The Value and Joy of Living an Integrated Life
There has been much written about the dangers of living an unexamined life. We currently see four such dangers at this time in our culture and within the Church:
1) We can get stuck in our heads. As Gregg has mentioned, since the Reformation the (evangelical) Church has done a great work in holding up the truths of scripture and diligently seeking God in His Word. We have much to be thankful for in this regard! Yet there is now once again a growing Biblical illiteracy rate within the Church that needs to be seriously addressed. I am confident that HRAC is stepping in to help in this mission. However, there has also been an equal danger of making our faith solely about propositional truth, academic superiority (gnosticism) at the cost of losing healthy relationships, honest emotions, and passionate service.
2) We become primarily or even solely guided by our emotions. Much of our culture, and mishandled interpretation of scripture, leads us to prioritize, or even consider ONLY our individual emotional, psychological desires and individual well being. When left unchecked this can unintentionally lead to unhealthy expectations and a breakdown in true healthy community. Paradoxically we often end up living primarily in various forms of fear, anxiety or depression and often in broken and shallow relationships. Unfortunately this can also lead to our lack of stable core identity, often alongside the resultant avoidance, codependency, selfishness or even narcissism. We need a healthy strategy to fully embrace our emotions right alongside intellectual integrity and sacrificial service.
3) We assent to an over-riding moralistic approach to our lives - i.e. Good Behavior = Healthy Spirituality. There is obviously much in scripture that speaks to the need of healthy behaviors and the pursuit of holiness that needs to be fully embraced. And yet we cannot do this solely in our own power. We are dependent on the guidance and strength in intimate relationship with the Holy Spirit AND the support, accountability and encouragement within our Christian community. To access both effectively we need a proper perspective of integrating head, heart, and service.
4) We struggle, often unknowingly, with contemporary forms of unhealthy syncretism. Our culture can easily and often ignorantly over-ride the orthodoxy of the Church. Simply put: We often allow cultural acceptance to over-ride solid Biblical teaching. This can often lead to both internal and external tensions that elevate to unhealthy levels and that go unaddressed or unresolved. Behavior matters, yet is predominantly the manifestation of core beliefs, driving emotions and developing identity. What is driving our behavior (fear, self-deprecation, etc) is key to identify to be able to live out our values with integrity.
The upcoming course on Emotionally Healthy Spirituality provides a path forward to an examined, integrated life that equally values personal relationships - first with God, then with others - intellect, emotions, and holiness. Come and join us in this Pilot course as “rooted sojourners” in our community.
Contact Laurie or Terry Rogers and/or attend a brief informational meeting immediately following the service this Sunday 1/15 in the Fellowship Hall.