I love learning about productivity, particularly when it impacts my walk with God. Recently, I was listening to an audio course by Eben Pagan called “Wake Up Productive.” He was explaining why we often times make choices that we know are bad. What he had to say seemed to ring true with scripture.
Eben proposes that we tend to think of ourselves as one coherent self led by one mind, but that in reality we have three selves running at any given moment. We have our emotional self, our mental self and our physical self. He discusses how that different parts of our brain drive those different aspects of who we are and that at times they can be conflicted.
For example, we might see a big yummy slab of chocolate cake and think, “I really shouldn’t eat this. I am trying to lose weight and this is just a mountain of sugar and worthless calories.” That would be the mental self at work. But, simultaneously we might be physically craving it and we might feel that we would get an emotional boost of enjoyment by eating it. Now you have three selves or three parts of you who you are conflicted over whether or not to have the cake. Odds are that you will give into whichever one you most habitually concede to or the majority vote.
Two scripture references came to mind immediately as I listened to Eben. The first was Romans 7:15 “For I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate.” (ESV) Eben’s explanation certainly makes clear why at times we would find ourselves making decisions we despise.
The other was Luke 10:27, “And he answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.” (ESV) As Eben spoke about the mental, emotional and physical selves, they each seemed to readily connect with mind, heart, and strength, respectively. Eben didn’t address our soul though.
Eben talked about the need to become aware of all of these elements of who we are. He suggested that they need to get aligned with one another, so we don’t have inner conflict. It strikes me that the way we align these things, if we are to love God with all of who we are, is to actively submit each part of ourselves over to God. Otherwise, we will self-sabotage our faithfulness.
I can certainly see this in my own life. For example, I know that when I am physically depleted I am prone to make poor choices. Or, if I saturate my mind with the wrong influences, I will make poor choices.
I have decide to commit to finding the formula for actively developing each of these four areas (heart, mind, strength, and soul) for God’s use on a daily basis. If each one is aligned to God’s will, then they will be aligned with one another and the committee in my head can start serving God rather than individual petty agendas. Expect to see more about this in future posts.