Monday, February 12, 2007
Spiritual Guidance
Because of my work at the Article VI blog, I have been carefully considering the ramifications of people claiming direct Holy Spirit guidance, since such lies at the root of Mormonism. While Mormon theology is wrong, I think they do a better job than on dealing with this phenomena than most of us do. As Mark Roberts pointed out a while back, there has been much mischeif in the name of the Holy Spirit. Yes, this lead Mormons down the polygamy path, but they have recovered from that and now seem to have things well in check. But that's enough about Mormons, I want to look at this as it affects us.
In his next post, Mark goes on to point out there is a role for being guided by the Holy Spirit, and he then goes through a series on how that works. The simple, straightforward conclusion from all of this is that it is possible for there to be too much of a good thing. Like alcohol, this Holy Spirit stuff must be taken in moderation. But somehow that does not seem right to me, how can we moderate the presence of God in our lives?
As with all things, I don't think this is about moderating the Holy Spirit, I think this is about moderating us. When it comes to the Holy Spirit manifesting in our lives, everyone rapidly turns to Paul's great manifesto on the subject, I Corinthians 12-14, but we often overlook the mentions he makes elsewhere, like Romans. Consider:
Do I think the Holy Spriti manifests directly in our lives? Absolutely, but I think our response to such experiences must always be initially self-examination. Before we declare God's actions to the world, we should first make sure we are not standing in the way.
Related Tags: Holy Spirit, manifestation, direct urging, Mark Roberts
In his next post, Mark goes on to point out there is a role for being guided by the Holy Spirit, and he then goes through a series on how that works. The simple, straightforward conclusion from all of this is that it is possible for there to be too much of a good thing. Like alcohol, this Holy Spirit stuff must be taken in moderation. But somehow that does not seem right to me, how can we moderate the presence of God in our lives?
As with all things, I don't think this is about moderating the Holy Spirit, I think this is about moderating us. When it comes to the Holy Spirit manifesting in our lives, everyone rapidly turns to Paul's great manifesto on the subject, I Corinthians 12-14, but we often overlook the mentions he makes elsewhere, like Romans. Consider:
Rom 12:3-10 - For through the grace given to me I say to every man among you not to think more highly of himself than he ought to think; but to think so as to have sound judgment, as God has allotted to each a measure of faith. For just as we have many members in one body and all the members do not have the same function, so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another. And since we have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let each exercise them accordingly if prophecy, according to the proportion of his faith; if service, in his serving; or he who teaches, in his teaching; or he who exhorts, in his exhortation; he who gives, with liberality; he who leads, with diligence; he who shows mercy, with cheerfulness. Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil; cling to what is good. Be devoted to one another in brotherly love; give preference to one another in honor; [emphasis mine, as if you needed to be told]Manifestations on the Holy Spirit in our lives are not for us, they are for the other. So, for example, in Mark Roberts negative example
Over thirty years ago, for example, I found myself in Mrs. Poole's Sunday school class. She was a fine teacher, well-prepared, biblically-literate, and interesting even to a sixth-grade boy. Mrs. Poole's Bible lessons were almost always succinct and compelling. Almost always, I say, because every now and then Mrs. Poole would claim that the Holy Spirit led her to depart from her notes and launch into the stratosphere of more direct revelation. As she spoke under the impetus of the Spirit, I was struck by how had she was to follow and, frankly, how boring. If I took Mrs. Poole at her word, then I could only conclude that she was a much better a teacher than the Holy Spirit! Whereas she was succinct, the Spirit was long-winded. Whereas Mrs. Poole had a way of speaking right to the hearts of sixth-graders, the Holy Spirit could hardly keep our attention.How much do you want to bet Mrs. Poole's motivation was about attracting attention to herself more than actual Holy Spirit guidance. Mark admits she was "confused," but I think more, she wanted to speak with authority that appeared to be her own, not authortiy gained from hard work and study, even if it was inspired hard work and study.
Do I think the Holy Spriti manifests directly in our lives? Absolutely, but I think our response to such experiences must always be initially self-examination. Before we declare God's actions to the world, we should first make sure we are not standing in the way.
Related Tags: Holy Spirit, manifestation, direct urging, Mark Roberts
