The mind of a serial killer and the mind of the detectives represent the duality we face as people.
- Paul Guilfoyle
All little salt is good but too much spoils the food. So too, individually and collectively, dualism can be both friend and foe. Self reflection is an indispensable ally in the process of honestly understanding and dealing with ourselves and others.
Conversely, uncontrolled, open mindedness becomes double-mindedness. An all too common self destructive tendency that can stifle and imprison, rather than augment and release, our better selves. Scripture is replete with warnings and counsel against such intractable foibles and enemies of human nature.
Few aspects of earthly life are as vexing to humanity as the nature and reality of dualism. Fallen as a race, our baser instincts are continually exacerbated by entitlement, the original sin of angels and men. A conflict fueled by gross to subtle deceptions and temptations. A campaign daily waged against and by billions. One cunningly exploiting our individual and collective weaknesses, as we are hunted and ensnared by a most Devilish Fowler.
For our part the problem is two fold:
1. Denial: First and foremost is humanity's tenuous yet relentless grip on denial. "Born between urine and feces" as soulish spirits, we are "bloody meat cycles on skeletal sticks" wondering towards death at one second per second. Who can honestly deny we are "fearfully and wonderfully made" yet with little or no comprehension of the real time demands placed on us by our Maker to be thankful, productive and obedient?
2. Diligence: For those blessed and wise enough to recognize the foolishness of denial, a second equally daunting challenges arises. Given the pains and pleasures of earthly life, how much time and energy do we seriously invest in seeking a spiritual kingdom that remains elusive and all but imperceptible?
The double-mindedness of dualism is mankind's most ancient and common dilemma, consciously and not saturating the decision making, and therefore the lives, of each and every one of us. A challenge from which believers are hardly excluded:
- "God spoke to Cain: “Why this tantrum? Why the sulking? If you do well, won’t you be accepted? And if you don’t do well, sin is lying in wait for you, ready to pounce; it’s out to get you, you’ve got to master it.” Genesis 4:6-7 MSG
- “When he came back to his disciples, he found them sound asleep. He said to Peter, “Can’t you stick it out with me a single hour? Stay alert; be in prayer so you don’t wander into temptation without even knowing you’re in danger. There is a part of you that is eager, ready for anything in God. But there’s another part that’s as lazy as an old dog sleeping by the fire.” Matthew 26:40-41 MSG
- "At one time I lived without understanding the law. But when I learned the command not to covet, for instance, the power of sin came to life, and I died. So I discovered that the law’s commands, which were supposed to bring life, brought spiritual death instead. Sin took advantage of those commands and deceived me; it used the commands to kill me. But still, the law itself is holy, and its commands are holy and right and good." Romans 7:9-12 NLT
- "But I need something more! For if I know the law but still can’t keep it, and if the power of sin within me keeps sabotaging my best intentions, I obviously need help! I realize that I don’t have what it takes. I can will it, but I can’t do it. I decide to do good, but I don’t really do it; I decide not to do bad, but then I do it anyway. My decisions, such as they are, don’t result in actions. Something has gone wrong deep within me and gets the better of me every time. It happens so regularly that it’s predictable. The moment I decide to do good, sin is there to trip me up. I truly delight in God’s commands, but it’s pretty obvious that not all of me joins in that delight. Parts of me covertly rebel, and just when I least expect it, they take charge. I’ve tried everything and nothing helps. I’m at the end of my rope. Is there no one who can do anything for me? Isn’t that the real question? The answer, thank God, is that Jesus Christ can and does. He acted to set things right in this life of contradictions where I want to serve God with all my heart and mind, but am pulled by the influence of sin to do something totally different." Romans 7:17-25 MSG
Fortunately, though problematic for most of us, a simple overview of the tenor of Paul's life, as well as that of the entire New Testament record in the Book of Acts and subsequent Epistles, promises and reveals a more overcoming rather than underwhelming Christian experience.
All of which begs the question what's wrong with us? In this vein Paul continues:
- "There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death. For what the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, on account of sin: He condemned sin in the flesh, that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit." Romans 8:1-4 NKJV
In fact, this passage also provides clarity to another age old debate, namely are Christians under the law? Frequently Paul would seem to suggest we are free from the law, yet an even greater number of Scriptures, including Revelation's record of Jesus judging His Church, make it clear that believers will be held to a greater, not lessor standard of conduct then our Jewish predecessors.
