekiah did not make return according to the benefit done to him, for his heart was proud. Therefore, wrath came upon him and Judah and Jerusalem.

O

This describes Hezekiah's deathbed struggle (fortunately, he repented and turned the wrath away). At age 31, six years into his monarchy, he saw the Assyrians raze Israel and enslave its people. At age 39, the Assyrians returned to do the same to him and Judah--but God miraculously intervened in response to Hezekiah's humble prayers. Following that victory, vast wealth flowed into Judah's treasuries and international esteem laid siege Hezekiah's heart ... successfully hardening it.

A (Personal)

How frighteningly, easily prosperity and favor turns grace into arrogance and entitlement. "Hezekiah prospered in all his works ... [and] God left him to himself, in order to test him and to know all that was in his heart" (verses 30, 31). Through Hezekiah's example, God teaches me to guard my heart with all diligence (Proverbs 4:23; Philippians 4:4-7) and to "return" to Him whenever He bestows benefits into my life. (This Hebrew word means to "convert" or to make "movement back to the point of departure.)

A (Psychological)

All change (positive or negative) creates stress. It rearranges the equilibrium or homeostasis of the family system, which creates a need to redefine its structure, rules, roles, and relationships. Pauline Boss, in her book Family Stress Management: A Contextual Approach, describes Hill's ABC-X model of stress management: A (provoking event or stressor), B (the family's resources or strengths at the time of the event), C (the meaning attached to the event by the family, individually and collectively), and X (the degree of stress). According to this model, when the ratio between the family system's support and the pressure on it shifts so that the pressure decreases and the support become stronger, recovery is occurring. Turning points result from (a) a change in the stressor event, (b) a change in the availability of resources for coping, or (c) a change in the family's perception of both factors (p. 67).

In these revelations of Hezekiah's life, Hezekiah failed to learn from his father Abraham's positive example. Whenever Abraham experienced a major change (positive or negative) in his life, he returned to his foundational promises from God--he renegotiated the changes back into the context of God's call and provisions for his life. He typically built an altar to solidify his restored relationship with the Lord. By doing this, he renewed his access to his family's (and the Lord's) resources (B in the ABC-X model) and he redefined the meaning of the event in the context of God's eternal perspective (C in the ABC-X model). This allowed him and his family to be resilient in the presence of change and worldly uncertainties.

P

Lord, I see that You long to bless me, but Your very blessings can easily become cement that hardens my heart. What can I "return" to You for all the benefits You lavish on me? Like David, I'll take the cup of salvation You offer me, I'll call upon Your name, I'll offer thanks to You, and I'll keep my promises to You (Psalms 116:12; 56:12).

7 Scars of Wisdom

S

(James 3:17) But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield [reasonable], full of mercy and good fruits, without a trace of partiality or hypocrisy (NRSV).

O

Apparently, two kinds of wisdom are available to us: heavenly-spiritual or earthly-unspiritual-demonic (v. 15). Double-minded people grope for both kinds but end up with only the latter type, which bears the fruits of complete instability, disorder, and wickedness (1:5-8; 3:13-18). Getting Heaven's wisdom seems to be an if-then condition: James encourages us that if our ambition for God's wisdom is pure, then the results of His discipline of our lives will be evidenced by these seven marks of His wisdom (see also Hebrews 12:11).

A (Personal)

How then do I get this pure wisdom from God and its seven, highly prized evidences? James instructs: Just ask God for it. However, when asking (praying), ask from a heart that completely trusts God and delights only in fulfilling God's pleasures. His wisdom is not for fulfilling my hedonistic preferences or selfish lusts.

A (Psychological)

In the process of helping batterers learn to stop abusing their partner, several interventions include analyzing the emotions that trigger behaviors. Then, working backwards, they analyze the thoughts that trigger those emotions, and finally, they identify the belief constructs that trigger their destructive thought patterns. The hypothesis is that beliefs trigger thoughts, which trigger emotions, which trigger behaviors. What's missing, though, is the will. One might hold a belief system but still not be committed to it (James 2:19).

Existentialist Kierkegaard wrote the book, Purity of Heart Is to Will One Thing, and he defined it as seeking Good. He, as a Christian philosopher, believed Jesus Christ alone was purely good (Luke 18:19; Romans 10:4). Kierkegaard asks four questions to help people identify their primary motives and ambitions (central to what James discusses in this text): (1) What is your preoccupation with life? (2) In your occupation, what is your attitude of mind? Or how do you carry out your occupation? (3) What means do you use to carry out your occupation? Kierkegaard adds that means is as important as the end, as aim is a better measurement of the goal that where the bullet actually hits. And (4) What is your attitude towards others ... is it one of integrity, purity, and authenticity?

P

Thank You, Lord, for teaching us from Your Word how we might know our motives are pure from Your perspective. As James explained (4:7-10), I, too, (1) submit myself to You, (2) resist the devil's deceptions, (3) seek intimacy with You, (4) eliminate all competing motives from my heart, (5) commit myself to only doing good, (6) engage myself fully in repentance, and (7) humble myself to the supremacy of Your wisdom and goodness.

Healthy Stumps and Crucified Forests

S

(Isaiah 11:3,4) And [the Messiah's] delight shall be in the fear of the Lord. He shall not judge by what His eyes see or decide disputes by what His ears hear, but with righteousness He shall judge the poor and decide with equity for the meek of the earth....

