The Puzzle of Persistent Sin

THE PUZZLE OF PERSISTENT SIN PART 1 by Robert Barnes Do you like puzzles like this? If you do, you might also enjoy thinking about other puzzlers—the existence of God, for instance. And how long is eternity, anyway? About how long it takes for some of us to do this maze! More likely our minds are caught up and confused in human puzzles—how can a someone help a teen who is regularly self-mutilating? How can we help someone who constantly doubts their salvation? How can someone who is addicted to alcohol stop drinking long enough to see what they are doing to themselves? To their families? This article and the ones that follow do not offer any easy answers to the problems of habitual, self-destructive behavior. I’ve lived too many years and seen too many tears to offer that sort of advice. But there are some simple answers to some of the addictions that kill more and more people every day. Did I say simple? Yes. Did I say easy? No! But nothing is impossible with God, and there is hope when we take a closer look at His answers. First, some background that will help us get on the same page. Common Solutions The greatest minds in the world have struggled with what makes perfectly normal humans suddenly think, feel, or behave in extremely abnormal ways. Dr. Sigmund Freud (1856 – 1939) is perhaps the most influential thinker of the last century on the topic of understanding the human propensity to think, feel, and IIIM Magazine Online, Volume 4, Number 34, December 12 to December 19, 2002 behave in a self-destructive fashion. We now live in a culture awash in the lingo of psychoanalysis, self-help, and sexual freedom. To Dr. Freud’s credit, he didn’t claim that his studies into humanity actually provided any answers. He rightly understood that we are broken people, and that all we can hope for (outside of God’s help) is a glimmer of insight into our own predicaments. Freud’s pessimism has not stopped those impacted by his studies from claiming they can finally and completely solve human frailty, addictions, broken marriages—all with an application of their sage advice or a new pill One of the top “gurus of the moment” (there will be new ones before this series is complete, we are sure) is Dr. Phillip C. McGraw, known as “Dr. Phil,” who saved Oprah Winfrey from eating herself into a coma in 1996. In exchange, she gave him a weekly slot on her talk show and has helped many people with his common-sense approach to self-help. Dr. Phil calls himself a “Life Strategist”; he could care less about your inner child or your pre-fetal trauma—the attraction to him is that he is level-headed and pragmatic; he is not so concerned about feelings as he is about giving people the opportunity to act in a way that demonstrates the greatest love for themselves. He identifies distortions, irrational core beliefs, and has some success at treating people with depression, anxiety, phobias, low self-esteem (he really hates low self-esteem) and OCD (Obsessive- Compulsive Disorder). He attempts to find the best way to alleviate the problems his guests are experiencing without being cruel or blunt for entertainment purposes, which leads us to another top guru. Dr. Laura Schlessinger has a similar basis in her counseling theory, but unlike the likeable Dr. Phil, comes across as nagging, scolding, and cajoling. She downright embarrasses people into more thoughtful living, and she’s very proud of her skills! She knows what is morally correct (and is usually right) and has no compunction about making people feel like idiots for living in what many psychologists call “cognitive dissonance.” Dr. Laura’s bread and butter is that we engage in thoughts, feelings, and behaviors that we know are wrong—we know it because God has put a conscience in us. Nevertheless, we continue to think, feel, and do that which we do not believe we should be thinking, feeling, or doing until it drives us insane. When Dr. Laura hears evasion, she cuts you off. When she hears contradiction, she sets you straight. And unlike Dr. Phil, she will tell you that morality and religious life are critical to your mental health, being the most famous convert to Orthodox Judaism in America today. In a nutshell, she tells her callers the same thing as Rabbi Hillel did: “What is hateful to you, do not do to your neighbor. That is the whole Torah.” As Freud pointed out, insight is not impossible. All three of these professionals have skills in pointing out problems and solutions we may have missed. The problem is their solutions are often cruel. They shout orders to wounded soldiers. They tell those with no legs that if they have enough self-esteem, they can walk again. They give moral guidance, but no grace, no power to obey—only the drudgery of more moral failure, more human betrayal and more hopelessness. They are given no ideas on how to obtain forgiveness from the person they are violating the most—God. No matter what successes secular or moral/religious therapists may have, they can never deal with the underlying cause of human disturbance: a severed relationship with God and a sin debt that is gaining interest every moment of every day. You see, just because someone has the solution for the OCD problem does not mean they have a solution for the GOD problem. But why? Common Error: Who are we? You would think that we would have figured this out—we are not God. But much of Western Culture is confused about this point. According to many, since all is God, and humans are part of all, then people are God. According to those who teach this philosophy, humans are good, and have the possibility for infinite goodness in us. We have infinite potential, they tell us, as they blur the