So which is it? The QC answer is almost always "both." Simply put, believers are free from the law to the degree we remain above it. In His Sermon on the Mount Jesus, rather than lowering or even eliminating the bar, raises it. Some dismiss this is as pertaining to our conduct by suggesting Christ was merely teaching that mankind is unable to keep the law. While to some degree this is reflected in Paul's epistle, he then settles the question by expounding on the true meaning and message of Christ. Rather than excuse sin "He condemned sin in the flesh, that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit."
Thus the horns of our dilemma are revealed. The good news proclaimed here and so often throughout the New Testament is that Christians are enabled and called to rise above the law by the impartation and empowerment of the Holy Spirit. The bad news is our nearly wholesale fall from grace, to the point we no longer even teach the need for the kind of holiness and sanctification the Bible offers and subsequently demands.
Such oversight in mindset and lifestyle may prove to be not only serious but eternal mistakes. Not only does the Scripture state that this kind of worldliness impedes if not prevents answered prayer, but it may well be a leading cause of judgment against God's very own people:
- "Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you. But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. Such a person is double-minded and unstable in all they do." James 1:2-8 NIV
- "Who is wise and understanding among you? Let them show it by their good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom. But if you harbor bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast about it or deny the truth. Such “wisdom” does not come down from heaven but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic. For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice. But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere. Peacemakers who sow in peace reap a harvest of righteousness." James 3:13-18 NIV
- "Where do you think all these appalling wars and quarrels come from? Do you think they just happen? Think again. They come about because you want your own way, and fight for it deep inside yourselves. You lust for what you don’t have and are willing to kill to get it. You want what isn’t yours and will risk violence to get your hands on it. Where do you think all these appalling wars and quarrels come from? Do you think they just happen? Think again. They come about because you want your own way, and fight for it deep inside yourselves. You lust for what you don’t have and are willing to kill to get it. You want what isn’t yours and will risk violence to get your hands on it. You wouldn’t think of just asking God for it, would you? And why not? Because you know you’d be asking for what you have no right to. You’re spoiled children, each wanting your own way. You wouldn’t think of just asking God for it, would you? And why not? Because you know you’d be asking for what you have no right to. You’re spoiled children, each wanting your own way. You’re cheating on God. If all you want is your own way, flirting with the world every chance you get, you end up enemies of God and his way. And do you suppose God doesn’t care? The proverb has it that “he’s a fiercely jealous lover.” And what he gives in love is far better than anything else you’ll find. It’s common knowledge that “God goes against the willful proud; God gives grace to the willing humble.” James 4:1-6 MSG
- "After that, Pharisees and religion scholars came to Jesus all the way from Jerusalem, criticizing, “Why do your disciples play fast and loose with the rules?”But Jesus put it right back on them. “Why do you use your rules to play fast and loose with God’s commands? God clearly says, ‘Respect your father and mother,’ and, ‘Anyone denouncing father or mother should be killed.’ But you weasel around that by saying, ‘Whoever wants to, can say to father and mother, What I owed to you I’ve given to God.’ That can hardly be called respecting a parent. You cancel God’s command by your rules. Frauds! Isaiah’s prophecy of you hit the bull’s-eye: These people make a big show of saying the right thing, but their heart isn’t in it. They act like they’re worshiping me, but they don’t mean it. They just use me as a cover for teaching whatever suits their fancy." Matthew 15:1-9 MSG
- "The disciples came up and asked, “Why do you tell stories?” He replied, “You’ve been given insight into God’s kingdom. You know how it works. Not everybody has this gift, this insight; it hasn’t been given to them. Whenever someone has a ready heart for this, the insights and understandings flow freely. But if there is no readiness, any trace of receptivity soon disappears. That’s why I tell stories: to create readiness, to nudge the people toward receptive insight. In their present state they can stare till doomsday and not see it, listen till they’re blue in the face and not get it. I don’t want Isaiah’s forecast repeated all over again: Your ears are open but you don’t hear a thing. Your eyes are awake but you don’t see a thing. The people are blockheads! They stick their fingers in their ears so they won’t have to listen; They screw their eyes shut so they won’t have to look, so they won’t have to deal with me face-to-face and let me heal them." Matthew 13:10-15 MSG
Crowning Example
Scripture's most consummate and curious example of dualism may be that of Solomon. Coronated by God with more wisdom and wealth than any king on Earth, his descent into double-mindedness is as telling as it is troubling.