O

Because His greatest pleasure and longing is to revere the Lord, the Messiah is not deceived by what He sees or by what disputers tell Him. His love and respect for His heavenly Father awakens yet another sense--His ability to sniff out, to smell with pleasure the invisible and inaudible presence and works of the Holy Spirit. His keen sensitivity to God equips Him to serve and lead and heal people. Isaiah said this is the result of the Holy Spirit resting on Him.

A (Personal)

Jesus makes available to me the same resource that helped Him teach and heal people: the Holy Spirit. The Spirit's gifts are described in three pairs (verse 2): (1) wisdom and understanding--intellectual and moral insight, (2) counsel and might--sound practical judgment with sufficient vigor to respond appropriately, and (3) knowledge and fear of God--the two parts of true religion (acquaintance with God through the foundation of love and reverential awe of God that prompts obedience).

A (Psychological)

When helping people work through disputes, more covert activity (invisible, inaudible) is taking place than is overtly presented. R. Michael's Metaframework describes the hidden feedback loops between people's means of process, organization, and development. Change and positive growth is complex, yet careful assessment that uses both overt and covert information is a vital part of the helping process. Through this prophecy of Isaiah's, God revealed that the culmination of godless wisdom leaves us devastated, like a clear-cut forest. Human wisdom and insight--though absolutely necessary--is insufficient. Yet, by conceding the fearful vulnerability of our blindness and deafness, with the Holy Spirit's input our hearing and eyesight (insight and judgment) can become fruitful (Isaiah 32:1-8).

P

Lord, thank You for making my foolishnesses such valuable teaching points. They now help me recognize Your presence and superiority. I choose to echo Paul's prayer in Romans 15:13,14, "God of Hope, fill me with all joy and peace in believing so I might abound in hope through the power of the Holy Spirit, so I might be full of goodness and all knowledge necessary for my day, and so I might be able to help others to perceive You, too."

Fresh Bread from a Real Baker

S

(Isaiah 10:20) In that day the remnant of Israel and the survivors of the house of Jacob will no more lean on him who struck them, but will lean on the Lord, the Holy One of Israel, in truth.

O

Biblically, a primary life-issue is deciding where we lean for support. People put their trust in their personal confidants (2 Kings 7:2, 17). Nations and rulers place their hopes in other nations and rulers (Isaiah 31:1). Saul tried to lean on the point of his spear in hope of escaping his fears (2 Samuel 1:6). We were created to be dependent on others, but as Isaiah said, survivors of difficulties learn that anything we lean on--except the Lord--will eventually "strike us." It's a dark outlook, except for the few who learn to live in community while leaning on the Lord for truth.

A (Personal)

How do I live in healthy community with broken people? How do I exclusively and safely trust the Lord? Jeremiah answered that and he was quoted in Hebrews 8:10-12: (1) covenant with God on His terms, (2) let God put His laws in my mind and heart, (3) identify myself as God's, (4) teach others to lean on Him above all others and to know Him, and (5) abandon my sins to God's "box" of all that He's forgiven.

A (Psychological)

Nancy Clark, a PNW counselor who's helped many people abandon unhealthy and distorted views of family life, created a clever metaphor about people who repeatedly trust seriously broken people. Many of her clients and students had insisted on remaining in abusive relationships with alcoholic or violent men, hoping that they would be able to change them or that they would "really keep their promises this time." She equated that to going to Radio Shack over and over and insisting on buying fresh bread from them--but in truth, it's simply not available there, it never will be. One of the hardest and least successful works of psychology is helping people abandon self-destructive ideas and behaviors.

P

Lord, I want to be one of the survivors, one of the remnant who leans on You in truth. I covenant myself to trust You with all my heart, to not lean on my own understanding, to acknowledge You in all my ways, and to let You make my paths straight, even if You see that I need serious reproof along with Your comforts and guidance (Proverbs 3:5, 6, 11, 12).

The Dust of Hope

S
(Psalm 102:14) For Your servants hold her [Zion's] stones dear and have pity on her dust.

O
Scholars usually see this psalm as having been written by one who was observing or remembering the destruction of the Temple. The stones that once easily evidenced God's beauty and goodness and glory were now broken and discarded in hideous piles, covered with the dust of disuse. But love resists abandonment. Love ("holding dear" and "pitying") creates value and purpose. And God's love makes possible the rebuilding of glory.

A (Personal)
I, too, can look with despair on the damage that sin delivers, even upon the people who once magnificently displayed God's glory. I choose, instead of joining the haters and mockers, to hold dear these once-living souls. I choose to become a "living stone" that Jesus uses to build His spiritual home (1 Peter 2:5) even though I, too, was once discarded, useless dust (Matthew 27:7; Jeremiah 18:1-10; Matthew 16:13-27).

A (Psychological)

Carl Rogers (Prochaska & Norcross, 2003) wrote that within the therapeutic relationship, six necessary and sufficient conditions could produce constructive personality changes. These are (1) relationship, (2) vulnerability, (3) genuineness, (4) unconditional positive regard, (5) accurate empathy, and (6) perception of genuineness. These conditions, also imbedded in this psalm, are consistently echoed themes of the Bible. This psalmist continued: "For the Lord builds up Zion; He appears in His glory; He regards the prayer of the destitute ... so that a people yet to be created may praise the Lord: He looked down from His holy height ... to hear the groans of the prisoners, to set free those who were doomed to die ... that they may praise His name" (vv 16-22).

P
Dear Creator and Lord, You see order and design where I see chaos. I fear that often You find vanity in what I value, and purpose in what I find disgusting. Help me to set my heart aright so I align with the good You are doing. Help me to hold dear what You value, to pity what You pity--give me a "whosoever" heart that aches for the wholeness of others.