Men and Eternal Treasure: Idols, Chariots, and the Phallus...

I chose the title as a humorous and mnemonic device to separate things into easy digestable pieces. Also, the impetus for this little discourse originated with a idea of "Ten things that most hinder our spiritual development." Yeah, I realized it as well, no one will remember ten things. And the thoughts diverged when discussing this with my wife. Clearly there is a division between the behaviors and practices that stifle men as opposed to women.

So, this is directed at men, and those who love the male part of humanity. I will get out a separate set of thoughts on women later, it is still brewing. Besides, I haven't got the equivalent category labels yet for the ladies, and that is half the battle in remembering these ideas.

Now I must address the scope of the topics and how they are essentially the same from age to age. What hinders us from growing spiritually with God, and expanding our communication with the Eternal King has little to do with our lifestyles, and the changing times. No, the things that we will recognize in hindsight as we age in this generation as limiting our depth with the Lord have timeless core principals.

To emphasize that, I chose labels that reflect ancient civilization. We could have picked any point in history, and in the future, things will arise that physically and linguistically replace these representations, but not the underlying causation. As a quick reference to today, we can consider the three categories above with such modern labels like Television, Cars, and Sex. Other specifics fit as well, so don't get hung up on dichotomization of the principles.

Lets begin with the Idols. In our day, the prevalent idol sits in your living room or on your desk. You sit and submit yourself to its teachings, respond to its stimulations, and generally worship a imaginary facade. Now, I am not here to bash entertainment. Nor do I think all content on the web is just amusement or worse. Video games, simulations, other interactive activities have many positive possibilities. No, my purpose is to discuss this in terms of what is hindering your spiritual growth.

To do that, we must construct scenarios in each category that highlight that hindrance. For the idolatry, it is pretty easy. You get very little eternal life from television. The physical act of visual stimulation by TV actually trains your brain to not think, to not imagine. It is a drain on physical development, especially for children. Now, that does not mean you have to be legalistic and not watch it for that reason, just be aware that you are taking entertainment time, and not growing in life.

That time adds up. Two hours a day, adds up to six years sitting in front of the luminescant idol in a typical lifetime. I can guarantee you, if you are a Christian, and you reach the young age of 72, you will want some of those six years back. Furthermore, if you are a average American, the time you spend in front of the idol is more than double the two hours I use. Can you justify fifteen years of your life just sitting, giving you time and attention to a box? You will have wanted to do something else with part of that time, no question.

Don't worry, down time, destressing, relaxing, all of these are worthwile things. And if you use a hour per day of TV for that, I have no argument. But many Christians fill their minds with entertainment, knowing deep in their conscience that it is slowly poisoning their soul, and turn around with lame justifications. So what if your favorite actor is a Christian. What does it matter if the show is "appropriate for families". You are bowing down to a glowing box, and no good thing can come of that.

There are many interconnected themes associated with television, video games, and webtainment. The principles are the same in each, so lets deviate into a major sub area applicable to men, namely sports. Combat without death (hopefully). Connection to a cause, and movement. Emotional highs and lows. Endless hours of your time. Good fun, and wholesome at times. But have you experienced the combination of obsession and projection in this area? Visualizing, thinking "I could do that". Scheduling your time to catch all of the games. Filling your mind with stats, stories. All fed and reinforced by the glowing box.

You can see clearly with this simple test. Find a quite place, plead the blood of Christ. Ask God to put sports in perspective for your life, your family, your brothers and sisters in the Lord. If you can dig this question out with a clean heart, He is faithful to answer. And you might just find a few extra hours a week full of eternal life away from the glowing idol.

Don't start in on me, my brothers, about how this team prays before each game, or that famous star is a Christian. Ask God about the relationship to your spiritual walk. Forget flimsy justification of your glowing idol time. There are many wonderful things that can be obtained in sports, but sports are a construction of man. It is not the walk of God, the path of eternal life. Get straight on sports in relation to the glowing idol and you will undoubtedly obtain spiritual development.

In summary, when you consider what you want to do with your life as a man, and as one who would walk with God, bowing down to the glowing box is not on the plus side of your breathing years. Try turning it off for a couple weeks. If that is impossible, you have associated behaviors that will require attention. Don't get depressed or frustrated, ask God for vision and grace. He is faithful to our requests.