Born of David, his mother Bathsheba represented Israel's greatest psalmist, prophet, warrior and king's own dalliance with dual allegiances. In fact, Solomon's eventual idolatry might well be part and parcel of the judgment against David for his inconceivable act of murderous adultery, the ramifications of which would effectively split Israel in two, beginning a downward spiral into destruction.
Yet Solomon's initial reign signaled Israel's short lived golden age! Full of unprecedented and glorious blessings begun by God offering the young king a blank check:
- The king went to Gibeon, the most prestigious of the local shrines, to worship. He sacrificed a thousand Whole-Burnt-Offerings on that altar. That night, there in Gibeon, God appeared to Solomon in a dream: God said, “What can I give you? Ask.” 1 Kings 3:4-5 The Message
- God, the Master, was delighted with Solomon’s response. And God said to him, “Because you have asked for this and haven’t grasped after a long life, or riches, or the doom of your enemies, but you have asked for the ability to lead and govern well, I’ll give you what you’ve asked for—I’m giving you a wise and mature heart. There’s never been one like you before; and there’ll be no one after. As a bonus, I’m giving you both the wealth and glory you didn’t ask for—there’s not a king anywhere who will come up to your mark. And if you stay on course, keeping your eye on the life-map and the God-signs as your father David did, I’ll also give you a long life.” 1 Kings 3:10-15 The Message
- Solomon received twenty-five tons of gold annually. This was above and beyond the taxes and profit on trade with merchants and traders. All kings of Arabia and various and assorted governors also brought silver and gold to Solomon. King Solomon crafted two hundred body-length shields of hammered gold—about fifteen pounds of gold to each shield—and about three hundred small shields about half that size. He stored the shields in the House of the Forest of Lebanon.The king made a massive throne of ivory with a veneer of gold. The throne had six steps leading up to it with an attached footstool of gold. The armrests on each side were flanked by lions. Lions, twelve of them, were placed at either end of the six steps. There was no throne like it in any other kingdom. King Solomon’s chalices and tankards were made of gold, and all the dinnerware and serving utensils in the House of the Forest of Lebanon were pure gold. Nothing was made of silver; silver was considered common and cheap in the time of Solomon. The king’s ships, manned by Hiram’s sailors, made a round trip to Tarshish every three years, returning with a cargo of gold, silver, and ivory, apes and peacocks. King Solomon was richer and wiser than all the kings of the earth—he surpassed them all. Kings came from all over the world to be with Solomon and get in on the wisdom God had given him. Everyone who came brought gifts—artifacts of gold and silver, fashionable robes and gowns, the latest in weapons, exotic spices, horses, and mules—parades of visitors, year after year." 2 Chronicles 9:13-24 The Message
- “Then King Solomon summoned into his presence at Jerusalem the elders of Israel, all the heads of the tribes and the chiefs of the Israelite families, to bring up the ark of the Lord’s covenant from Zion, the City of David. All the Israelites came together to King Solomon at the time of the festival in the month of Ethanim, the seventh month. When all the elders of Israel had arrived, the priests took up the ark, and they brought up the ark of the Lord and the tent of meeting and all the sacred furnishings in it. The priests and Levites carried them up, and King Solomon and the entire assembly of Israel that had gathered about him were before the ark, sacrificing so many sheep and cattle that they could not be recorded or counted.The priests then brought the ark of the Lord’s covenant to its place in the inner sanctuary of the temple, the Most Holy Place, and put it beneath the wings of the cherubim. The cherubim spread their wings over the place of the ark and overshadowed the ark and its carrying poles.” 1 Kings 8:1-7 NIV
- “When the priests withdrew from the Holy Place, the cloud filled the temple of the Lord. And the priests could not perform their service because of the cloud, for the glory of the Lord filled his temple. Then Solomon said, “The Lord has said that he would dwell in a dark cloud; I have indeed built a magnificent temple for you, a place for you to dwell forever.” 1 Kings 8:10-12 NIV
