Post 2 - No Man Is An Island, Chapter 7 "Being & Doing"

1/26/21

Introduction 

Although I finished reading the chapter, "Being & Doing" and I am now on to the next, Chapter 8, "Vocation", I will backtrack to the start of"Being & Doing". 

Merton starts with the statement, "We must find our real selves." Merton suggests that our outward actions "reflect" our real selves. However, in our secular success-driven world, it is very common to view and judge ourselves almost completely by our outward actions. In order to find out who we really are - our God-given "being", we must look beyond just our "outward appearance."

Ultimately, being and doing should be completely united. However, until we get our being right, we cannot get our doing right. This is not to say that we should stop doing anything until our being is perfected. But rather we need to slow down and make figuring out who our real self is a priority.

Now it seems to me there are a couple "real selfs": 1) who we are now and 2) who we are meant to be when God first created and then redeemed us. This implies that God, our creator and redeemer, is the one we need to go to for answers. Now, since God knows each of us better than we know ourselves, he is the one that can really answer question 1) - who we are now. And when we come to question 2), it is God alone that knows what he has in mind for us - so only he can reveal it to us. 

In addition, there is a third, related question, have we succeeded in living a fulfilled - or should I say "successful" life. Now here is where most of us tend to go astray - particularly modern Western man. Even Christians that should know better tend to judge our success by our doing rather than our being. But, to begin to really answer the "real self" questions requires looking beyond our actions. And we need God's help for this. 

Why is this?

It seems to me that outside of the light of Gods Word and Spirit shining light on us, we all have a tendency to have an inaccurate view of our "self" and our actions. If we are still self confident and proud - we tend to have an inaccurately elevated view of ourselves. This is typical of individuals deemed "successful" - at least by today's society's view. On the other hand, if we feel we have fallen short of society's view of success, we may be beaten down till we feel like a "failure." Those in this position tend to have an inaccurately low view of ourselves.

To some extent, we might be seeing our "false self." What is this false self? I think it is anything we see in ourselves that is inconsistent with our real self - either as it is or as it is meant to be. To varying extents, people often create a false image, Merton likes to say a false God, of ourselves. This false image may be what we like to think we are. Often, this is also what we like others to think we are. 

Speaking of others, one good starting point is to try to let go of what we think others think of us or how they define success. Rather, focus on what we really think of ourselves and how we view success.

We can then really start correcting our faulty view of ourself by asking of God some of the questions many Godly men in scripture asked. 

"Search me Lord." "Try (evaluate, judge) my Spirit." "Reveal the thoughts of my heart." Such questions show that all these knew that they needed to go beyond just letting go of what others think and be really an independent thinker. What they really needed was God's help to show them what they are really like. 

For me at least, I think this will give us a pretty good start on moving toward answering these questions.

Post 1    1/25/2021    

Introduction, Description & Context for this blog

It is now Monday January 25, 2021. It has been almost 2 and a half years since I have even visited this Blogger site. 

So why now? I guess I think I might have some things to say and some people might want to read what I write. Also, it is just possible that this is something God is asking me to do. I think I'll only really know this in retrospect some time in the future.

One driver for starting up this Blog is that I've been studying and summarizing quite a few topics lately and some of this I have shared with others. Quite a few have found the information and perspective I've shared to at least be interesting, sometimes thought provoking and sometimes even helpful. 

So what have I been studying and writing? Given that we are still in the midst of the Covid-19 "pandemic", much has been related to the virus, how to prevent and treat infections medically, how various behavioral choices may impact infection and also how God may view all this and how he would like us to respond. 

A list of some topics follows.

Covid-19 Related Topics

1. What is the SARS-CoV-2 virus and how does it impact infected individuals (individuals with Covid-19 infections)?
2. How does the immune system of infected individuals react to & fight the virus?
3. What determines the severity of the impact of infection on individuals?
4. What preventative measures and treatments best fight the virus?
5. What are the various types of vaccines being developed? What is their likely safety and efficacy?
6. The analytical tests being used to diagnose Covid-19 infections and assess immunity and antibodies to the virus.
7. The response of traditional medical organizations (US, State & local governments, CDC, WHO, AMA, etc.) to the above Covid-19 related topics
8. The Christian's proper response to all this: behavior, medical choices, etc.
9. 
   

Biblical & Christian Topics

1. Understanding who God created us to be.
2. How does God view & judge who we are and what we do?
3. Others

General Topics

• How do we learn, form opinions, draw conclusions & make decisions?
• Do we think it is worth the effort to form our own conclusions from data or are we content to allow others to do that for us?
• Do we think critically? What does that mean and how is that best done?
• There are lots more topics of interest!

 One whole type of thing I like to write about is to summarize, critique, add to and learn from what others write and say. These could be sermons, papers, articles, etc. Reacting to what others say and write is a great jumping off point to understanding and expressing my own thoughts on the topic.

Initial Plan

My current plan for this blog is to write short summaries of what I am reading related to my walk with God and thoughts and response related to these readings. I like to do this anyway so I hope it will become part of my daily spiritual time. 

I am currently rereading "No Man Is An Island" by Thomas Merton. This is one of my favorite books. I can reread the same chapter every few months and still learn new things. It is always very thought provoking.

'

 

Why a Blog?

Why a Blog?

Good question!

I'll start to answer this with a little pro / con analysis.

Pros

• I like to keep a record of my thoughts, conclusions, questions.
• Writing things down solidifies my correct thoughts and refutes my incorrect thoughts.
• Maybe I could learn from my past better if a reviewed it once in a while.
• Perhaps at least some of what I know, think & learn would be useful to others.
• Perhaps it would be good for me to actually share the things I think.
• Readers might enjoy reading what I write.
• Readers might get to know me better.

Cons

• It is difficult and time consuming to write a blog.
• If I'm going to bother with a blog, I'll feel compelled to do it well. (Again, consuming alot of time.)
• Dwelling on the past may hinder living in the present.
• It may well not be helpful to others.
• It is often best to not say everything you think.
• Generally, I've found most people don't find what I have to say very interesting or entertaining.
• Others likely won't benefit much form knowing me better.

Notice a symmetry here? Of course it was intentional. A small glimpse into how i think and what i find entertaining.

• If I'm going to bother with a blog, I'll feel compelled to do it well. (Again, consuming alot of time.)

This was a true statement and a reflection of my perfectionist tendencies. This is a real impediment to getting things done when you are not in fact perfect.

It is also why this may be my only post.