Community, Identity, Stability.

My mind never really stops. I have to watch TV at night in order to fall asleep. I know many studies have shown this is horrible for your sleep due to its awakening of your senses, but let me tell you-the awakening of my mind presents a much greater danger to my sleep. I tell you this because I'm finding a blog is a special "helper" to the many thoughts and ideas my mind tosses about. I journal a great deal as well, but typing certainly helps get these ideas down faster than my pen in hand. Also, I can get all of my thoughts out without bothering another soul. If my post is obnoxious, offensive, redundant or what-have-you...I blame no one but yourself for reading it (kidding, sort of).

So, all this to say, thank you Lord for creating blogs so I can put on paper (figuratively, being as this is actually a computer screen) what goes on. It helps me sit down with God and go through my thoughts together. I like how He listens, but I like even more how He speaks.

In The Screwptape Letters, CS Lewis writes as Screwtape the demon. The book is compiled of letters written to Screwtape's nephew Wormwood, and full of instructions of how to fool, distract and lead astray Christians. Screwtape writes the following bit of advice when explaining God's intention in a Christian finding his identity,

"When He talks of their losing their selves, He means only
abandoning the clamour of self-will; once they have done
that, He really gives them back all their personality, and
boasts (I am afraid, sincerely) that when they are wholly
His they will be more themselves than ever. Hence, while
He is delighted to see them sacrificing even their
innocent will to His, He hates to see them drifting away
from their own nature for any other reason."


This was so pleasing to read in all aspects. God desires us to be just as Him. We are hidden in Christ (Col 3:3), and we live and are guided BY the Spirit of Christ (Gal 5:25). Every part of my being is therefore surrounded by Him. My personality becomes His, and I-being created in His image, represent a special part of who He is. I find myself in finding Him, I become more myself as I become more of Him. My only influence should be Christ, or Christ in someone else. When I allow other factors to affect who I am or my personality or character, I fail. I am then attempting to re-shape the mold of who God created me to be, and how He chose to show Himself through me. God is bigger than our mind can handle, and He chose to make each of us different from one another to portray the many facets of Himself. In order to help the body, and help show the world who He is, I must find my TRUE self-which is only done by knowing Him!

This being so incredibly important...of course it's going to be attacked. The fictional letters from Screwtape I'm certain bare much truth in what actually goes on. The paragraph I showed you is followed by instructions to cause us to be led astray from our personality, and to be influenced by all things excluding Christ.

God spoke His plan and the Enemy's plan so often to me while I read the book "Brave New World" by Aldous Huxley. The book is about a future world in which utopia has been produced by creating a faceless people drugged in order to never feel or think for themselves. In the first chapter you learn of the world state's motto, "Community, Identity, Stability". The basic idea (which is expanded upon greatly) is the principle of the people being stripped of their identity completely, and given social classes which destine them to certain work and life-long paths. The erasing of their true identity produces stability because nothing is questioned, and differences do not exist (or atleast are not seen). The people of this community became what they were conditioned to be.

Can we fall victim of this way of living as well? Can we be stripped away from our Christ-given personality when conditioned by the environment surrounding us? The news, tv shows and general public certainly don't influence you to be more like God and produce holiness. In fact, its often quiet the opposite. We are conditioned by our parents, by MTV (I joke about this often, but I honestly believe MTV just raised my generation), by our schools/teachers and by whatever else we choose to listen and be affected by. We may not be aware of it, but "does a fish know its wet"? Stripping us away of our individualism strips us of our God. God designed us for unity, but as different parts of the body. We aren't all the same eye or same hand...we're unique and separate organs/limbs/exc. In the book (BNW) they tell of the danger a man thinking for himself,

"The greater a man's talents, the greater his power to lead astray. It is better that one should suffer than that many should be corrupted. Consider the matter dispassionately, Mr. Foster, and you will see that no offense is so heinous as unorthodoxy of behavior. Murder kills only the individual-and, after all, what is an individual?"

Satan is named as the Prince of this world, and can't you only imagine him saying that very thing? Dumb man down, and take away his ability to produce thought on his own, and desensitize his ability to make note of Law written on his heart. Unity is powerful, true unity cannot be stopped(read Gen 11). Will we unify to the mindset of the world, or the unity found in Christ?

I want to represent Him as only I can.

Over and out.