I’m doing The Mind of Christ Bible study right now, and had a real light bulb moment earlier. T.W. Hunt was writing about how he realized that he had humanistic tendencies in thinking that he just had to work hard enough on developing Christly virtues. This really struck a chord with me, and I realized that so much of my education and life’s path has been directed by this sort of humanistic thought……if I just do more, if I can work harder to reach my goals………. All throughout life growing up, I would have said I was a Christian (since I went to church every Sunday and had completed confirmation class), but I was viewing God as a supernatural “helper” to help me accomplish my goals.
This realization has give me a lot to think about, in terms of how I view the world and my place in it. Also in terms of how I want to raise my daughter. I’ve been a teacher, I’ve taught these humanistic goals to kids, never once realizing that they were in conflict to living a God-centered, Christian life. I had no clue how pervasive this thinking was. I did a quick web search today, and found a listing of humanistic concepts taught in schools:
* Anything the mind can conceive and believe you can achieve.
* Keep your eye on the goal.
* Keep your dreams first and foremost before you.
* Discover your strongest desires. Fulfill yourself. Be yourself. Find your own life and live it to the full.
Wow, this is exactly what I learned growing up! The “you can be anything you set your mind to be” attitude that I still find in myself today. Want to become the best mom possible? Sure, just read enough and make a list of what it takes, then do those things. Miss a few on the list? Beat yourself up a little, but then get back on track, because if you really want it enough, you can make it happen. Sound familiar?
No wonder I’ve been struggling with aligning myself to God’s will for my life!
I had no energy left after these last few days, and it really showed through today. I’m desperately hoping for a fresh renewal of energy tomorrow.