distinctions between the Creator and the created. In reality, God is not part of creation. He is separate from it and made it (Isaiah 44:24). Humankind is not God, he is a special part of creation (Gen. 1:26). And rather than being seen as good by nature, Christians have historically believed that man is not good by nature (Eph. 2:3). One of our native-born religions, Mormonism, also teaches that our goal is to grow until we become God. "Intelligent beings are organized to become Gods, even the Sons of God, to dwell in the presence of the Gods, and become associated with the highest intelligences that dwell in eternity. We are now in the school, and must practice upon what we receive" (LDS President Brigham Young, Discourses of Brigham Young, p.245). Although it is not found in any of Mormonism's standard documents, fifth LDS President Lorenzo Snow coined an expression that defines the Latter Day Saints teaching that men can become Gods. In June of 1840, Snow declared, "As man is, God once was; as God is, man may become." Satan encouraged Adam and Eve to be like God (Gen. 3:1-5), and many listen to the echo of that Edenic lie and yields to it willingly. The difference between God and creation is blurred. Man is made in the image of God (Gen. 1:26)—we bear many attributes of God that He chose to share with us (such as the capacity to love and hate, or the ability to know things). We are valuable; remember—Jesus died for people like you and me! But we are not God, and though our culture tells us we are in subtle and not-so-subtle ways, we must remember that. Though many nice, religious people w ish to become gods, there is no biblical or rational basis for this teaching. Isaiah 43:10 makes it clear that none will ever attain Godhood for it says, "I am He; before Me there was no God formed, neither shall there be after Me." The fact remains that t he God of the Bible, who knows all, says He knows of no other Gods (Isaiah 44:8). If the Bible is correct (and I certainly believe it is), this proves that no mortal has ever attained Godhood. But those from secular or moralistic perspectives who would giv e counsel often neglect that bit of information. They are hoping we forget our limitations. They plead with us to focus on our self -love or our self-esteem. In fact, the historic Christian belief (a point that all major religious agree upon, by the way) is that focusing on our own needs, our own self -actualization is what has gotten us in such a mess in the first place. You can dress up selfishness and call it a new name, but selfishness will destroy your marriage, get you fired from your job, and it will leave you separated from God, for God welcomes the humble, but opposes the proud (James 4:6). Our war, our interpersonal conflict, our irrational thoughts, feelings and behavior—all this is explained quite simply (though not easily!) by accepting the humbling fact that we are sinners. We are broken and no one can put us back together, not even ourselves, without the power of God. A human can’t fix their heart and lives any more than a person can push a bus while still riding on it. No, we are not God. But we sure do need him and his truths to make sense out of ourselves, our relationships, and our world. But who is this God? Common Error: Who is God? Today, most of us are surrounded by doubt. Agnosticism is almost a point of virtue—the ultimate faux pa is asserting that we know anything for certain That . way, we appear humble and in addition, protect the feelings of those around us who might suddenly think we were actually saying they were “wrong” (perish the thought!). In the 1920s, people thought th ey knew things. People had experienced the First World War, the “War to End all Wars” or so it seemed. The post-war celebration stretched out for years, and it frankly went to our heads. The United States of America, the all-powerful Savior of Europe—it was simple to attribute omniscience to ourselves as well. Doubt died when those brave men and women came home from saving the world. But we were wrong. Through wars and betrayal, God taught us (history is His - Story, after all) the truth about our limitation s; national doubt returned. And that doubt has permeated every part of our society, even those parts of society designed to be hardened against doubt —religious institutions, the church and smaller groups. But with that harsh lesson about our limits, rathe r than turn to God and seek the power of His Holy Spirit to give us assurance and hope in our times of need, we turned to nothing—literally. Our culture turned to nihilism, a philosophy crystallized by Fredrich Nietzsche. Pessimistic does not begin to desc ribe his practical and philosophical approach to life —ideas about God were ridiculous and morality was a mirage. “There are no moral phenomena at all, only a moral interpretation of phenomena.” He should have said (and he likely did, in one way or another) that there is no God, only a God idea. That’s certainly the way his ideas have been passed into the third millennium. If you’ve ever tried to talk about God around your office, the first thing you will find out that it is taboo. Only children or poets or fanatics discuss God, and of that group, only children can ask or say whatever they want. Poets can be sued or accused of hate-speech—there’s a reason why so few words rhyme with God—so now they write free verse that no one can understand. That leaves fanatics, left over Jesus Freaks from the early 70s, who don’t have the sense to know that God and religion are best kept private. Some people imagine the privatization of religion has actually saved the God - idea. If religious experience and knowledge of th e spiritual realm is