Dualism and the Modern Christian

I was mindmapping centering again, because of The Art of Aikido I've been reading.  One of the words that popped out to me was "dualism" so I took off with that to see where I would end up.

Dualism, as I remember it, was part of Zoroastrianism, and expressed the belief that there are two eternal forces in the world facing off against each other.  God and Satan, good and evil, light and dark.  Everything has an opposite, heads and tails, hot and cold, and that fact is expressed in the spiritual realm also.

We have that spiritual division in ourselves:  flesh and spirit.  Others describe it differently, such as material and immaterial, or spirit, soul, and body.  Therefore, this heavenly war is reflected in each and every human.  Even the apostle Paul spoke of it in Romans 7: 19 "For the good that I want, I do not do, but I practice the very evil that I do not want."  There is an internal conflict we all deal with.

For many of us, it is a head versus heart issue.  We have certain priorities that we are taught are important:  God, family, the church, the poor, our neighbors.  Yet, we often focus our energies on ourselves and our own pursuits.  I get a job to pay the bills.  I accept a promotion, knowing it will pull me away from my family.  Yes, I will make more money, but we don't need more.  We had enough, by the grace of God, before the promotion.  So, why did I take it? Prestige?  Better toys?  Climbing the corporate ladder?

Or, another example.  I need to exercise.  I could walk to and from work.  Its about a 30 minute walk, which is what I hear is usually recommended.  Instead, I drive.  This allows me time to play around until the last minute, plus I can get a quick lunch at the drive through.  Its all about me.

I have certain priorities, but those things that really motivate me are all about me.  Its the gratifications of the spirit that shape many of my decisions.  In this world of moral ambiguities, we are faced with decisions many of us are unprepared to make wisely.  We vacillate between righteousness and selfishness, not knowing if what we are doing is "the right thing" or not.

Many people, when faced with this impossible situation, slip into a loop and don't make a decision.  They look to those around them, or to pop culture, to make the important decisions in life, thus surrendering their own autonomy.

In the end, indecision and powerlessness bring the same results:  Nothing is accomplished.  Oh, things may get done, but nothing is accomplished.

At least, many people seem incapable of doing anything with their lives.  God, however, has done much.  Lets go back to the beginning, dualism, and God.

"God is one."  There is one God, and only one.  Satan is not eternal.  He was created, and they are not equals.  More than that, though, this means God is indivisible.

Take this another step.  We are created in the image of God.  God breathed and created a living being.  Not two or three crammed into one space.  I am one.  The Hebrews knew this.  It was the Greeks who saw a division in humanity.  This stemmed from their own philosophies instead of Hebrew theology.

When we worship, we are supposed to worship with our whole being, not just our "spiritual man," standing frozen in place lest our fleshly bodies lead us astray.   Our bodies are supposed to live for God, and obey God.  There is going to be a physical resurrection at the end of time to face judgment.  If our physical bodies were totally corrupt, how could God judge us for the actions of our flesh?  Why not let the body do what it chooses, since it is uncontrollable irredeemable, and focus instead on spiritual exercises?

Its because they cannot be separated.  Even modern science sees a correlation between the state of our physical being and emotional state.  Laughter is the best medicine and all that.  Or, take a look at psychosomatic issues.  Psychological issues that are due to chemical imbalances.  The list could go on.

We face an internal war that ravages not just our emotional well-being and our decision making abilities, but also effects our bodies also.  It is because we are imbalanced.

As far as I understand, imbalance occurs when something is off-center.  Such as the tires on my car.  If out of balance, it throws off the performance of the whole car.  It wobbles, it steers poorly, it causes undue wear on the tires, and so on.

If our lives are imbalanced, the solution is the same.  We need to be rebalanced, and this happens when we find our Center.  We need to find Jesus, and put Him in the center of our lives.  Every decision we make must be made in reference to Him.  In His Steps, written in 1896 by Charles Sheldon, is a fine example of this.  A pastor challenged his congregation to ask themselves "What would Jesus do?" and when they had that answer, to do it.  (Yes, this is where WWJD comes from.  Read it.  Its more than a fad.)  A handful of people were able to turn their city upside down.  Being able to make those hard decisions, they were once again powerful.

When we put Jesus in the center, and focus on Him, we will be filled with a passion for life again. We will also be empowered to make the hard decisions.  The decision to scale back on our luxuries, to take a pay cut, to volunteer at the local food pantry instead of going elsehwere to go shopping.  Our money and our time will again belong to God, and He will get much better mileage out of them than we will ever be able to do.  But this comes when we have one focus, one center.