I had the thought yesterday that I may over-spiritualize things. Here's the reason: when having a bad day, hit with news the shakes me, feeling sick or something negative happens I tend to search out and question whether or not it is a spiritual attack quite often before taking other things into consideration (my natural tired-ness, emotional sanity, etc.)
This feels like a very un-American, anti-scientific approach so I squirm at openly stating that I do this frequently. But does this reflect the reality that Paul states in Ephesians that we do not wrestle with flesh and blood but with cosmic powers and spiritual forces (Eph. 6:12)? Other countries seem to understand this concept much better then Americans as they have an understanding of Hiebert's "excluded middle" in terms of believing in spirits and that these different spirits can impact our lives - in both positive and negative ways.
How do we as Americans seek to cultivate this awareness? Am I crazy for considering spiritual reasons first - or should they be a second thought effort? I'm not totally sure. I'm seeking to come to a balanced middle on these - being aware of them but also considering natural causes, but am not yet there.
In the mean time, I will not neglect the spiritual realities of this present world and seek to understand how they may impact - both positively and negatively - my life. My God is greater and has total dominion... but that does not mean that I'm excluded from the battle. I'm in the middle of the battle and may receive some hits, so knowing how to defend myself (Eph. 6:13-18) is tantamount in being successful.
It is ok to discern the spiritual realm. Just remember not to live there. God is bigger and He already won.
ReplyDeleteWhat do you mean by "do not live there"? This seems like it needs further explanation...
DeleteI think more of the problem is that we are not thoroughly holistic *at all* - it takes more than just acknowledging the spiritual realm to overcome the excluded middle. More than one thing is usually happening at once: the physical, spiritual, emotional, psychological, etc. all work together, and we have to analyze problems from all angles.
ReplyDeleteAbove all, we can't fall into Manicheanism - estimating the spiritual forces of darkness (or any forces of evil) so highly that we are constantly flipping out about them. While we attack problems from every angle, we also have to deal with the fact that anxiety is a spiritual problem as well.