- “Then the king and all Israel with him offered sacrifices before the Lord. Solomon offered a sacrifice of fellowship offerings to the Lord: twenty-two thousand cattle and a hundred and twenty thousand sheep and goats. So the king and all the Israelites dedicated the temple of the Lord. On that same day the king consecrated the middle part of the courtyard in front of the temple of the Lord, and there he offered burnt offerings, grain offerings and the fat of the fellowship offerings, because the bronze altar that stood before the Lord was too small to hold the burnt offerings, the grain offerings and the fat of the fellowship offerings. So Solomon observed the festival at that time, and all Israel with him—a vast assembly, people from Lebo Hamath to the Wadi of Egypt. They celebrated it before the Lord our God for seven days and seven days more, fourteen days in all. On the following day he sent the people away. They blessed the king and then went home, joyful and glad in heart for all the good things the Lord had done for his servant David and his people Israel.” 1 Kings 8:62-66 NIV
- “When Solomon finished praying, fire came down from heaven and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices, and the glory of the Lord filled the temple. The priests could not enter the temple of the Lord because the glory of the Lord filled it. When all the Israelites saw the fire coming down and the glory of the Lord above the temple, they knelt on the pavement with their faces to the ground, and they worshiped and gave thanks to the Lord, saying, “He is good; his love endures forever.” 2 Chronicles 7:1-3 NIV
- “King Solomon was obsessed with women. Pharaoh’s daughter was only the first of the many foreign women he loved—Moabite, Ammonite, Edomite, Sidonian, and Hittite. He took them from the surrounding pagan nations of which God had clearly warned Israel, “You must not marry them; they’ll seduce you into infatuations with their gods.” Solomon fell in love with them anyway, refusing to give them up. He had seven hundred royal wives and three hundred concubines—a thousand women in all! And they did seduce him away from God. As Solomon grew older, his wives beguiled him with their alien gods and he became unfaithful—he didn’t stay true to his God as his father David had done. Solomon took up with Ashtoreth, the whore goddess of the Sidonians, and Molech, the horrible god of the Ammonites. Solomon openly defied God; he did not follow in his father David’s footsteps. He went on to build a sacred shrine to Chemosh, the horrible god of Moab, and to Molech, the horrible god of the Ammonites, on a hill just east of Jerusalem. He built similar shrines for all his foreign wives, who then polluted the countryside with the smoke and stench of their sacrifices. God was furious with Solomon for abandoning the God of Israel, the God who had twice appeared to him and had so clearly commanded him not to fool around with other gods. Solomon faithlessly disobeyed God’s orders. God said to Solomon, “Since this is the way it is with you, that you have no intention of keeping faith with me and doing what I have commanded, I’m going to rip the kingdom from you and hand it over to someone else. But out of respect for your father David I won’t do it in your lifetime. It’s your son who will pay—I’ll rip it right out of his grasp. Even then I won’t take it all; I’ll leave him one tribe in honor of my servant David and out of respect for my chosen city Jerusalem.” 1 Kings 11:1-13 MSG
A point of fact that may provide Solomon's most importance lesson. Both to our generation in general, and modern Christianity in particular.
The average citizen of the modern world enjoys, and daily takes for granted, blessings the likes of which must surpass even the prayers past generations. As a society, in many ways our lifestyles are more reminiscent of mythological gods than kings. Through an endless and growing list of technological gifts we have become mankind's wisest and wealthiest. Yet are we ascending into thankfulness and sanctification or descending into worldliness and worse?
Just a sampling of Old and New Testament verses along these lines is sufficient to demonstrate the prodigious problem of dualism. Yet, as has been repeatedly pointed out by many of Christianity's great men and women down through the centuries, we need only choose to cooperate rather than resist the Holy Spirit in the areas of besetting sins and doubtful habits, to meet God's requirements.
With the evidence of our proclivity for dualism overwhelming, the question then becomes "how then shall we live?" In a word "better." While it is imperative that we "knock it off and behave ourselves" equally clear is that we have little or no intention of doing so. At least not all at once. Our promise and quantum hope may lie in the patient mercy and grace of God. And the truth of the old adage "what's hard by the yard is a cinch by the inch." What is immediately needed is a ruthlessly honest appraisal and recognition of who and where we are in comparison to what we should and could be. Next what is required is simple and straightforward discussion on how best to get there from here. While "the longest journey begins with a single step" we must walk purposely in the right direction towards become the completely New Creation Scripture prescribes.
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