completely person relative and internal, then it is unassailable —who can logically attack that for which no evidence exists? Who can assault an opinion? While taking God out of the public square may make ideas about God more defensible, there is now precious little left to defend. If God is unknowable, if whatever can be known about God is person relative and ultimately private, then it matters not that we’ve somehow protected him from further secular assault. He is already dead. But what if God is not dead? What if we are the ones who are dead —spiritually speaking? What if the cosmic silence is due to our own deafness, and God still speaks and acts and gives hope that is tangible —real—not just imagined? What if God has, through the acts of one man, Jesus Christ, made rescue from this wrong-headedness and wrong-heartedness that plagues us possible? Not just possible, but actual? St. Augustine said, “I believe that I may understand.” We would ask that the reader, especially the reader who self-selects him/herself as skeptical about God, would think about Augustine’s words carefully. He seems to be saying that belief (what we believe about God, man, others) shapes is like corrective lenses —or in some cases, distortive ones. Our beliefs f orm a foundation for us to answer questions about God, morality, the reasons why we behave (and misbehave!) the way we do. In this case, Augustine tried on several different kinds of lenses —he looked at life through Manicheism, raw Platonism, various mytho logies, and then he found Christianity—not perfect doctrine or a perfect church or perfect Christians, but real relationship with Christ —and God allowed him to put on that worldview. Augustine found that he was answering questions that had previously gone unanswered. He discovered he could ask questions that before were beyond pronouncement. And even those that continued to go unanswered now had a context of God—he could wait on God to reveal the answers at the proper time. I am asking you to do just that. As we approach the goal of this article, which is to explain a simple (but not easy!) answer to habitual sins, we need to describe the nature of God as we understand him through the Bible and nature. Rather than focus on our differences in our understand ing of God, and rather than write something of an apologetic (and likely pedantic) nature, I am going to share somewhat casually what walking with God has taught me about Him. Over the next few pages, I want to tell you about my understanding of God as if I were sitting across the table from you with cups of our favorite warm beverage. Common Ground: What I believe about God People have many different perceptions of what God is like. Some see Him as an indulgent grandfather or a divine Santa Claus. Others see Him as a vengeful dictator. Many people fear God because they have a distorted understanding of His character. But God wants you to view Him correctly. In fact, God wants you to know Him intimately. How you view God and His involvement in your life to uches every facet of who you are. Everything about your life –your desires, motives, attitudes, words, and actions–are all influenced by your perception of God. Our views of ourselves even change once you realize the awesome greatness of God and how much worth He places on you. When you have an accurate understanding of who God is and how He is involved in your life, you will be motivated to excel in the use of your time, talents and mental capabilities. We know that was true with us. God is completely trustworthy. But you can only trust Him to the degree that you know Him. God has unlimited abilities, so He can do anything. He is all -powerful, ever-present, all-knowing, and sovereign over all things. Yes, I said “all things.” Nothing is too difficult for H im! God’s character is of the highest integrity. He is morally perfect in every way, so He will always do the right thing. He is holy, absolutely truthful, righteous, and just. He will never betray your confidence. And, God is totally committed to His relationship with you, so you can experience the many blessings of His gracious goodness. He is loving, merciful, faithful, and will never change. He will always do what is best for you. We have seen the truth about God and His marvelous character transform our situations, our lives, down to the very core of our being. Like Augustine, only then will you experience God’s best in your life and become all He wants you to be. When you put on faith, you will put on the means to understand some mysteries, but be astounded by many more you never knew existed. Thank God he does not require perfect knowledge of the Bible or perfect behavior on our part to earn His love. Talk about an endless climb on the Stairmaster! The power to overcome sin and know God’s love is no t through our own good works, but through God’s overcoming love, overcoming our doubt, our fear, and enabling us to reach out to Him in faith. Yes, you can know God personally, as presumptuous as that may sound. God is so eager to establish a personal, lo ving relationship with you that He has already made all the arrangements. You can receive forgiveness of your sin and assurance of eternal life through faith in His only Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. But how can this help me with my habitual sins? Some of yo u may be saying, “I’m dying and you’re telling me a history of counseling theory and telling me I can be forgiven of my sin. I just want to stop what I’m doing —then I’ll get my masters degree and join the church!” No matter if that’s you or not, I’ll get t o the point. 1 1 This article is to be continued. Look for more on this topic at thirdmill.org. RFB