Body and Spirit: War or Peace?

Forget everything you’ve learned from the misguided dualists who teach that the body, being material, is inferior to the spirit in your walk with Christ. 

In Jesus Christ, body and spirit are redeemed together. The spirit brings serenity to the body—a visceral peace that nothing outside of Christ can bring. On the other hand, the body informs the spirit with its needs for healthy sleep, nutrition, and exercise.  

Overly emphasizing either the body or the spirit is like saying your right leg is more important than your left leg, and then hopping on that leg for the rest of your life.

 When the apostle Paul speaks of a war between the flesh and the spirit, he doesn’t mean you should abandon bodily cares so that you can be a pure spirit. He means that bodily appetites have limited horizons. 

The goal of life is not contained in fancy clothes, prestigious quarters, or satiating the salivary glands. The goal is to develop a mindset based on trusting in the Lord’s help for physical provisions (home, food, clothing, education, health), while seeking above all else the Father’s will for you. When you seek the balance of bodily health and spiritual guidance, you’ll find they both contribute to a wholesome human nature.

Listen to Christ’s overview: “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?...But strive first for the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well” (Mt 6: 25; 33).

By the same token, the body is a complex machine that needs quality care. Do you have a runaway compulsion for sweets, food, alcohol, smoking, drugs, or sex? If so, Christ doesn’t get on your case and carp at you to give these up, but sends the Holy Spirit to help you, like through a Twelve-Step group that specializes in breaking addictions. Thank God, you are not left alone to battle a force that is physically devastating and spiritually demoralizing.

Twelve-Step groups like Alcoholics Anonymous, Nicotine Anonymous, and Overeaters Anonymous work wonders because they restore balance to the body and spirit. You gain a reprieve from out-of-control appetites by participating in a spiritual fellowship whose foundation is trust in God and service to others. Many of these meetings end by reciting the Lord’s Prayer.

Your spirituality needs attention just like the body. Opening your spirit to God does not require being religious. It simply requires sincerity, transparency, and humility. You can ask God for these qualities and the Holy Spirit will make sure they become part of your individuality in Christ. Equally important are eating and drinking the Word of God, relating to others who know and love Christ, and helping people whenever you can. 

So there you have it, a short course in understanding Body and Spirit. Along with Mind and Heart (previous blog), these complimentary dimensions comprise human nature, providing you with a reliable set of checks and balances for cultivating your individuality in Christ.

 

How Does Prayer Work?

I can't speak for other world religions, even though I respect aspects of what they teach and uphold. But I can speak for Christianity because I met Jesus Christ fifty years ago. If it wasn't for Jesus, Christianity would be just a religion, and I wouldn't have much interest in it. My lifetime work as a psychologist for Lord has only intensified my fascination with prayer.

What does Jesus teach us about prayer? First of all, he teaches us that through the doorway he provides, God the Father becomes our personal Father. Christ teaches us to pray to God like he did, which means to pray all the time, everywhere, about anything that truly concerns us. And he teaches us to pray in his name, which means that we submit to his authority and trust in his guidance.

How does this translate into practical prayer? Wonderfully. You see, I was trained as a scientist in my graduate and undergraduate education, and I learned to have an inquisitive mind, to try out novel experiments and gather research about how the natural laws of the universe work.

So when I met Jesus, when I asked him to enter my life and reveal more about God to me, I found a freedom to pray in his name and see how prayer works. One of my first prayer experiments got an unexpected answer. My girlfriend, who had graduated from high school a year ahead of me, fell in love with a college guy, a beefy football player whom I personally detested.

The week of their marriage I stood in my bedroom and lay my broken heart before the Lord. "I can't stand this pain, Lord, and I can't stand losing this woman I love. Will you please show me how to get through this?"

I waited. Nothing seemed to happen. But when I turned around, my eyes fell on a Bible sitting on my dresser. I felt compelled by an invisible force to cross the room and placed both hands upon the Bible. With that action a peace infused my whole being, and a calm inner voice said, "Dan, you can stand it, because I am standing with you."

When we enter conversation with God, we can actively expect his attentiveness, and trust in the great care with which he will answer us, sometimes immediately, sometimes within the week, and sometimes twenty years later.

Go ahead and pray about anything that brings you anxiety, depression, or stress. Ask for God's divine intervention. For his wisdom to flow into a situation and change the outcome in constructive ways. For his presence to positively influence a troubled relationship. For his will to be done in your life.

And don't forget to thank him for all the good things he does. It warms his heart, just like his companionship through the years warms yours.

For more about prayer and companionship with God, read  

Trusting In The Trinity: Compass Psychotheology Applied

How To Trust God and Feel God's Love

Whatever chaos is in the world, whatever governments are in power, and whether Christianity is in or out of favor, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit invite you to walk and talk with them every single day.  

Your communication with the Trinity is not contingent upon external factors, but internal ones. Your whole personality and human nature are the means of communion with God, and that communication is a spontaneous ongoing interaction.

What a pleasure.

What a mystery.

What an adventure!

In developing your individuality in Christ, you speak your mind to God, disclose feelings of every sort, and surrender your life and body to his care. 

The Lord, in turn, may respond by composing sentences in your mind, hugging your heart with tender care, or imparting serenity to your body, a tangible peace that calms your nervous system and melts your muscles.

As in any close bond, conversation with God sometimes sings like poetry, and other times feels uncertain and awkward. If you come to a place where God seems distant and your burden heavy, get back to the basics. Kneel at your bedside for several nights, praying for the rejuvenation of a lively faith. 

The Lord is right there with you. He will help remove any obstacles and rouse your awareness of the Holy Spirit’s power and presence, for “we know that all things work together for good for those who love God,who are called according to his purpose” (Rom 8:28).

There's more on how to trust God and feel his love consistently: 

Faith Beyond Church Walls: Finding Freedom in Christ.