WHOSE COMPASS SHOULD WE USE?

“In the family of man, man counsels man, in the family of God, God counsels man. The difference is fundamental and vast.”

~ Bob Hoekstra

The springboard, from which we will launch our dissertation, is the issue of the role that the mind of man plays in determining his behaviour, lifestyle and eventual destiny. It is like a mental compass with which we have to find direction in life. I believe we can all agree with the statement that every action starts with the thoughts we receive and cultivate in our minds. It is very much like the invisible lines that magnetic forces exert on the surface of the earth.

SPIRITUAL MAGNETS

We can all remember the experiments we did at school with iron filings on a flat piece of paper. When you hold a strong magnet underneath the paper, the iron filings reveal the lines of magnetism. One can then actually see the lines manifesting from the negative to the positive pole of the magnet. In the same sense, our minds are influenced by invisible spiritual forces. The source of these thoughts we can debate later. But first of all, let’s get consensus and agreement on the fact that man is the sum total of his thinking processes, irrespective of his environment, culture, race or creed.

WORLDLY VERSUS DIVINE

We also know that man; apart from being able to think is basically a religious being. There are off course those strange people who convince themselves that there is no god. They normally would like to ascribe that title to themselves which in reality is what they do. If possible, let us agree that there are two basic viewpoints we need to examine in this discourse, namely that of a human, worldly viewpoint as opposed to a Divine heavenly viewpoint. The first relates to the physical tangible world and then there is the invisible abstract or spiritual world. In everyday life, each one of us is involved with the interaction between the two. They impact on each other and on us. And it is all filtered through our thinking process.

VISIBLE VERSUS INVISIBLE

The moment we awake to start each new day, our minds are active. Through our senses and emotions, we interact with our surroundings. If my car does not want to start and I overslept because I had a late night and I do not get control over my thoughts and emotions, the rest of the day can turn out to be most miserable. There is a constant interplay between the visible and invisible world in and around me. Some things are under my control, other things are not. In the invisible spiritual someone else is in control. We who are human and different from the animal and plant world move between the two, the tangible world and the spiritual world. All the time, we are seeking answers as to how to make sense of it all. For this reason, God has given us a brain and a mind. The one is a physical organ and the other is a thinking intelligent person. The two are constantly at work and God is ultimately observing, watching, guiding and judging how we behave, and He wishes to guide our lives. Psalm 32:8 reads:

“I will instruct you and teach you in the way which you should go; I will counsel you, My eye shall be on you.”

ALWAYS DO THE RIGHT THING

While we know this subconsciously, we try and work out some code of conduct to do the right thing in the right place. Whether we are hunting animals for survival in the dense forest as pygmies or chasing after some business contract in the concrete jungle this principle is constantly working in us. We have our view of the life going on around us and then there is the view that God, has. If we cannot see further than our own view, we are going to be very limited in finding direction in this maze we call “life”. Deuteronomy 32:10 says:

“He found him in a desert land, and in the deserted, howling wilderness. He led him about, He cared for him, He kept him as the pupil of His eye.”

DR KRIGE AND HOUSE REGENERATION

This adapted content was extracted from If not Rehab…what then? by Dr Ado Krige, the Founding Director of House Regeneration, a South African drug rehabilitation centre offering a comprehensive discipleship training program. By applying principles of Biblical Therapy, using the Scriptures to teach, rebuke, correct, and train in righteousness, House Regeneration counsellors show anyone who has suffered from addiction how to fully understand why they do what they do and how to bring their belief systems in line with the Word of God.