Now we move on to Chariots, and in a ironic twist, one of my favorite television shows is Top Gear. Yes, cars on TV, what more could a man want, except the very attractive counterpart to man, woman. OK, digression aside, the reason for picking on cars is twofold. They are a externalization of man's pride, and a representation of our life travels.

It doesn't have to be cars though, any toy will do, and there isn't a man alive that doesn't have some toys. We need to build, construct, shape and control our environment. We want to make the world see our power, our achievements. It is a good thing naturally, that way all the smart, observant women can pick good genes to propagate.

So, with the base reasons on full display, why don't women pick a man based upon his car? Oh, you can test this one out easily. Ask any lady you know (apart from the few motor heads), if she would date the owner of that IROC Camero on the corner, or the dually F350 in the driveway. For that matter, pick just about any car that is not a utilitarian vehicle, or a pop icon like a hybrid, and it will do absolutely nothing for a woman's choice of mate.

But get the man behind the wheel of his dream coupe or stomping truck, and the heart swells. He thinks all the world is looking at him. Feel the power, cruise the boulevard, be seen, the world knows he has arrived. Except the world doesn't care at all. In fact, the world tends to be derisive or jealous in this case.

I bet you think I am going to dish out about what car is bad or good, but not here. Remember, we are looking at what hinders our spiritual development. Judging what vehicle you choose to travel in has no appeal to me. Where is the life in that? No, it is the connection to our external image that we will look at, and for a man, the car is a worthy proxy for all our externalizations.

Imagine the powerful centurion, in favor with Rome, purchasing for himself the latest is gold accessorized, camel haired, spiked, wide track chariot with a two week warranty. Perfectly reasonable, and in line with his position and wealth. In fact, he may long for the days of simplicity, when tooling around in the ol' sliver bucket attracted no attention.

Have we changed? Did you play with cars as a kid? Long for that exquisite ride as a teenager. I wanted a lifted GMC High Sierra with fat off-road tires when I was thirteen. Even then I knew it was useless in the bush, but it sure looked great. Our base identities as men in this society are connected to these symbols of personal freedom, power, wealth.

And that raises the real issue. Do you want a new car? Have one in mind? Most of us have something in mind, even if we know it is not a reality. But take those things before God! Lay down your freedom at His feet to become really free, eternally free! Conform the decisions you have, the real power you have, to the guidance of the Holy Spirit. God will grant you more power, beyond your imagination. Open up your treasure chest, your pocket book, your portfolio to God, and watch Him transform your perception of wealth into that which never fades!

We are constrained by our perception. "If only I had a raise, I could afford that convertable." Or perhaps, "These rims are so awesome, my car will be perfect!" With this we focus our desire, our imagination into areas that are illusions. There is no eternal life here. Take stock of your perception, see if there is anything motivating you. Then get in a quiet place and talk to the King about it.

There is no reason for Christians to be poor and without fine things. But there is a reason God doesn't want you to attach yourself to those things. Each desire, each physical item that sucks up your attention and energy, hinders your spiritual advancement. And when those things are connected deep into your psychological makeup, they can heavily block the eternal life you are able to access.

Such is the case with men and cars (or similar items). Dealing with these externalizations of our conscious and subconscious needs can be confusing, frustrating, even depressing and life altering. I have known marriages that fell apart because "He loves that car more than me!" Now, it wasn't that he loved the car more, it was that he could not face the real issues of resentment, money, and intimacy that were littered about. And the car was a shield, a picture of success, power, freedom that wasn't a reality elsewhere.

This is why I put the chariot on the list for men. We have a deep need to be powerful, successful, providers. And we want to display that to the world in the things we have. Refusing to let the Lord transform some of these needs, especially when they start choking out healthy parts of our lives, is a major wall to spiritual development. Sometimes we don't even know that we are at that wall. Ask simply, with a honest heart, about your attachment to anything external. God is very faithful in dealing with this. If you fear loosing something, or perhaps you just can't live without that IROC Camero, ask for Grace, He is faithful.

