Body Life in a Culture of Selfish Personality

This is a incomplete thought, the title is a bit broad for such a message, but while my heart says the title, my mind is limited. May you receive life from the Spirit of God in these words though. Lord make my words those of Your own will and desire in this age.

We live in a culture of selfishness. Freedom means that the ugly springs up beside the beautiful. And we tend to be concoctions of all sorts of internal and external self centered personality characteristics. I don't claim that in any other age it was better or worse. Or that any other culture, with reserved traits of politeness and decorum, is less self centered. In fact I think man in his natural state will orient on self no matter what the environment.

So the ground is rough, the rocks and clods in our souls large. The Lord must transform this ground of our hearts every day, every week, and for the long range in terms of years and lifetimes. How does this preparation happen practically? What is the process of transformation, the creation of a soul that expresses God in this world?

Well, let me say that we are broken, first and foremost deeply flawed. All of us. Even the most spiritually mature man, who has walked with the Lord for a lifetime, is but a wisp of His full Glory. A individual simply has not the time or capacity to become as our Messiah here in this realm. But we are going to be like Him at the end of days. Our full expression for all eternity will be His life expressed in us completely. Yet even in this for all eternity, it is because we have been built together, constructed of eternal life and fused with one another that we display His true Glory.

The promise was made to Jesus. The inheritance for all time is His. His body receives that importance, that attention from God. Grasp the significance of that, seek deeply in all things whether your hope, your expectation is something for yourself, or a promise in Christ, part of His inheritance, as a member of His very body. That is the true test of spiritual reality for doctrines and practices. Anything beyond that is the realm of empty speculation and man's imagination.

But let us return to the conflict, the constant battle in our own lives personally. We can move in the Spirit, by faith and His working. By the covering garments stained with His blood. We function, we move in the body, suplying one another. Life will come forth by your faithfulness. At the same time, He is plowing under the weeds. And it usually means using one of the help on the farm. Yes, it will be your closest friend in the church, your brothers and sisters, who will be working on you.

For us, in this selfish culture, we don't like it. It is an affront to our empty pride. Letting someone into your space goes against all we are as tough, independent, resilient people. Now there is nothing wrong with being tough, or resilient. But not for yourself. So when you begin to experience the riches of meeting together openly with likeminded believers, and begin to grow on the life in that group, it comes as a shock when a clash arises.

It is inevitable. We all have broken pieces, and some of those are sharp. When we get close together, we can not avoid getting hurt. If it has not happened to you, then you are not close to anyone. I can guarantee it. Smoothness all the time and every day is a sure sign of hidden lives, and you will not find the riches of meeting openly in such a state. If this is you, don't be offended, but fear God. Pour out your heart honestly before Him and ask to find Christ in those around you.

So what is the problem, everybody will go through it, no big deal right? Wrong! There are too many today in our insulated society who have no emotional maturity. They can not control or understand there own emotions at all, and will basically hide these away. Others live with feelings on their sleeves, and are quick to forgive, yet slow to transform. Both extremes are so prevalent, that leadership must become aware of these ones before, during, and after any 'event' occurs.

If God has prepared an occasion of 'plowing', first let go of your own heart. If your are offended or wounded, find the healing balm quickly. Forgive, ask for forgiveness. Clean your garments, call upon the most High. Then look for life. A deep measure of it. Call out to God, yell at the top of your lungs, through yourself down under a sackcloth. You need that source more than ever for this time.

Now, on to the two cases, one internal and immature in their emotion, and the other external. The first is perhaps the most problematic, because they must find the transformation without understanding it. But it happens none the less. God is so merciful. When you approach this one, be kind, be gentle. Do not be confrontational on the surface. Only by the Spirit will you stand up with light. Talk about what bitterness is, then ask if they have felt bitter before. Talk about resentment, give an example, ask if they have ever resented anything in the past.

Utilize the context of emotional discussions to frame a gentle discovery of the 'event' and how this one needs to respond. Pray together in faith, and ask for the healing transformation together. I know from experience, that the emotionally immature will deny, turn away, compartmentalize, and create a false front in the face of anything close to exposure. And the pain they feel at even what you might consider trivial exposure is intense, and can be related to deep scars that have not healed well.

It will happen time and time again due to our selfish culture. We isolate and separate our reality from the internal life we live. We live by faulty imaginations and immature emotion. We experience failure when the reality of life does not match our imagination. Emotions follow of dissapointment, anger despair, depression, and resentment, emotions we are unable to handle. God will work on those areas, the body needs to be equiped and ready to help. Now for the other side, the external personality.

This extreme is perhaps the one that is the plow at times. The jagged edges stick out a bit farther, and you don't even have to be close to get poked. Of course, get right with God and be led by faith in the Spirit before you attempt to engage. With this personality, you must fish around, sometimes in complete darkness, because what they display on the outside is a jumble of disconnected wires. You can not go by what you see or hear, but by what the Spirit leads and highlights. Fortunately, you don't have to worry about digging around for the true source.

Rarely will this personality type react to even vigorous questions and discussion. But when you have the anointing word, when the rock or clod is displayed, be quick and speak in faith. You have a small window, before things will get mixed up again, go for it. Tell them "I think you have not forgiven so and so." Or perhaps, "That is resentment, lets pray together about that." Be obedient in this way, and God will bless you and give you much grace.

Even more important, when each begins to allow the work inside, when the members of your gathering respond to these instances, and find the transforming life, a greater measure of power is activated in your midst. The entertwined faith goes deeper, and releases miraculous experiences beyond what we can see or do alone. The body will function in your locality.

It is our self centered personalities that need this work. The body can not go forward without this transformation. We need our eyes opened to our own hearts and the situations of plowing in our midst. With such a working, such a concern for one another, and closeness that results, we can see Him. There is no other way. The Lord moves in power through His body, displaying the Glory and drawing all to eternal life. If we want to see that, we must open our eyes and hearts to those around us.

Lord anoint these words, form them in the Spirit to your working. Let me simply be a instrument, a display of your intention in this day. Bless each reader with a new measure of faith. Give them the most precious gift of compassion in the Spirit. A love that is willing to lay down the self for a brother in need. Thank You and increase Your presence in this realm, displaying eternal glory everywhere.