Matthew 12:33-37
"Watch your thoughts; they become your words. Watch your words; they become your actions. Watch your actions; they become habits. Watch your habits; they become your character. Watch your character; it becomes your destiny." Unknown
In a scene from the movie, "The Godfather",
Vito Corleone admonished his son, Santino: "Never let anyone outside the
family know what you're thinking." Though we may not always act
according to our thoughts, our thoughts will nevertheless reveal (and sometimes
betray) what is innermost in our hearts, our hearts being the essence of who we
truly are; and Jesus reminds us that evil thoughts are as spiritually damaging
as the real deal because this is not only how we are defined but when we allow
our minds to be so distracted and consumed, we are surrendering the better part
of who we are called to be.
We cannot concern ourselves with that theological debate
between free will and spiritual compulsion. What we must concern
ourselves with, however, is what it will take to put our thoughts back on a
proper track so that we may overcome who we are and grow more toward who we are
called to become. Scripture study is only one of the "means of
grace" John Wesley encouraged among his preachers and his students to use
in order to get and to grow their minds properly toward divine things. It
is this very practice that is at the heart of the Methodist “movement” (though,
sadly, not always an integral part of the Methodist Church): the intentional
pursuit of holiness.
It is as I once heard a priest suggest in a sermon: If you read a lot of Bible, you'll
think a lot of Bible. If you read a little Bible, you'll think a little
Bible. And if you read no Bible, you will think no Bible. Unbelievers
have suggested this to be akin to little more than indoctrination; that is,
working to convince ourselves and our children of something we might otherwise
not rationally believe; that we would only go to so much trouble because the Church
has at least convinced us of the fiery furnace of hell. Well, we know we
don't want that, but we should also know there is much more to our being than
simply avoiding eternal condemnation. Holiness not only requires more; it
gives more.
We should know that our lives need purpose and focus
beyond self for the sake of spiritual growth. We should also know that
following the pop culture and doing according to whatever is the "in"
thing at the time is not only impractical, but it is also very confusing
because what is "in" today is almost certainly "out"
tomorrow. Such a “scatter-shot” effort at a meaningful life is not only
vanity at its worst, it is spiritually dangerous and defies what holiness is
truly about.
Those thoughts belong to someone else when we pursue
external and secular things. We're just following a crowd. Even
more dangerous still is that such "trendy" thoughts have more to do
with self than with others who are in our lives, including our Lord and our spouses.
Even a secular society cannot function in such a way. The Church
certainly cannot function as it must if it's every man for himself, and
marriages become rapidly dysfunctional in such arbitrary and subjective
arrangements.
Though the tension between good and evil is always
present and I think too many Christians think only within that framework, I
don't think we should always be thinking strictly in such linear terms of only Heaven vs. hell. Rather I think
we will do better for the Church, for our marriages, and for our society if we
can think more practically in terms of "functional" vs.
"dysfunctional"; that is, how we move closer toward loving and
supporting others - in the Church, in our marriages, and in society - according
to Jesus' teachings.
Think about holistic "functionality" - mind,
body, and soul - in terms of what Jesus teaches. "Out of
the heart comes evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false
witness, blasphemies." These
are “dysfunctions”, and all these "dysfunctions" come from minds
acting on natural impulses. These things come from minds devoid of any
semblance of Bible and spiritual contemplation because, as Jesus says, our
thoughts not only reveal our true character but also become our actions.
And even though each of these violations of the Moral Law subjects us to the
Judgment, they also adversely affect every relationship we have in this life -
with our Lord, with the Church, with our spouses, with our friends, and with
our neighbors.
These actions offend our Holy Father (most notably so
when committed by Christians!), they weaken the Church, they destroy marriages
and families, and they even violate the secular social order. An
innocent lady was found dead in her home recently NOT because of the Bible and
its precepts, not because those responsible spent too much time in Scripture
study and reflecting on the Word - but - because of a distinctive absence of
the most basic of biblical and social precepts. Never mind heaven or
hell; those responsible cannot function even in a secular, godless
society! Talk about dysfunction!
This may be an extreme example of all that can go wrong,
but we must also consider "evil" in terms of St. Augustine's
understanding of the "line of departure" between good and evil.
In very basic terms, if we are not explicitly pursuing "good" we are
implicitly approving "evil". You and I think in terms of evil
incarnate in a child molester or a murderer or a rapist, but Augustine simply
said there is no "kinda" evil. The murderer is no more – or less
– evil than the “false witness”. The murderer will destroy a human life
directly; the “false witness” will get someone else to do it for them.
Evil “is” or Good “is”, but there is no middle ground and there are no varying
degrees. We might like to think so in order to get ourselves off the
hook, but the Bible will not back us up.
"A good person out of the good treasure of the heart
brings forth good things, and an evil person out of the evil treasure brings
forth evil things" (Matthew 12:35).
These "treasures" to which Jesus refers are clearly the
"thoughts" we carry with us, but try though we may we will not find a
"middle ground" in which we can comfortably rest - simply because
there is no "middle ground" between good and evil. If there is,
Jesus surely would have mentioned it in this discourse. If the Lord's Law
- the Moral Code - is not written upon our hearts, the Lord is simply not there
(Jeremiah 31:33). In other words, if “Good” is not present, “evil”
must be. For it is certain that the Law is the Word, and the Word (which
already existed, by the way) "became
flesh and dwelt among us" (John
1:14).
I don't think it is fair to say Christians intentionally
set out to do evil things, but a Christian who does not commit his or her thoughts
to higher things than what is before us cannot be said to be a committed
disciple because discipleship, like love itself, is not an "event"
and it is not a "sprint". It is a "marathon", a
life-long journey. And I say this because our natural impulses ARE
“events” and “sprints”; and if they are not contained and controlled by our
thoughts (that is, thinking things through before speaking or acting), the
impulses will always prevail whether we are simply being selfish as a matter of
self-preservation or actively planning to do harm to another – like picking up
the phone to share malicious gossip. Thoughts lead to words, and words
lead to actions. Now we may not act upon our evil thoughts; however,
others just might if we allow these evil thoughts to manifest themselves in our
words. This is a given, and Jesus affirms it.
So we must determine for ourselves what the
"treasures" of our minds are - lest "the satan" do it for
us. We must acknowledge, of course, the power of the Holy Spirit to
convict AND convince us; but we are also compelled by Scripture to "test
the spirit" of whatever it is that drives and ultimately controls
us. This requires serious reflection and contemplation because if what
drives us and compels us is contrary to what is written in Scripture, it is
safe to say we are flirting with the edge of the abyss, the pit, the
"outer darkness" – both in this life and in the life to come.
Holistic; mind, body, AND soul – all equally committed to the same God and
Lord.
It all begins with our thoughts; not the impulsive
thoughts that pop into our heads in response to some external stimulus.
Rather the thoughts, the contemplations of the committed disciple, the
committed husband, the committed wife think things through according to what
Jesus teaches us not only about heaven and hell but also about a strong Church,
solid marriages, and good social order and how we can learn to look after one
another, giving “preference” to one another in love, as St. Paul encouraged the
Romans. To the glory of our Holy Father. For now, for tomorrow –
AND – forever more. Amen.
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