Now we get to the insides of a man. Yes it is the Phallus. The everpresent driving force behind many of the decisions men make. Why take out the trash (under duress)? To create a door, a possibility. The hope of satisfaction. Why does your eye rove? Testosterone loves a picture, your imagination is hardwired to the third leg. But again, there are countless better Christian counselors about intimacy and relationships than I. This is just a signpost to spiritual development, and roodblock identification.

For that matter, it is the internalization of our image. Now you wonder about that, but let me be clear. Every man has looked at it, considered what the size means. Every man has some perception about his own "manhood". Many think that they are inadequate, and compensate externally in some way. Others simply love the thing, and worship a part of their own body. Constantly thinking about satisfaction, degenerating into lifestyles of self destruction.

Then there is the "natural" man who follows his instinct, which is to spread his seed far and wide. Great for determining genetic success, but not so good for society. So how do we get to the spiritual man in this matter? Especially considering the average male (outside of that screwed up 12-25 age group) thinks about copulation 17 times a day on average. Well, it is simple, yet one of the hardest things. God is faithful to protect you. He extends every Grace and assistance to keep you from falling into the phallic traps.

Yet why do many men constantly fall? It is due to lack of transformation. You can gain strength, become faithfull, constantly turn away from images and temptations, but the desire thrives. The deep pulsing tide of man ebbs and flows through your loins. Recognize that it is there, and that with renewall in your mind and will, you can easily master it. That desire exists for a good, healthy reason, but its connection to your behavior and thoughts are flawed. It is in the broken nature of man, fundamentally subverted to the smell of estrogen. It is in the society around you, constantly reinforcing the satisfaction of physical contact with some ethereal "perfect" woman.

These broken pieces are in your thoughts and will, not in your actual Johnson. They are just like any other piece of us that God wants to mold and shape. The only difference is our reluctance to open up this are to God. Open your heart, be brutally truthful. God already knows how many times you failed. Confess your actions, desires, and ask for the process of healing to begin. Then actually try to control yourself. Abstain for as long as you can. If you fail, just get down on your knees and hash it out with God. He will heal you, and you can easily master this area.

For the happily married man, we still deal with the trappings, the roving eyes, the irritation when you aren't satisfied. We need to do the same. It is good to abstain for a week, "fasting" and such. It is also good to be honest if you haven't been getting any satisfaction. Be clear and simple, to God and your spouse. Transformation in this area will bring such peace as you have never known. A clean cool breeze of peace like the first day of spring. And it stays, you just want more. Your will becomes strong knowing you have mastery over the "flesh" in this area.

As a phallic finality, for those who have fallen to a low place, the first step is recognizing you are not satisfied, even with all the activity, images, trappings of the that twisted realm. You can't get the sensation through those things and relationships. You can't buy it, make it, take a pill to get it, watch some show, anything. It won't happen through any form of illicit excitement, those are all illusions that lead to worse emptiness.

I am sure you have read the headlines about some guy driving around in his chariot, watching his portable glowing idol, and servicing his phallus. As men we can be the most twisted up balls of emptiness around, but God is still ready to help. Even in that triple darkness, His light easily penetrates, and brings peaceful reality.

Turn away from the spiritual hindrances. You know what is stopping your growth. It is the thing you won't admit to, won't let God touch. You are afraid of the exposure, of the change. But he is faithful to us, kind and generous. He has never held back His comfort and Grace from me, even in my darkest confusion. And being honest, talking to the Eternal King with a contrite heart, a heart that sees it own duplicity and admits it, always brings for the process of transformation.

Men, overcome these hills, these walls to your progress. You only have today, you may not be tomorrow. And if you do make it to a ripe age, certainly looking back these things will be of no worth. You won't care about what car you drove when it is the end of days, You won't even remember what shows you watched on TV, or what games you played. And I would hope that you ceased to care about the size of your phallus by then...

Thank you Lord for opening our eyes, for exposing all that prevents us from staying in the Kingdom continuously. Oh help me to heed my own words, to turn from the distractions, no matter how deeply they are embedded in my soul, and reach for your life. May your Kingdom be ever expanding, and your name magnified throughout the earth.